How Much Grease?

[lancer360]

I have some new bearings that came dry and need to be greased before installing them. How much grease should I put in them (dual angular contact bearing)? Some numbers I have seen are 20-30% of the void area. Does that sound right?

[Pop Chevy]

Doesn't sound right to me. I have always packed em full after washing with kero or something then blow dry.

[Brian]

All I can say is what I do - I pack the bearing around the rollers by pressing the grease in till it's full, then wipe off all the excess.

Brian

[lancer360]

Hmmm, every website has a different opinion on how much, but for high speed ball bearings they all seem to agree that packing them full causes excess drag and the churning of the grease causes heat buildup and can cause premature failure. What is the definition of high speed might be the difference though.

[brownslane]

Hmmm, every website has a different opinion on how much, but for high speed ball bearings they all seem to agree that packing them full causes excess drag and the churning of the grease causes heat buildup and can cause premature failure. What is the definition of high speed might be the difference though.

I would suggest that the salesman for the bearings is saying not to pack em full! That way he sells more bearings!

Pack them full. If you clean them with any solvent, blow dry, but DO NOT spin the bearing with the blow gun; blow the air at 90 degrees to the bearing. Spinning them WILL damage the bearing.

Put a "blob" of grease in the palm of one hand. Holding the bearing with the other hand, press the side of the bearing against the blob in your hand, slowly rotating the bearing until you have pressed grease out of the cage and around the bearing rollers. Install. I do not wipe off any excess until I have installed the bearing.

Use a high-quality synthetic grease. I use Redline CV2. Great stuff. A high quality grease will create a whole lot less drag than an overheated un-lubricated one!

I like the CV2. It sure is a lot easier to get out from under your nails than the old black moly stuff that stayed there for weeks.

Best, Tom

[CenDiv4]

Too much will be more beneficial than too little...

Excess will find its way out and you can clean that off.

[sracing]

Hmmm, every website has a different opinion on how much, but for high speed ball bearings they all seem to agree that packing them full causes excess drag and the churning of the grease causes heat buildup and can cause premature failure. What is the definition of high speed might be the difference though.

I would find a different web site. Pack'em and then wipe. Any "excess" will spin off and most certainly no "churning' will cause heat.

[Daryl DeArman]

only as much as necessary to provide the desired operating temperature (given the environment the bearing is in) while producing as little drag as possible.

I know that doesn't help much at all...

Are you looking for a small performance improvement even if it leads to frequent bearing replacement intervals or are you looking for "let's just make sure this thing lasts a long time?"