anti-seize on hub surfaces and grease on lip???

[JHZR2]

Hi,

My 04 saab 9-3 came with anti-seize on the hub mating surfaces and some green grease on the lip where the wheel sits.

Pics below - I had copper anti-seize, so that is what I put on when I put on my snow tires... the hub surface isnt that rusty

usually Ive used the silver-colored stuff.

The grease that was on the lip combined with brake dust to make some real dirty junk seen at the right angle from the lip to the hub surface... that is not rusting of the hub. I did scrape the green grease and put a bit of Pennzoil 707L disc brake wheel bearing grease on.

Question is, I know that a bit of AS on the mating surfaces is useful if the wheels arent normally removed... but is AS really necessary, and if so, does it need to be renewed every time the wheels are off?

Also, any ideas why they'd put some grease around the hub lip? Its definitely a green grease product... not grease that is a carrier for the AS. Is it necessary to replace that? I dont see why, but if they do it OEM, Ill do it.

Both things Ill likely continue doing, its more of a curiosity.

Thanks

 

[XS650]

I see no reason to not use AS on the flat mating surface and the lip. If the lip to wheel fit on your Saab is as close a fit as on my VW, then you need something there to keep things from corroding together.

If I read your picture correctly, it looks like you have more AS than necessary on there and it's not evenly spread all over. It might get flung onto the brake disk.

A bit of AS on a small piece of rag could be wiped over the mating surface to clean and protect it in about a minute per wheel. If I lived in corrosion country I would do that if the wheel had been on a couple of months or more. That may be overkill, but that's better than under kill and it will make you feel virtuous

 

[andyd]

I just use what ever grease is in the gun at the time. One application is usually good for a couple of yrs.

 

[road_rascal]

I use a light coating of silver AS on my wheel hubs. Works great.

 

[FowVay]

This is common practice that I see on nearly all Euro cars. The grease on the hub lip is to prevent the wheel from seizing in place.

For these types of application I personally recommend the use of Molykote M77 (made by Dow-Corning) to prevent galling between stationary parts and to prevent lip-to-wheel bonding. It is used for factory application at Honda in the USA and Japan and I believe that it's also used by OPEL in Europe.

Here's some data for application use:

-Molykote G-807 silicone compound is a stiff, non-melting compound for rubber boots that reduces friction and provides good corrosion and water resistance.

-Molykote G-407 grease minimizes fretting corrosion of the guide pins in floating caliper designs and is compatible with rubber dust boots that protect these pins.

-Molykote M-77 extreme pressure lubricating paste reduces noise and squeak at braking.

-Molykote AS-880N grease is specially designed for preventing squeak of brake shims to reducing vibration from disc pads.

It's available from specialty auto supply houses nationwide.

 

[Gary Allan]

I've used AS since the time I needed a heavy dead blow hammer to get the tire/wheel off to service the brakes.

 

[mechtech2]

A bit of lube is for corrosion protection - an aluminum wheel can weld itself to the hub. Even after removal and cleaning, it may not sit true and square again.
I use a light smear of synthetic wheel bearing grease on both [clean] mating surfaces.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: road_rascal
I use a light coating of silver AS on my wheel hubs. Works great.


That's my favorite color AS too.

A question for the greasers in this thread...

Why do you prefer grease over AS?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: XS650


If I read your picture correctly, it looks like you have more AS than necessary on there and it's not evenly spread all over. It might get flung onto the brake disk.




Thanks for the analysis... I put some on a paper towel (scott shop rags - good stuff!) and wiped it thin. Im always curious how thin should thin be... guess thinner than that

Thanks!

 

[mechtech2]

Grease withstands road and climate conditions better than anti seize.
Anti seize is good when there is no exposure.
Bacon grease is better than nothing, so of course some have had success with anti seize on hubs.
Over the years, I found synthetic wheel bearing grease to be better.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: XS650


If I read your picture correctly, it looks like you have more AS than necessary on there and it's not evenly spread all over. It might get flung onto the brake disk.




Thanks for the analysis... I put some on a paper towel (scott shop rags - good stuff!) and wiped it thin. Im always curious how thin should thin be... guess thinner than that

Thanks!



Thin enough that it won't fling onto the brake disk does the job.

and

Mechtech, thanks for the explanation of grease vs AS in your post.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Grease withstands road and climate conditions better than anti seize.
Anti seize is good when there is no exposure.
Bacon grease is better than nothing, so of course some have had success with anti seize on hubs.


You get dogs licking your wheels instead of whizzing on them.

Bacon grease cut with a bit of kerosene is an outstanding cutting lube for steel. Cleanup is a bear, not cleaning it up is worse

 

[andyd]

Just about anything that seals the metal from air/moisture should work. The 1st time I experienced this was on a 75 LTD with steel wheels. The wheels defied every attempt at freeing them. Finally, I loosend the lug nuts and drove in figure 8s in a parking lot until I heard the wubba wubba noise. On my bimmers I have had to use an 8' length of 2X6 applied from the opposite side to jar them loose. Grease is a lot easier

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Grease withstands road and climate conditions better than anti seize.
Anti seize is good when there is no exposure.
Bacon grease is better than nothing, so of course some have had success with anti seize on hubs.
Over the years, I found synthetic wheel bearing grease to be better.


OT but bacon grease is GREAT at removing permanent ink......... Even suck it out of stained wood while leaving the wood stain behind.

 

[Shannow]

We used to use bacon grease on our pig leather footballs.

Stitching wouldn't rot out anywhere near as fast.