<VV> EM rear wheel bearing grease ...

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

>Ray, it is Clarks part # C319A. It is a rubber seal (same style seal as used for 
>differential yokes, crankshaft seals, shift rod seal etc).
>
><<This felt seal you mention might be what I'm missing.? 
>


There is only one seal on each front wheel hub -- the grease cap is on 
one end of the assembly, covering the nut that holdsthe hub on, and the 
seal is one the other end of the hub.  In the olden days, these seals 
were sometimes felt (which you soaked in oil before installing them) 
sandwiched in a steel shell, but the have largely been replaced by stuff 
you could call "rubber" bonded to a steel piece.  I really don't see 
anyone capable of repacking their front bearings  putting them back on 
the car without this seal as it would obviously destroy your brakes in 
short order -- I think you are worried over nothing.

The seals for the rear axle bearings are sorta different than the front 
seals.  60-62 rear bearings are fairly easy to service.  The 63-64 rear 
bearings have the cast iron shell and are much harder to access to clean 
and inspect.  Tech Guide I has an excellent item on servicing these 
earlier bearings, which I am not going to repeat here.  Some folks will 
say you can't use modern solvents to clean bearings to reinstall them, 
but they are full of hogwash -- yes, there is a smidgen of truth to 
their tales, but they are based on pre-WW II lubricants and solvents, 
where one did need to clean their bearings in kerosene instead of 
gasoline. The cast bearing shells do require the use of a spacer that is 
not used with the earlier stamped steel shells.

Adding grease zirks to either the front or rear is most likely going to 
pave the way for further disasters and attendant repairs -- it is not 
The Solution.  Easier, maybe, but ...

Bill Strickland