I soon plan to replace my wheel bearings front and rear but am a bit unsure which grease is best. For the Dana 60 up front some info suggests that an NLGI #2 is best while other info specs an NLGI#2 with a Moly additive--percent varies. I found plenty of folks talking about Moly being bad for certain types of bearings, mostly high speed bearings, and then others pointing out that wheel bearings are NOT high speed bearings. So is the Moly component really necessary? Just front or also in rear wheel bearings? FWIW I did notice the Motorcraft generic chassis grease does contain some Moly but I couldn't find a percentage. Timken wheel bearing grease doesn't seem to have a moly additive but I am not 100% on that.
As for the rear wheel bearings I also found a difference of opinions as to whether or not you should pack them before installing. Some folks said you absolutely need to pack them with grease and that they had done it this way for decades without problems, yet others argue that packing them prevents the diff fluid from getting into them and that the grease doesn't always mix well with the diff fluid. My plan for the rear was to replace the wheel bearings and also switch over to a synthetic diff fluid. So, should the rear wheel bearings be fully packed with an NLGI#2 grease, a light greasing, or just lube the bearing with diff fluid and jack up one side at a time to help the fluid run from one side to the other? Mostly I just don't want to screw up the new bearings and/or create a new problem.
I never wanted to dig into the details of grease and lubrication theory but there's no turning back now. I swear, sometimes the more you learn the less you know.
As for the rear wheel bearings I also found a difference of opinions as to whether or not you should pack them before installing. Some folks said you absolutely need to pack them with grease and that they had done it this way for decades without problems, yet others argue that packing them prevents the diff fluid from getting into them and that the grease doesn't always mix well with the diff fluid. My plan for the rear was to replace the wheel bearings and also switch over to a synthetic diff fluid. So, should the rear wheel bearings be fully packed with an NLGI#2 grease, a light greasing, or just lube the bearing with diff fluid and jack up one side at a time to help the fluid run from one side to the other? Mostly I just don't want to screw up the new bearings and/or create a new problem.
I never wanted to dig into the details of grease and lubrication theory but there's no turning back now. I swear, sometimes the more you learn the less you know.