grease zerk w/ needle

[gman2304]

When replacing front tires on my JD riding mower yesterday, I noticed the front wheel bearings were a little rough. I went and priced 4 new bearings at dealer and was told they were $14.95 each! On such a low speed machine I passed because of the price. On the way home I stopped by a NAPA dealer and bought a package of 2 zerk fittings with a needle attached for $7.00. Went home and hooked the fittings to my grease gun and squirted several shots of Valvoline Extended Protection grease into each side of the bearings through the rubber seal on each side of the bearings. It smoothed the bearings right out and hopefully will extend the life of the bearings considerably. Has anybody else tried this on old bearings? It might be a cheap fix on a low speed type of application. I don't know if it would work as well on say, U joints but might be worth a try. Thanks

 

[The_Jeff]

Look for bearings on amazon and ebay. If they're 6203s you can get a ten pack for $11.

 

[vssjim]

If they feel good they will probably be ok, I have regreased bearings like this before but usually in dirty working conditions to keep out dirt and water before they are rough.

 

[rrguy]

I have used those needles to buy time on non greaseable applications that need to stay running an has worked well.

Making a hole in that seal probably ok if you can keep bearing full of grease. Once bearings are feeling rough there usually is wear & contaminants insde that the needle won't fix or purg out with seals still on. You are probably good for a season or 2 in that application & maybe just repeat? Usually I like to remove the wheel replace the bearing or inside seal purge out old dirty grease & pack the hub so there is plenty of grease inside if it works out the bearing stays lubed. Probably good for life of machine.