How to grease hubs

[gatorman21218]

What is the proper procedure for re-greasing the hubs on big green? and what grease should I use? there seems to be a mixture of red and black grease in there now. Not sure what red grease is. Also I broke one of the screws today. here is the part number from mcmaster carr of the screws I ordered. 90128A203. Can I drive the truck with only 5 screws in place or should I wait til they get here?

 

[Optikalillushun]

ya dont grease the acutal hubs. ill put a lil anti-sieze where the hub body slides into the rotor hub but thats it.

 

[gatorman21218]

forgive me cuz i dont know all the terms. What Im referring to is when I take the 6 hex screws out there is grease there.

 

[Optikalillushun]

really do not need grease in there. that part, the dial or lock out, is also perfectly fine being ran with just 5 screws.

 

[gatorman21218]

Ok glad to know. I will worry about that later then. My big concern is getting this dern hydroboost completed. Its been 3 weeks and I still am working on it.

Any clue on what red and black grease is?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Methinks it's likely wheel bearings grease, starts its life as red in color and eventually changes to black.

 

[gatorman21218]

Sooo that means....

 

[Rot Box]

Red, green, black, grey... I've even seen blue. There are lots of different colors of wheel bearing grease. A lot of the time trucks will have one color of grease and get re-packed with another color. Or they change color over time as the bearings wear. So long as there is a good amount of grease in the wheel bearings you're fine. Some of that grease will work its way outwards to the locking hub and that may just be residual grease that you are seeing.

As for the selectable/locking hubs I have used magna-lube or a very light lithium grease in some instances, but typically you do not want any grease at all in the selectable hub. It is a good idea to pull them apart and clean them out. If they get gummed up they tend to stick and that can lead to problems if they do not fully engage.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Sooo that means....

It means someone had leftover grease from packing the bearings and decided the locking hubs can use some of it. I really don't recall what I lubricated the hubs with on my old 4x4, I think it was something light and silicone based, heck for what I know it could have been dielectric grease too - if the collective here says no grease is needed, then just wipe off the stuff you see and roll on

 

[Diesel_brad]

Red, green, black, grey... I've even seen blue. There are lots of different colors of wheel bearing grease. A lot of the time trucks will have one color of grease and get re-packed with another color. Or they change color over time as the bearings wear. So long as there is a good amount of grease in the wheel bearings you're fine. Some of that grease will work its way outwards to the locking hub and that may just be residual grease that you are seeing.

As for the selectable/locking hubs I have used magna-lube or a very light lithium grease in some instances, but typically you do not want any grease at all in the selectable hub. It is a good idea to pull them apart and clean them out. If they get gummed up they tend to stick and that can lead to problems if they do not fully engage.

What he said^^^

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Front 4x4 wheel-bearings and inner-axle needle-bearings should be cleaned, inspected, and packed with a generous amount of Kendall L-427 Super-Blu.

The splines/grooves that the hub-locking mechanism rides in and out on should have a LIGHT coat of the same; too much will not allow the spring to engage the hub in freezing temperatures; no grease at all will soon wear out the splines.

A light coating of same should be applied to EVERY movable part of the locking mechanism.

All seals and O-rings should be smeared with same.


Not lubricating the moving parts is cause for the hubs being almost impossible to turn by hand; plus, a coating of grease will prevent water from seeping into the mechanism.


The only harm in too much grease being in the locking mechanism is when freezing temperatures thicken the grease to the point that the mechanism cannot engage.


Use any other grease at your own risk.

 

[THECACKLER]

I dip them in 90 wt., let them drain off and install them. The red grease is probably Lucas' "Red & Tacky" , some good stuff for sure but not in your hubs.
Thanks for the p/n for the screws. I need to get some spares. I use them to pull my hub slider aftyer I wiggle the snap rings out and I'm afraid I'm going to bend or break them. I always have to take a small file to the splines on the stub axle at the groove where the snap ring sets because it seems to always raise a burr that won't allow the slider to slip off over it. I wish I could figure out why that is happening. I'm to the point of wondering if I really need that inner snap ring on the stub axle. Maybe somebody else has solved this problem...

 

[flareside_thun]

Most times the red is a synthetic type to keep it from breaking down with the heat it gets.....valvoline grease also comes in red. The red stuff is also "waterproof" very popular with the boat trailer guys.