daver clasper Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi everyoneIs it better to grease the rear trunnion as it's called in haynes manual (or is it actually the bearing that's getting greased) with the rear jacked up to take load off axles.Wouldn't have thought it made a difference unlike the front trunnions.Also manual says no more than 5 pumps of grease gun as can get into brake drum. Shall I go with this ,or look for good grease coming out of a seal do you think.Also manual says every grease every 10,000 miles. This would be about every 5 years in my case. Grease more often?.As always, thanks for any advice.Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 It greases the wheel bearing, not the trunnion.If you overgrease it, you will end up with grease in the brakes (guess how I know that....). I'd be inclined towards 2 - 3 strokes every year and keep an eye out for escaping grease. Sometimes it goes the other way, which is better.Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scimher Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 ....I went a bit berserk on the rear offside with the grease-gun when my Herald was up in the air at my pals unit - possibly 'cos I wasn't meeting any resistance.......It transpired that I'd filled the brake drum with grease!! So beware! Strangely she's been off the road for ages as a result of that rear wheel bearing having gone - (a graunching noise coming from that wheel, anyhow...) I bought a pair of complete driveshaft assemblies on eBay so have the necessary to get the job done. It had been changed with a new driveshaft bearing assembly, complete, 6/7yrs. ago from a well known supplier. It hasn't been neglected, but managed only about 18k miles. The other side has never required any attention! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bitumen Boy Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Quoted from Scimher ...It had been changed with a new driveshaft bearing assembly, complete, 6/7yrs. ago from a well known supplier. It hasn't been neglected, but managed only about 18k miles... I wonder if that was the same "well known supplier" that I had a pair of recon assemblies off early in my Herald ownership, as those didn't last long either (strangely a recon gearbox from the same source has, touch wood, never given any problems). I got a hub puller and learnt to do it myself, much cheaper and longer lasting... 🙂 Mind you, I do think they take much more of a battering than they were intended to stand from the bad roads of today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Quoted from Scimher ....I went a bit berserk on the rear offside with the grease-gun when my Herald was up in the air at my pals unit - possibly 'cos I wasn't meeting any resistance.......It transpired that I'd filled the brake drum with grease!! This is usually a symptom of the inner driveshaft seal being fitted the wrong way around, with the lip facing inwards towards the bearing. The lip should face towards the diff end, it's intended to keep water out, rather than for keeping grease in. I know of at least one specialist who supplied them like this for many years, possibly as the result of an error in one of the workshop manual diagrams.As designed, the seal at the hub end has the lip facing inwards, so any pressure is released with at the inboard end where the grease can be forced out past the lip. With both seals orientated so their lips point inwards, there's a 50:50 chance of the grease escaping at the wrong end.Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver clasper Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Hi and thanks a lot for getting back.Bill. Are you saying, even with the seals fitted correctly with lip towards the diff, there's still a 50/50 chance of the grease going into the drum.Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I believe he is saying that if there is no easy way out, it could go either way. This implies that with the seal correctly aligned (providing one easy way out) the excess should not go into the brake drum.However, I have still had some seepage towards the brake drum when the seal has been fitted correctly. It should only be a couple of pumps and any excess can be cleaned up without causing problems.I have also had incorrect fitting from a supplier (probably that mentioned above) and they refused to accept that they were wrong.C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Quoted from Casper I believe he is saying that if there is no easy way out, it could go either way. Yes, that's what I meant. I always grease the trunnions with the brake drums removed so I can observe anything exuding beyond the backplate, especially when the history of the halfshafts is unknown...Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollysdad Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I am a bit confused as to which way round the seals go sorry. If I had a cross section through the hub would the seals be the same way round or opposite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Both the same way around with the "spring side" pointing towards the centre of the carNick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scimher Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 ...Thanks Bill.....Maybe that's why there is a noise, presumably meaning the bearing has given up the ghost. Due to have the whole thing changed as mentioned previously... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollysdad Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from Nick Jones Both the same way around with the "spring side" pointing towards the centre of the carNick Thanks Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herald948 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from daver clasper ...grease the rear trunnion...manual says no more than 5 pumps of grease gun as can get into brake drum. I admit to being a bit confused about the "no more than 5 pumps" part. What manual is that from? My early edition of the Factory Herald 1200 / Spitfire / Vitesse workshop manual says to grease until it exudes from the bearing. And that's pretty much what I have always done. I don't currently have access to all my factory literature, but I don't recall seeing any such "limitation" on rear hub greasing in any of the workshop or owners manuals, only on the water pump and steering rack (5 strokes only). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver clasper Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hi.It's in the Haynes manual for Vitesse/gT6 in "Suspension and Steering" section 2, though it says 12,000 miles, so I got that bit wrong.Took me a while to find it, but had to find out I wasn't going mad!.Had a look in handbook for Vitesse and it's as you say.Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herald948 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Haynes manual, eh? That might explain the confusion. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from herald948 My early edition of the Factory Herald 1200 / Spitfire / Vitesse workshop manual says to grease until it exudes from the bearing. And that's pretty much what I have always done. ... and they will often take a lot more than five strokes from a grease gun.Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky_spit Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 On my Spitfire (same rear end as Herald of course) I grease the bearings about 4 times a year, as I'm a bit anal about making sure they are fully greased. On the offside it escapes out onto the shaft; on the nearside the grease escapes into the drum; so I always take the nearside drum off when I do this and clean the excess out. I pump until clean grease appears, and spin the shafts afterwards for a bit to make sure the excess has come out.As said, it might seem to be a bit obsessive, but at least I know that they have been fully greased and hopefully are okay for the long distance events that we do. One shaft is 47 years old and the other 20 years old, and are both still okay - fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollysdad Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from Nick Jones Both the same way around with the "spring side" pointing towards the centre of the carNick is this the same for rotoflex hubs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver clasper Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from Rarebits ... and they will often take a lot more than five strokes from a grease gun.Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver clasper Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Gave mine only 5 strokes over a year ago (the bearings that is).Best get on it.Is it best to jack up and do in droop position?.Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from daver clasper Is it best to jack up and do in droop position?. The drop's not important, but it's worth getting it up in the air and taking off the drums to see what goes on behind...Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsbody47uk Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from Mollysdad is this the same for rotoflex hubs? No. You grease rotoflex hubs on assembly or bearing change. Cheers, Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollysdad Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Quoted from Dogsbody47uk No. You grease rotoflex hubs on assembly or bearing change. Cheers, Dave. sorry I meant the direction of the seals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver clasper Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 HiGreased them today and grease came out of the correct end, so handy for the future.Thanks a lot for all your input.Also does anyone know if the sliding/telescopic rear end of propshaft requires maintenance. There is a grease nipple on the UJ, but this appears to be for the UJ bearings.Cheers, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Quoted from Mollysdad is this the same for rotoflex hubs? No. The spring sides of the seals should both face into the bearing assembly.Propshaft sliding spline usually has a blanking plug located at the UJ end of the female section, which is removed to temporarily fit a grease nipple.Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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