Re Packing Rear axel bearings ith grease?

[Banjer Picker]

Planning on changing the rear differential fluid today. While I have the 3rd memeber and axels out I'll check the condition of seals, bearings etc. If bearings look OK how do I pack them with new grease without pressing the bearings off the axels first?

Any tricks or recomendations?

On a side note: How can i tell if its a big bearing or small bearing 9" rear end?

 

[TBS-POPS]

You cant repack rear std wheel bearings. they are a pre-packed sealed bearings. If you pull them put new seals in. if the bearing spins more than twice when ya give them a spin with your finger, replace them.This is for the std ball type bearings. different if you have tapered rollers with ext seal. If you just want to change the fluid then just pull the pinion carrier out to drain the fluid.the pinion carrier has an O ring seal and is alot less work than pulling everything else...

big brng is over 3", small is under 3". check WH catalog for rear axle ID. Useful info....

 

[blubuckaroo]

I've seen grease added to them with a grease needle through the seal but I'd consider it a safety issue. If they are low on grease they are shot. Make the investment and have them changed if questionable. They last darn near forever.

 

[Broncobowsher]

As stated stock bearings (with the seal in the axle tube) are sealed. Non-greasable, replace if bad.

Some upgraded axles don't use the seal in the tube. The seal is outside of the bearings. They are oil lubed from the differential oil. Don't grease oil lubed bearings.

 

[TBS-POPS]

Some upgraded axles don't use the seal in the tube. The seal is outside of the bearings. They are oil lubed from the differential oil. Don't grease oil lubed bearings.

Those would be the tapered roller bearings you can upgrade to if you have a big brng housing and axles.

 

[Oatmeal]

............Some upgraded axles don't use the seal in the tube. The seal is outside of the bearings. They are oil lubed from the differential oil. Don't grease oil lubed bearings.

Those would be the Set 20 tapered roller bearings and would be a major upgrade in strength and longevity. Before switching over to my full floater, I swapped out my stock shafts for a set axles with those bearings because I was going through a set of bearings a year........deep water crossing would literally wipe them out. With the tapered/oil bath design the bearings were never an issue again. If you do replace the bearings, don't skimp on quality, get BCA, Timken, FAG or some of the quality Japanese bearings. Stay away from the Chinese and Indian stuff.........trust me!--------------Hans

 

[Apogee]

...On a side note: How can i tell if its a big bearing or small bearing 9" rear end?

Assuming you're pulling an axle, the easiest way to tell is just to measure them. The SET20 tapered roller bearings used on later F/E-150 applications use an external seal that is captured between the bearing and axle flange, so it's the easiest to spot from a distance.

Small-Bearing - (sealed ball-bearing) 2.835" [72mm] OD x 1.378" [35mm] ID x .845" width

Big-Bearing 1 - (sealed ball-bearing) 3.150" [80mm] OD x 1.531" [38.9mm] ID x 1.083" width

Big-Bearing 2 - (tapered roller bearing) 3.150" [80mm] OD x 1.563" [39.7mm] ID x .766" width (w/o seal)

Note that primarily due to the ID difference between the two big-bearing applications, you cannot just swap to SET20 tapered roller bearings without swapping axles at the same time.

Tobin