Rovent

I've heard you can get a hypodermic needle type thing and inject grease into the sealed bearing. Seems like it would make them last a lot longer. I also want to put zerk fittings on the ball joints etc. Anyone know where to get this injector type thing? Or what to ask for? Thanks

carpe dm

Welcome to the forum! What type of car do you have? If it is a C4 or C5, I would recommend that you find another way to be good to your car; this would be a waste of time, energy and money for you. :yesnod: :rolleyes:

MDT

Rovent,

Personally, I wouldn't mess with trying to inject grease into a sealed bearing. As long as the seals maintain integrity, the bearing should last a long while. My guess is that the sealed bearings probably contain a synthetic grease which holds up well under extreme heat.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.
Mark

Rovent

Thanks!
It's a C5. My dilema is that it's getting upwards of 50,000 miles now. All this with no replenishing of the wheel bearing grease. These are a sealed bearing, no? Can you even buy the bearings or do you have to replace the whole hub? If the bearings can be replaced at a reasonable cost , then no biggie. But if I have to start replacing hub assemblies in a year or two , then I think being able to grease everything is a reasonable way to go. I know I've heard of this on the earlier Vettes. I just don't know exactly what to get or where. Any help?

alanh

Rovent, I have one of these tools and have used it on several occasions, in fact I have injected grease in the idler pulley's on the front of the engine. These things work pretty well but do have some limitations. They are not a hypodermic needle, hypo's are to small and fragile for this purpose. The needle is the size a veterinary would use on large animals. The bearing you want to inject grease into must have a seal that is wide enough to move out of the way and let the needle into the bearing without damaging the seal. Not all bearings have a seal that is exposed enough to do this and I don't think the hub seals have enough exposure to allow injection of grease. You would need to remove the hubs and get them on the bench to be careful enough to do the job without damaging the seals and then there may not be enough room to insert the needle. Most hubs are good for 100,000 miles, plus, so I wouldn't worry about them, and yes, the hubs are replaced as a unit, they are not made to be serviced.