Repacking front wheel bearings

[Shadrach]

To those of you who have manual hubs on your 4x4s - how often do you / should you repack your front wheel bearings? I have a 3rd gen with Dynatrac manual hubs on it and was wondering about how often they "should" be repacked. TIA David

 

[RWherley]

You don't need to do it that often if use a good high quality grease, maybe every 75,000 to 100,000mi

 

[seafish]

I recently installed a DynaTrac kit with DynaLoc hubs on my truck. I was EXTREMELY impressed with the quality of the parts and design. I plan to repack the bearings only every 50k, but I WILL inspect them annually, just for water tightness and play... a very few people have had issues with water intrusion on these and other freespin kits, which when gone unchecked it cuases alot of damage to the hub internals. I am guessing that the water intrusion happened due to simply not inspecting the hub for proper play, etc 1000k after original install. I also used high quality red, water resistant synthetic grease. After seeing the pics of what the water intrusion did to these beautiful hubs, I will inspect the annually, but with the limited amount of time they will actually be engaged in 4wd, I see no reason to repack with grease much more then every 50k miles.

 

[seafish]

Here is a link to one of the threads I am talking about, though this one does not have pics--

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...6-Dynatrac-Free-spin-bearing-Failure-gt-gt-gt

 

[DVolk]

Its a good idea on ocasion to drive with the hubs turned in to keep every thing lubed up as well , , and it dont have to be very far either or all that often , once a year

 

[GHarman]

Shadrach,
1st gen application only. If you use it in wet weather conditions, driving through water, splashed or submerged, with or without being locked in 4X4 you may have to grease them annually! IMHO. A quality grease properly applied to those bearings (with new seals and clean smooth sealing surfaces) each time it is disassembled should keep the water out of the bearings. But, any indication of water inside should be met with repacking. Ive seen bearings and races that pitted out after a summer of 4X4 with a couple of creek fording's thrown in for good measure! It really boils down to the quality of your seals and the sealing surfaces. Use your favorite grease. Use it hard and hot, repack, often!
I've always used a Moly fortified bearing grease. A synthetic grease, IMHO is the best.

I dont pretend to know anything about the Dyna Track kits, bearings or application. Just my First Gen experiences!
Hope this leads you in a positive direction.
GregH

 

[Shadrach]

I have had my Dynatracs on for almost 3 years but only have about 35k kms (about 22k miles ) on them. In the winter I don't drive the truck much but I do lock them in and leave them locked until the roads clear up. From time to time I use them in the summer when required. The reason for my question is because the left side wheel bearings just packed it in. After having it towed ( thanks goodness I have free towing ) I took the wheel off and the bearings and spindle were toast. Because of the low mileage I admit I didn't check them. The grease I used was of a good quality but I discovered it wasn't good to extreme cold. I don't drive thru water unless it's raining. There was no evidence of water or rust and not much evidence of grease left either. The hub was warm to touch even tho it was just above freezing when this happened last week. The other side felt like cold metal should.


I have had people ( from the old school ) tell me NOT to lock them in unless needed and to also repack them EVERY year. Dynatrac tells me that driving with them locked is OK. I got my replacement parts today. I have to replace the hub, spindle, bearings and seal as well as the Warn hub and the ABS sensor.( That's why my light wouldn't go out DUH ) Total bill about $950, labour is all free. Sometimes we just gotta learn the hard way. I was actually able to get the Warn hub replaced under warranty and they actually sent me both sides. When I repack the right side this spring I will replace the Warn as well keeping the old one for a spare.

At least it didn't pack it in on the 4500 mile round trip to Columbus last June. It's kind or ironic one of the reason people install manual hubs on newer truck is to prevent the stock hubs from seizing up.

 

[GHarman]

Shadrach,
Locked in or out! The wheel bearings still turn!
Its the front axle and driveshaft that are isolated or engaged.
GregH

 

[Wayne M.]

Shadrach, thanks for telling the story!
Now, do you recall the kind of grease you used and the method you used to set the bearing preload?
I am very traditional when setting up axle bearings like these. Always liberal with the grease, and I put extra in the cavity between the bearings. I use the castrol WB grease in the tub and I go on the lighter side with the nut.
Belive me im going out to check mine stat! I think I have a sticky caliper anyway.

 

[Shadrach]

I used Almagard 3752 http://products.lelubricants.com/vi...ure/almagard-vari-purpose-lubricant-3750-3752. It's NLGI 2, but not rated for extreme cold. I packed them the old fashioned way, by hand, and my buddy who is a licensed mechanic set them for me. I'm not sure what was the real problem but I'll be extra careful this time. I'm glad I have access to help and don't have to pay money for the labour. I do lots of favours for him. There goes the money I was going to spend on a new p/s pump. David

 

[Shadrach]

UPDATE
When I originally had the problem my buddy had cleaned up the spindle enough so he could install new bearings so I could at least move the truck. He had to cut them off with a chisel and a torch. It was only about 2 miles to get home from where I had it towed to. He called last night and said there would be room in there for my truck. I gathered my stuff together and headed over and we changed out the damaged parts. It was a looong night since I didn't get there til 8. This time I used Mobil 1 synthetic grease. It was all I could on short notice since he had forgotten to bring his good stuff with him. David

 

[BDaugherty]

You should be fine...sometimes bearings just fail despite careful attention and lubrication from the owner.

 

[Wayne M.]

Ive seen plenty of bearings fail, even in the drive axle on class 8 trucks. The blame is on inferior parts more than assembly technique etc.

 

[Shadrach]

I did make sure I only used Timken. I won't use cheap bearings just to save a buck now. It will be interesting to see what the right side looks like. David

 

[HHhuntitall]

The Dynatrac's come with either Warn or Dynatrac locking hubs.... I've repeatedly had hell with the internal snap rings on the Warn's that holds the locking collar into the hub when engaged.... the groove is too shallow, and when force is applied, it snaps out, allowing the internal spur to fall inward, so the hub won't engage..... As for repacking the bearings, I check 'em every year or so for water, but they've been good and tight, with well over 100k on several sets. I look at the grease, and when it looses it's color and starts to get a darker tint to it, I'll repack 'em. That usually takes time more than miles, as the moisture in the air permeates the grease to a certain degree.... Here in the heat of Texas, I use Troco Royal 88 or Texas Refinery Corp 880 Crown and Chassis extreme pressure, extreme temp grease..... occasionally some Mystic Hi Temp/Pressure when I had nothing else. I've had fantastic luck with them, and if I keep a truck, it gets the hubs.... As stated above, it doesn't hurt to engage the T-case and let the oil turn in the diff every few months, slinging it around the case and lubing the gears.... I never have that problem, as I usually have the hubs locked every few days or so....