front wheel bearings
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Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=177244
Printed Date: 19 Aug 2025 at 12:46pm
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Topic: front wheel bearings
Posted By: Dusty MI
Subject: front wheel bearings
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 2:47pm
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My dad bought a new '53 WD. We had the front wheel bearings go out a couple of times. I took things over and had one go out. The bearing hub cap had long threads on it so once or twice a year I remove the caps and filled them with grease and screwed them back on, and no more bearings going out. Those bearings were made to be packed, which leaves a lot of empty space for water to get into. So why not just fill that space with grease ? Now I added a grease zerk to the wheel cap on one of my garden tractors. I first drilled a small hole in the cap, then used a tapered punch, from inside out to flare the hole, and then tapped it and screwed a grease zerk in it. Dusty ------------- 917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express" |
Replies:
Posted By: Hubert (Ga)engine7
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 4:15pm
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The more grease the better. Any time I service wheel bearings I replace the seals to try to keep junk out. ------------- Just an old country boy saved by the grace of God. |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 4:23pm
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I would agree on filling it with grease... Considering the low speed, i would think wheel bearings would last 50 years on a WD tractor. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 7:40pm
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Dad's WD has had grease zerks added in those caps at some point in its life, too. I will probably add them to my WD and WD-45 when I have some free time. ------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: desertjoe
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 6:02am
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Hey Dusty,,I'm really likin the idea of using a tapered punch to flare the metal to be able to have more meat to thread for a zerk,,,,Great Idea,,,!!!
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Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 6:10am
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I have 'brazed' a 1/4 inch fine threaded nut to something thin metal where I wanted to have a grease zerk. G |
Posted By: Dusty MI
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 7:31am
Thanks, I have a sheet metal fab shop and do that often. On wheel hubs check to see if there is room to flare in, or flare them out. Dusty
------------- 917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express" |
desertjoe wrote:Posted By: john(MI)
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 8:06am
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If you use a wheel bearing grease tool or do them on your palm. That should be all the grease you need. Although I do usually pack some in between the bearings. With your idea you are only getting grease to the outside bearing. That is one job I always hated to do. Packing bearings on my hand. You also need to be careful not to tighten the nut to tight! ------------- D14, D17, 5020, 612H, CASE 446 |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 8:32am
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tapered wheel bearings are not sealed on the sides... If you pump grease in from the front, it will go thru the bearing between the rollers, and eventually come out the back seal... if you fill the cavity between the bearings. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 12:13pm
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With the old heave stringy wheel bearing grease - hand packing was only way to do it , now using new grease types the gun grease works great , and adding a zerk to the cap is the easy way - they make a bearing buddy cap for boat trailers and small trailers without brakes on back side that work great . ------------- Life lesson: If you’re being chased by a lion, you’re on a horse, to the left of you is a giraffe and on the right is a unicorn, what do you do? You stop drinking and get off the carousel. |
Posted By: TimCNY
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 3:07pm
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Corn head grease? ------------- I need more than 200 characters for my "signature." I'd love to see that changed to 250! |
Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 6:39pm
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DEXTER's Easy Lube axle and wheel bearing is a similar set-up, but reversed. The grease zerk is located in the outer end of the axle, under the Dust Cap. The grease flows down the drilled middle of the axle, then flows out a cross-drilled hole between the Inner Axle Seal and the Inner Brg. Assm. The idea is you keep pumping Grease into the axle until it fills the Cavity in the Hub and eventually is pushed out through the Outer Brg. You then know that both brgs. have had Grease pushed through them. G |
Posted By: Dave H
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2021 at 7:53am
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Tim, that ain't the way to go. At least I wouldn't venture there.  Dang, Gary that was an excellent down and dirty on how the Dexter system works. As i recall, you should be turning the wheel when filling, not get in a hurry, and use the recommended grease so it flows properly.
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Posted By: Ted J
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2021 at 3:16am
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Great idee Dusty!! I'm gonna try that on mine. ------------- "Allis-Express" 19?? WC / 1941 C / 1952 CA / 1956 WD45 / 1957 WD45 / 1958 D-17 |
Posted By: Kansas99
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2021 at 6:48am
If there's room to drill a hole in hub between bearing races then you can push grease out both ways, sometimes you have to drill at a angle, but then you can thread the hub. I haven't seen a hub made that you can't do it. If any moisture dirt gets thru the cap you just push it thru both bearings with a grease zerk on the cap, if it's in the center you will always push moisture and dirt out of both bearings. ------------- "Thank you for your service Joe & the Ho"-----Joseph Stalin |
Posted By: ac hunter
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2021 at 8:23am
| Dad put grease fittings in the front hubs of his 1950 WD and 1954 WD-45, greased them once in a while and never had wheel bearing problems. The 1950 as far as I know still had the original bearings when I restored it a couple of years ago. |