Mechanic Monday, Tip of the week. Wheel bearings.

Mechanic Monday, Tip of the week. Wheel bearings.
When you buy new OEM wheel bearings (that are not the sealed type)  you will often see that they come with some grease already packed into the bearing. It is ever so tempting to simply install the bearing as it came pre-greased. I have hourly data that shows you are way better off repacking those brand new bearings with a hi-quality wheel bearing grease before you install them. The data I have shows a front wheel bearing life as low as 43 hours with the OEM grease and up to 109 hours with good aftermarket grease.  While there are several other factors that effect wheel bearing life and may skew the hourly data this tip only takes a couple of minutes and is worth the peace of mind.

Stay greasy my friends.