Grease packed to oil filled conversion

[Richard Davis]

I have a 2006 Monterey and would like to convert my front hubs from grease-packed to oil-filled.  Before I start the project, I would like to have the new parts on hand.  I have a Dana E-1200W front axle (per the build sheet).  BUT, I cannot find specific information for the front hubs.  Does anyone know the specifications (part #'s appreciated) for the oil seals and sight glass hub covers?  Any information is appreciated.  Thanks!

Richard

 

[Doug Allman]

Richard, The man you may want to get into contact with is Roy Mueller on your change over. He completed ours and I know he has done many others or helped others with info to do theirs.  If you do not have his telephone info email me at douglasallman@gmail.com and I will give to you. He does not use email.

[Mike Shumack]

May I ask why?
I also considered it, but after researching some, I now believe the grease packed hubs/bearings are better for those coaches (mine) that sit in one spot more than they are driven.

I'm not sure how much weight this study carries now (it's old now. 1984) but the Army concluded that grease was better (for them) than oil in their vehicles. I have the study in pdf document but it's too big (1,152KB) to attach here. Does anyone have alternate recommendations?

Here's a summary

[Richard Davis]

Mike

My MH does not sit for any length of time.  I use it regularly.  My two previous MH's had oil filled hubs and I liked them.  I really do not like the maintenance issues with grease-filled hubs.  I do all my own maintenance and I absolutely hate having to pull the hubs, clean out all the old grease and repack with fresh grease. 

Richard

[Doug Allman]

IMHO removing wheels and hubs, cleaning and repacking is not a routine maintenance many Coach Owners desire to have much less have the facility to do it in. It would be interesting to see what the definition is for "sitting a length of time".  Like a lot of other items that is sometimes quite different for unique entities that do completely different operations with their equipment.
I was in the USMC and it did not matter how many hours you worked there so tasks were never completed by how easy they were. You did them in the USMC just because you were present 24-7-365. I assume the ARMY was exactly the same to some extent.
We changed ours so that we could easily do the routine each year by just changing the oil. Draining the oil and replacing is hours different in the time and effort needed to complete and therefore makes it a task most are willing to accomplish. It is also a lot safer for those that routinely do not have the shop, jacks, tools and compressor to care for the grease packed bearings.

[Mike Shumack]

I pulled the right front tire off today -- This is what is one the '05 Patriot Thunder: 
Wheel Ends (Hubs) are Webb p/n 25741XM3T  (Webb hub series 2574).

I could not find a service manual, but did come up with bearing and seal numbers.  If you do a change over to "oil", post back if you find a different part number for an oil seal.

[Lee Welbanks]

Mike,
How did the grease and bearing look, has your fronts been serviced that you know of and how many miles on your coach? Was thinking of pulling mine off, have taken off the cap and the grease looks like the day it came out of the can.

[Dave Atherton]

Gentleman, grease versus oil in hubs. This subject has some pro and cons going away from
the way your motorhome was bought . My back ground with heavy equipment repair also
including trucks, lowboy 3 and 5 axle trailers etc. replacement hubs with grease saved many
repairs and down time on and off the road. We used high temperature grease in packing hubs
along with change out of wheel seals. Lee would add to that being a trucker in the earlier days.
The main thing I express understanding greasing the bearing itself if we are doing the job at
home. We would pack each bearing by hand and rolling it over and over to be sure all surfaces
covered. The next thing installing hub ( mainly a steer axle ) there is a correct procedure for
tighting spindle nuts and set torque to keep spindle nut and lock from backing off. I would
stress unless training on correct install of hub on a steering axle and correct tools including
Torque wrench Do Not Attempt to do this job. This is a very big safety issue for only trained
experience mechanics to preform.  Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic

[Lee Welbanks]

Well said Dave, front axle bearings need to be installed per the spec, using the proper tools. Have had to replace a few sets of brake shoes because of a leaking wet wheel seal.
You have to have a couple special to size seal drivers to properly install seals that will last and not leak.
One thing I have seen with the wet lube hubs and just changing the oil every year or so is that you never actually have a look at the bearings to see if something is going south. When we used to pull a hub the bearings all got washed and inspected for wear or something not normal and replaced if there was any problem. And never pull a hub and install without replacing the seal or you have a leak.

[Mike Shumack]

Mike,
How did the grease and bearing look, has your fronts been serviced that you know of and how many miles on your coach? Was thinking of pulling mine off, have taken off the cap and the grease looks like the day it came out of the can.

Lee, I don't know when the wheel bearings were last serviced. I don't see anything mentioning bearing inspection/repacking in the service records that I acquired with the coach. The grease looks good (I doubt that is 13 year old grease). Either way I'll plan on repacking these next year sometime. The coach has 46,000 miles on it.