-
Oil in Front and Tag bearings
One thing I haven’t done is change oil in front ant tag bearings, Do you remove bolts and pull cover and drain oil, put new gasket on and fill with new gear lube 75w 80w , how much do they hold and is synthetic better and OK to use, do you replace the hole cover or just the gasket. do I need new rubber caps?
-
4 Replies
-
I have no idea how much it holds, but the important part is to get the level correct. The actual level is about 1/8″ up from the bottom on the clear part of the hub cover. To get to that level is going to take a little time because the viscosity of the gear lube is such that it takes time to flow past the outer wheel bearing. I make the initial fill pretty substantial, like all the way up to the hole in the cap, and then wait for it to seep past the bearing.
After a little time it gets to the actual fill level, but don’t assume it is at the correct level without waiting a period of time for the heavy gear oil to reach its level by seeping past the bearing.
The rubber center plug should be a snug fit, but more importantly make sure the center needle sized hole in the plug is open. That tiny opening is important because it allows the hub to breathe as it gets hot from driving and then cools. Failure to provide that air hole can force gear oil out past the seal as things heat up and the oil expands.
My only criteria for changing gear oil in the steer or tag hubs was color. As long as the oil was a gold or slightly brown color I did not change it. Obviously it a seal failed then it got changed, but if it wasn’t broke I did not fix it. A check of hub temps periodically confirmed bearing health.
-
What about synthetic oil?
-
I seriously doubt any one of uses a coach enough to even be able to determine what difference synthetic will make, but I used synthetic at my last differential change just because that was what was on the shelf.
-
I’ve added synthetic to mine.
1999 XLV X-6872, liberty #440
Log in to reply.