Wheel bearing grease covering wheels

[BC0979]

I have only 95 hrs on my Savannah S now and I have had to clean the wheels of greesy dirt. It appears that the bearing grease caps do not seal, so grease comes out on both sides of all three wheels.

The caps are just thin metal caps without any rubber seal.

Are you having the same issue or did I not install them correctly?

 

Thank you in advance for your response!

[Moneybox]

What type of bearings do you have?

My Sportstar has pre-packed sealed bearings that are never likely to leak unless badly worn out.

 

If you have bearings, tapered rollers or ball bearings that you must pack with grease then the correct method is to use grease sparingly. You pack the bearing itself but not the hub that it's inserted into. This allows a lot of air space between bearings where any spare grease can go. If you completely fill the hub with grease it will always leak. Bearings only need a small amount of grease to operate for the period between major services. You should use wheel bearing grease.

[onetrack]

The grease caps are not designed to keep grease in, they are there to keep dirt, dust and moisture out of the bearings. If the wheel hub is overfilled with grease, it will leak out and spread across the wheels.

The simple solution is to take the hubs off, clean out the excess amounts of grease, and reinstall the hubs and bearings with just the bearing cups and cones containing grease.

As Moneybox says, the centre hollow section of the hub does not need to be filled with grease, it is only hollow to save a lot of unnecessary weight in the hub casting.

[BC0979]

I have the tapered roller bearings in all wheels.

I hand packed them throughly then

I did add alot of extra grease into the hubs which is what the both of you have stated not to do....

 

Thanks for the replies 

[facthunter]

Just use  double sealed Ball Bearings. Aero wheels spin at High revs some times and  grease is Just Oil Mixed with a stearate (Usually Lithium) SOAP. For heavier work you can't beat Tapered rollers (properly sealed). Nev

[onetrack]

Facthunters advice is good. Ball bearings are designed for light loads, taper roller bearings are designed to carry heavier loads, and to last longer. The early automotive wheel bearings were simple ball bearings, but the manufacturers gradually found taper roller bearings provided better service under a much wider range of road conditions, and wide variations in loading. In addition, taper roller bearings became cheaper as manufacturing methods improved, and sales levels increased.

 

However, in recent years, the light vehicle manufacturers have returned to using sealed ball bearings in a move designed to reduce friction losses, and to improve fuel economy figures.

As aircraft wheel use is designated light duty, intermittent use, sealed ball bearings in the wheel hubs would be a completely satisfactory alternative to taper roller bearings.

[BC0979]

Is there a sealed bearing that I can swap out for the tapered bearings without requiring machining of the hubs?

[Blueadventures]

22 hours ago, BC0979 said:

I have only 95 hrs on my Savannah S now and I have had to clean the wheels of greesy dirt. It appears that the bearing grease caps do not seal, so grease comes out on both sides of all three wheels.

The caps are just thin metal caps without any rubber seal.

Are you having the same issue or did I not install them correctly?

 

Thank you in advance for your response!

Is it factory or owner built and email Australian agent and ICP overseas for their advice.  You could also phone bearing supplier with your bearing number and they can give alternate types of sealed bearings that will fit.

[Moneybox]

46 minutes ago, BC0979 said:

Is there a sealed bearing that I can swap out for the tapered bearings without requiring machining of the hubs?

 

I think these bearings do so little work it hardly worth a major modification. Take out the excess grease, close the caps and forget about it until the next major service.

[facthunter]

The sealed ball bearing  has 2RS after the Usual ball Bearing number It's easy to get Bearing dimensions and the Metric ones are WAY cheaper. If you can get around to it a  substantial fixed length spacer between each race will strengthen the axle and make adjustment More easy. as you only have to tighten the Nut to the correct torque and you don't apply load on the races. A bit of chain oils sprayed around in there will facilitate disassembly and stop corrosion. Water Kills Ball Bearings. Occasionally lift a wheel and spin it. There should be NO race noise, play or resistance to  rotation. Nev

[trike1]

Two of these sealed bearings in each wheel is all you need.Technically you should have a spacer between the two inner races to prevent excessive side load but if your not too ham fisted doing up the wheel retaining nut you’ll be sweet

[Moneybox]

1 hour ago, trike1 said:

Two of these sealed bearings in each wheel is all you need.Technically you should have a spacer between the two inner races to prevent excessive side load but if your not too ham fisted doing up the wheel retaining nut you’ll be sweet

We don’t all land in line with the runway 🥹 so that spacer helps spread the side thrust. I guess that’s why they fitted tapered roller bearings.

[facthunter]

The spacer tightened enough makes the Axle More strong as a cantilever (in bending). It also ensures you don't overload the Bearings with excessive side Loading when you tighten the Nut. Always check the wheel spins free. 2 sealed ball races willDOthe Job but the Best is like all frontwheels used to be. A big and a smaller taper roller with a cap and a seal.  ( Like a Boat  trailer.) Nev