Was the grease mixture in the front bearings a problem?

[ekrampitzjr]

Before I bought my 2011 Ford Ranger, the new-car dealer service department (not a Ford dealer) turned the front brake rotors, which are integral with the hub. The truck was due for relubing or replacing the front bearings anyway, since it had just over 100K miles. When I looked at it one increasingly hot day in June, I saw that gray grease and red grease were together in the bearings. The new-car dealer had removed the rotor/hub assemblies and added a bit of grease on reassembly. Ford calls for lithium grease, and I'm guessing that was the gray grease and the dealer had added the red stuff. It could be the other way around.

I decided to do it right and replaced the front rotor/hub assemblies, bearings, and seals today. When apart, it was obvious the two greases had mixed because everything was a funny violet color. The driver's side wheel spindle had a small area of surface rust that polished right off with sandpaper, maybe from a drop of water coming from somewhere during reassembly.

Everything was thoroughly cleaned or replaced and put back together, and I used Red Line CV-2 grease. No traces of the old greases remain. I'm wondering if those two greases mixing could have led to a problem down the road, assuming one was Ford lithium (gray) and the other was, say, Lucas (red). Just curious.

 

[danez_yoda]

As with many things in life, its doubtful but possible... It probably cause you more mental stress than any mechanical or corrosion stress to the vehicle.

 

[vw7674]

lithium based don't play well with the other (petroleum?) type. They liquify each other. Which does allow escape from a CV joint boot & destruction / cracking of the 'cage' portion of the joint.<<yeah, I did it : (<<. If it's trapped in a hub with decent seals the damage is probably far less dramatic. & expensive Still not healthy practice though.

 

[chemman]

Grease color does not necessarily dictate whether or not the grease is a lithium based grease.

For example, Mystic JT-6 High Temp Grease and Mystic JT-6 High Temp Grease with Moly are both lithium complex based greases, but one is red (non moly grease) and the other is gray (moly grease). Also, Peak High-Temp Red Grease and Peak Multi-Purpose Grease are both lithium complex based greases but are different colors. And lastly, Chevron Delo Grease EP is a blue colored lithium complex grease and Chevron Delo Grease EPI is a red colored lithium complex grease.

 

[Marcozi]

You might want to try this: https://www.redlineoil.com/cv-2-grease. Redline doesn't make wheel bearing grease anymore but this is a fine substitute.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

You might want to try this: https://www.redlineoil.com/cv-2-grease. Redline doesn't make wheel bearing grease anymore but this is a fine substitute.

That is exactly what I used.

 

[wpod]

Bad hub seals or a grove worn on the seal surface?

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Bad hub seals or a grove worn on the seal surface?

If you're talking about the very light corrosion I found on the left spindle, no, everything was good. The seal and seal surface were in excellent condition. The corrosion was in the middle of the spindle, midway between the seal and the spindle nut. All it would have taken for that is a drop of water from somewhere while the disc/hub assembly was off. Lots can happen in an auto shop.

 

[JDenyer232]

Grease color does not necessarily dictate whether or not the grease is a lithium based grease.

For example, Mystic JT-6 High Temp Grease and Mystic JT-6 High Temp Grease with Moly are both lithium complex based greases, but one is red (non moly grease) and the other is gray (moly grease). Also, Peak High-Temp Red Grease and Peak Multi-Purpose Grease are both lithium complex based greases but are different colors. And lastly, Chevron Delo Grease EP is a blue colored lithium complex grease and Chevron Delo Grease EPI is a red colored lithium complex grease.

Exactly, I use 4 different color greases in my machine shop and they are all lithium based greases. Color means nothing.

 

[68redlines73]

I would imagine that Ford called for lithium complex rather than plain lithium…