Wheel Bearings Leaking

[bigbob7777]

PLease look at these two photos I just took. It appears that some grease is leaking around the seal caps. I just had my wheel bearings repacked with new seals. Now it appears they are liquifying and maybe leaking.

Could this be the result of the repair person using too much grease?

Is this very dangerous? Or just excess working it's way out?

Any ideas?

Since we fulltime, any "out of service" time is a real pain. But I don't want the wheels to fall off.

Thanks.
bob

[firetrucker]

The tech could have overgreased the bearing or damaged the edges of the cap, allowing it to leak. Grease is nothing more than oil contained in a soap base, which keeps it in place. If the grease oveheats, it can break down and the oil can run out.

Pull the cap and clean it out. Grease in the cap doesn't do anything for the bearings and may be the source of the leaking oil. Get the wheel off the ground and see if it turns smoothly without a lot of drag (that's a hard one to specify). Bearing nuts on these axles are usually torqued to about 50 ft lb and then backed off and retightened to hand tightness. If they weren't torqued properly, you could get overheating (if they are too tight) or unusual tread wear (if they are too loose). Clean the hub so you can see if the oil still leaks.

Get an infrared thermometer and check the hubs right after driving. I can't remember the numbers for my hubs, but they should all be similar. A lot of people on the forum check their tire and axle temperatures, so someone can give you a baseline to use.

Bob

[bigbob7777]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

bob