I am planing on removing my front brake bearings,cleaning them and greasing them.
Can i use brake cleaner to do this? will they seize if i use the old type brake cleaners?
Whats a good choice for grease?
thanks

You must be talking about wheel bearings. You can clean them with brake cleaner, but make sure it's all cleaned out, and done blow air through the bearing and let it free wheel dry. You'll want to use wheel bearing grease. I'm pretty sure there is a DIY here somewhere. Also let people know what car your working on, it will help them answer your question.

__________________

I am working on the 87 300d.

yup. brake cleaner is fine, (EXPENSIVE, but fine.) either type will be fine to clean out the old grease, I like to use a shop rag to get all the grease out of the hub, and put the hubs in a parts washer to flush out and clean the bearings and the hub. be sure and buy new seals before you take the hub apart.
be sure and have the right tools for setting end play on the bearings.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Is there a set of part numbers for those tools?

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

magnetic base and a dial indicator

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I know that and I know it can be had from HF, but pardon the stupidity, I don't know exactly what items I'm looking for... I don't think p/ns have ever been provided...

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

the magnetic base is a simple tool, the dial indicator needs to have tight enough resolution to show .003-.005" of movement. any brand indicator will do fine. most bases have adjustable arms to allow the dial indicator to be positioned for best adjustment indication.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-623.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/multipositional-magnetic-base-with-fine-adjustment-5645.html

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Don't mix up the sides when cleaning - keep the lefts separate from the rights so the correct bearing goes back into the correct race (or cup, or whatever you choose to call it).

I wipe off the excess grease, then wash the bearings in a can of gas with a small brush. rinse in fresh gas, then use a spray can of brake cleaner to finish them. then let them air dry.

I would caution using compressed air to spin dry them.

If i use compressed air, I don`t let them spin.

I have one of those cone shaped grease packers. place to bearing over the shaft, and screw down the top half. then pump grease in the zirk fitting. afterwords, remove the bearing and work the grease in by hand.


I picked up the digital dial indicator from HF on sale for $10. cheapest I have ever seen it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-sae-metric-digital-indicator-93295.html

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works