I used undiluted Simple Green to cut the grease, rinsed with water and then flushed with brake cleaner. They dried in the sun in a few minutes. The bearings were so clean and dry that you could barely turn them.
I used a short section of wooden dowel and a hammer to tap out the grease seal. I replaced them with new seals.
1994 Coachman Catalina 280RK behind a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 6.0L + Equalizer 10,000# + Prodigy brake controller
The problem with gasoline is that is not a solvent, it has additives that dont get the job done, not to mention the fact that is is dangerous, you people are nuts to use gas, ha ha been doing it for years, yeah been smoking for years too and now you have to wheel around an oxygen tank because you cant breathe, gas is not the right tool for the job, you need solvent, if you dont have access to solvent, mineral spirits in an empty coffee can will do the trick just fine
Pete D wrote: A note on NOT allowing the bearings to spin when using compressed air to dry them - They spin really, really, nicely and can be a little hypnotic to watch, zipping around and around.
Problem is they were designed to zip around INSIDE that hub, not out in the free air with that flimsy cage to hold them down... When the cage fails, one now as a number of 25 caliber, blunt-nose bullets of armor-piercing material zip past one's very fragile eyes and skull -- This is not a good thing.
I had to laugh to myself when I read this. Years ago, I had a high school summer job working at a school bus garage. I was supposed to be doing paperwork but I loved to get my hands greasy in the mechanics area. I would volunteer to clean those huge bus axle wheel bearings. Would put them in the parts cleaner vat filled with 'varsol' (where can you find this stuff nowdays?). I then hit them with the compressed air. I would stand there for 5 minutes and watch those things spin at about 200mph. A miracle I never had my skull cracked open!
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