I have always packed bearings. Get the big glob of grease and go to town or when applicable I have a cone packer adapter for my grease gun but at the end of the day it really is not any less messy.
However lately I have seen on several car shows the people just gooping up the bearing and installing them. Alot faster and I guess if you rotate the bearing after assembly it would be ok.... . . may be.....
So what gives. Is packing of bearings not needed any more?
Can an admin please fix the typo in the title for me.
I was always told that you needed a bit of an air pocket for the grease to move around in a bearing anyways, so I'd imagine it's fine as long as they're not going super light on the grease.
I always pack them and always will. I'm old school like that.
Pack them, grease is cheap.
dean1484 wrote: I have always packed bearings. Get the big glob of grease and go to town or when applicable I have a cone packer adapter for my grease gun but at the end of the day it really is not any less messy. However lately I have seen on several car shows the people just cooling up the bearing and installing them. Alot faster and I guess if you rotate the bearing after assembly it would be ok.... . . may be..... So what gives. Is packing of bearings not needed any more?
Not packing the bearings means their hands and the parts stay clean and they can do multiple takes, kind of like when people are shown eating on TV they almost never actually EAT the food or drink from the glasses, if there's even any liquid in the glass.
75% of what you see on TV has been altered to be camera friendly.
Guy I work with loves to recount the time one of those hotrod/restoration shows had them bolt the torque converter onto the flexplate, THEN they started putting the transmission on.
The other 25% is flat out wrong.
I always wondered how bearings got any grease "circulation" at all. If you put them in dry, is any grease really going to migrate around. By what mechanism?
I have always figured the packed grease represents 95% of the grease that bearing will ever see. The surrounding stuff is primarily there to keep the packed stuff from flowing out.
My wife thinks we should be able to remodel a bathroom in a couple hours since on TV they get it done in 30 minutes.
I have always used the old fashioned packing way.
I always pack cone type bearings, and I have a trick that makes it easier and less messy. I use a needle tip on my grease gun, and inject the grease in-between the rollers by sticking the tip of the needle under the cage. Its quick, clean, doesn't waste grease and results in thorough packing. I make one injection in-between each opening in the rollers. It helps that I'm usually working on fairly large bearings, but this technique does work on automotive sized bearings too.
In reply to aircooled:
Actually what is supposed to happen is the bearing and the grease will heat up while in use. This makes the grease more fluid and it "flows". Why it is important to use the correct grease for the application.
My issue has always been how much grease to use. On most trailer bearings, there is usually a grease zerk. I have heard everything from "just a couple of pumps" from the gun to pretty much fill the hub.
I made that mistake when moving from Florida to Idaho towing my little teardrop camper behind my Jeep. I was very concerned about having a hub seize in the middle of nowhere so I packed the bearings full. I forgot to take into account that heat causes the grease to flow and expand. About 200 miles into the trip, I checked them at a gas station. The grease had forced its way out of the dust cap and got flung all over EVERYTHING. Oops 
You want the air space in there (cap included) about half full of grease, and should pack the bearings.
Not sure how to pack bearings, how can you get grease in there?
plance1 wrote: Not sure how to pack bearings, how can you get grease in there?
Put a big glob of grease in your palm, then scoop the bearing through the grease.
In reply to plance1:
Force grease between the attached inner race and bearing cage.
Don't forget the brake cleaner.
stanger_missle wrote: My issue has always been how much grease to use. On most trailer bearings, there is usually a grease zerk. I have heard everything from "just a couple of pumps" from the gun to pretty much fill the hub....
This may depend on what type of trailer. For a boat trailer, having the hub full would clearly be a good idea.
I over filled a hub once myself. I got to near the end of a long trip and the brakes got a bit interesting. Turns out the heat made the crease explode past the seals into the front brake drums.
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