I have a jacked up 86 f250 4x4 that i use as a hunting buggy and run fairly often in water up to 3 1/2 feet deep. It has big tires also. The front is a Dana 44 IFS.

What is the best grease to use in the front hubs and bearings for this truck? Presently i use a normal wheel bearing grease with moly. I have considered installing a zerk on the front hubs and the rear axle so i can pump grease into the bearing areas occasionally. Has any one pressured the front and rear differentials to maybe 2 pounds pressure to help keep the water out? i know they are vented but if i remove the vents and replace with an air source of 2 pounds will this help keep the water out or just ruin the seals?

Thanks for your help,

 

any pressure will just push the grease out the seals, plus they are going to build up more pressure then two lbs just from heat build up and then when it cools off it would suck the seals inwards. I use standard wheel bearing grease and jsut learn to repack them at least once amonth when i incurr more than one wheeling trip. I tried synthetic but it broke down alot easier and was just too runny.

 

If you visit the Timken Bearing website, there are some articles there about greasing wheel bearings. One of the articles states that a hub should never be filled with grease and they explain why. Your best bet is to follow Ford's recommendation of repacking the bearings after they have been submerged. You might want to consider using a marine type grease which still meets the heat requirements of disc brake grease. Marine grease will not break down as readily when it gets water mixed in with it.

You can put extra long vent hoses on the rearend vents. You can run the rear one up to the frame, over and then up in behind a tailight. You could run the front one up to a place under the hood somewhere.

 

Thanks guys, i appreciate the help. I think i will go with marine grease. I don't want to repack every time i'm out--that could be every weekend. I'm more interested in hunting than pulling wheels and repacking. The loads aren't that bad--speeds are very slow, i always run in 4x4 low and 1st gear so it slow slow. No problems with heat build up.

Usually i pack the hubs as full as possible to minimize the space open for water. That was the reason for the comment about installing a zerk and pumping some grease in. Maybe if i installed a relief plug so i could pull it and pump in new grease to purge the hub of any water and contimanated grease. It's a drag to do this in the bush at the camp. I want to be able to service the truck once per season and forget it.

 

If you can't find the high temperature marine grease, at least use some that meets the NL-G2 specs. Some of that marine grease can be really thin.

 

I would pull the hub's off at least every other time to make sure there isn't any water of anything in there, its quick and easy to do and is a good insurance policy.

 

heat builds up just from moving it around slowly, it is just natural, that is why there are vents on just about everything. I ran all my vent lines (gas, both axles, t-case, tranny)all up behind the brake booster.

I know it sucks to repack but it is the only way, i use to wheel every weekend but i got tired of repacking, when i waited a month to repack i spun both front wheel bearings and ended up cracking both rotors trying to get them off, and also need new spindles.

No matter how much grease is in there dirt and water will still get sucked in around the hub dials and seals and trash your ****...live & learn, it may hit your wallet hard though

 

Just a pinch of dirt in there, and it turns into sandpaper.

 

In Florida you have sand and saltwater these two things are deadly to your bearings and seals so 4x4ing is going to be expensive on the maintaining your truck. You may try a industial lithuim high heat grease the stuff is expensive but better than the regular bearing grease. We use it on our tractor and on the mowers and trucks we use in clearing the property in Louisana. The clay and sand in the swampy areas can get nasty.