Wheel bearing grease

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by Goldenstate

Years ago I used to work on logging trucks on weekends that were abused all week long on dirt roads. One thing I remember is that even then, the wheel bearings on the trailer axles were being lubricated in an oil bath. We used a heavy oil of around 90 wt. to fill the housing. There was a clear heavy plastic window on the end of the axles to keep track of the oil level. The seals back then were the weak point and would need replacement, but the bearings seemed to last forever with the heavy oil for lubrication. I can see why heavy oil in wheel bearings can work well instead of thicker grease.

I have a 6 or 7 ton diesel driven mobile air conditioner that moves some where over 1 million BTUs per hour that I work on. It has oil bath hubs also. I had never seen oil bath hubs on anything big like that before or since.
I had only seen them on ATVs before that.