Do I need to replace the grease seal and bearing when I do my rotors?

[ah1988ford]

Do I need to replace the grease seal and bearings when I replace my rotors? I have never done rotors before, I watched several youtube vids and it seems like you always have to replace the grease seal on the rear of the the rotor, but not always the bearings and races. So my question is should I replace the wheel bearings and races while I am in there or should I just install the old ones on the new rotors if the bearing look good(no bluing rusting wear or pitting).Are there any brands of bearings I should watch out for, who makes the best bearings? Do I need any special tools to do this? If I could get a few pointers and tips before I buy the parts and tear into this that would be great.

 

[79jasper]

IMO, might as well do the bearings.
IMO, the seal should almost always be replaced.

To properly pack the bearings, you'll need to remove the seal anyways.
So minimum, pull bearings, clean them real good and pack them good. Then put new seal in.

 

[redneckaggie]

piece of long brass is pretty much a must to knock the races out and in without scarring the bore other than that I only buy timken bearings if available. Most of our cncs use timken, ***, NTN, or NSK bearings, figure if they are good enough for high speed, high precision applications such as that then they will work on my pickup. I cannot stress enough how important it is not to overtighten the bearings, someone should come along with the proper torque value, I cant remember it off hand.

 

[Wicked97]

ANY time you disturb a seal that has been run it needs replaced.
That being said most of the time you don't remove them without damaging them.

As for the bearings clean and inspect them.
Look for pitting and corrosion or discoloration. If they look good run them.

 

[icanfixall]

I agree with whats posted above. Cheap bearings and races are just that. cheap and will not last like what the oem did. Only one reason to reuse the seals. Thats to get you home but then change them before you run out of grease. You can hand pack the bearings or buy that neet bearing packer tool. It looks like 2 dishes placed upside down with a tube sticking up. You pull of the top of that tool. Place the bearing in the bottom part. Place the top piece on and press grease down the tube and it fills the bearing. I still run the bearing by hand to force the grease into the rollers.

 

[icanfixall]

This is the bearing greasing tool I found on ebay..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-A..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item43ad8a5027&vxp=mtr