Wheel Bearing Grease

[pumpercaptain]

Gotta question for you guys...
I did a dumb thing... I replaced my wheel bearings the other day... tore the wheel down, cleaned everything out, and replaced the bearings.
I packed the bearings and the hub with marine grease and put everything back together.
Then I put the grease gun to the wheel to finish up the job and realized later I used the wrong grease gun and put "all purpose grease" in with the marine grease.
Going to run the trailer a short distance and then shoot more marine grease in... should this be a big deal or not???
What does the group think?
Thanks!

[bubbletop409]

pumpercaptain If you do alot of towing on steep grades, and you have disc brakes, you may be better off with regular disc brake grease. Every year we do a week at Tahoe, 6200' base elevation, and Echo pass to get there is over 8000'. I have a three axle trailer with disc's on two. Every year on the trip home I lose two or more Buddy Bearing rubber caps, and sling grease with the consistency of butter inside the wheels. The counter guy at the local trailer supply store remembered me buying replacements every year, we got to talking, and he informed me marine grease is derived from vegetable oil, and can not tolerate the heat generated by disc's. Switched my bearings to disc brake grease and new inner seals, and stopped the mess. Had my previous trailer for 25 years, allways ran regular wheel bearing grease, never had a failure, or even a hint of a problem. Some of the bearings and races were still the original one's when it was sold.

[Beer-30]

I run the Mobil-1 synthetic grease in my gun. Doing some checking, it is impervious to water. Therefore, works just fine for boats. Super slick and high-temp. All in one.
Occasionally, I feel the bearing buddy after stopping during a long trip. They are BARELY warm to the touch. The center ones (no brakes) are even cooler.
It's not that expensive and covers all bases.

[steve d]

Hung my grease gun filled with marine grease,nose up, at the river--
Half of it drooled out a month later. Not impressed.

[Havasu Hangin']

I use a moly (no melt) grease.
SWEPCO (http://www.swepcousa.com/lubesite/grease.htm)
It costs a little more, but it's worth the piece of mind to me. I never did like being stuck in the desert...

[pumpercaptain]

Thanks for the input Gentlemen.
Suggestions well noted.
I have been using a marine grease I get at a local NAPA store and it seems to have been holding up pretty well.
I don't have the size boats most of you have, but I want to do the best thing for my trailer as I can... like everyone else, I don't want to be broke down anymore than the next guy.
I only have a single axle trailer, so its even more important to me to get the best and most reliable things for my trailer as I can, since I don't 4 or 6 wheels to fall back on to get me to the next exit.
Thanks again
PC

[EliminatorXP]

I just replace all mine with redline sythetic grease. Supposed to be good stuff well see how it works.

[mrossum]

Thanks for the input Gentlemen.
Suggestions well noted.
I have been using a marine grease I get at a local NAPA store and it seems to have been holding up pretty well.
I don't have the size boats most of you have, but I want to do the best thing for my trailer as I can... like everyone else, I don't want to be broke down anymore than the next guy.
I only have a single axle trailer, so its even more important to me to get the best and most reliable things for my trailer as I can, since I don't 4 or 6 wheels to fall back on to get me to the next exit.
Thanks again
PC
we lost a bearing on way back from havasu last year with our single axle trailer. spent several hours on side of road with basic hand tools getting it put back together enough to get home. have since converted the axle to removable spindles. we used 87-95 dodge caravan (with 4.5" bolt circle) rear spindles. they unbolt with 4 bolts equivalent to 1/2" sae. the bearings are bigger and beefier than our original trailer bearings were, and they are way cheaper. we can get replacement bearings at any parts store in america. now, if we lose a bearing, we just unbolt the old one, and bolt on the spare. 20 minutes later, on the road home. we do use synthetic disc brake wheel bearing grease, also. food for thought...

[Rexone]

We use the NEO Synthetic Red Grease for everything. Very similar to the Redline. You can't beat it.
The blue marine grease (Sta lube type) sucks because it cakes up over time when mixed with water and stops lubricating. Water proof yes. But what good does it do in cake form. Used to use it. Lost a lot of bearings and hubs running it. No more.
Another recent thread on wheel bearing grease. (http://www.***boat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138303&)

[steve d]

Tried the valvoline synthetic. Hung my grease gun on the bench and it also drooled out. Had no problem with regular disc brake grease. Thought I was doing my boat bearings a favor with all this high tech stuff. Haven't tried Red Line...........Prolly tme.