Greasing/Antisieze on Bearings/Bearing Cups

[UNC201]

I'm not the foremost expert when it comes to this...

When putting a sealed bearing back into a bearing cup of some sorts....(in my case it's auger shafts that fit on the chassis, or a drive pulley/impeller bearing), do you put the bearing onto the bearing cup dry, just crease the metal faces, and or is it okay to wipe a light coat of grease on the faces/shield of the bearing itself. Assuming grease attracts grit/dirt (the synthetic Superlube grease I use) tends to not attract dirt/dust as much in my experience. I don't think there is a possibility that the product may SEEP past the seal, but what about antiseize ?

For example, on 1 shaft, if I was to use marinegrade antiseizem when I slide the impeller onto the shaft, it does somewhat *push the antisieze* down the ends of the shaft....which the bearing is at.

Thoughts.

Do I keep these bearings as dry/greaseless as possible, a light coat of grease all around is a good idea, or just a dab on the metal shell.

 

[bluestream]

Anti-seize has no place on Marine drive sytems

 

[UNC201]

Not marine drive....snow salty conditions (snowblower). Their auger system does not have zerks fittings and there is only about 5 inches on the shaft. Since the item does not spin on the shaft, I'm using marinegrade antisieze to minimize washout...

 

[rclint]

I have used anti-seize and grease extensive when put bearings on shafts ( and in a marine type environment 60% of the time) anti-seize is the best at preventing the bearing from coming off.. the best bet if you can find it is get some copper spray anti-seize.. I would think copper would be the best, spray would make it super easy at getting a good coating.

I was dealing with a bearing in a constant wet environment, the bearing was sealed type on both sides, yet still life of bearing was ridiculous low.. I run a trial on 1 using anti-seize on top of the bearing, which I'm sure some got in ( this is the normal gray stuff in a plastic bottle with screw on cap/brush) the bearing never failed, still in use, and the manufacture then sent note after the above was done that a synthetic grease or special type was required (we were told this grease was $600 a tube) and they give us little vials like of a few ounces to use.. it also done as good as the anti-seize not withstanding the price difference.

Anti-seize is an excellent lube, I use the copper type all the time for a lube with no problems outlasting most of the lubes that are advertised as being top of the line.

 

[Kestas]

Lubricant is recommended for any bearing installation. A thin film is usually good enough.

I don't believe there is a problem with buttering the outside of a sealed bearing with grease. It should only help. I remember reading in a grease book that grease can sometimes act as a barrier and keep dirt out of an application, whereas oil cannot.

 

[sciphi]

Good to know. The outside of the wheel hub just put onto the Buick got slathered with regular gray anti-seize where it went into the steering knuckle. Figured it was going to fail in a few years, so may as well make it easy to replace. I'll rest easy knowing it's just fine.

 

[Kestas]

Good job - this is exactly where we are having serious problems with wheel hub replacement during warranty. The corrosion at that location grows to the point that it's horribly difficult to remove bearings from knuckles, especially aluminum ones. Imagine how bad the problem is OUT of warranty!