How to Remove Old Grease From Wheel Bearings

Repacking your wheel bearings is an essential part of keeping your car's suspension running at its very best. Removing the old grease from your wheel bearings is a key step in wheel bearing maintenance and can be completed in just a few minutes.

Things You'll Need

• Shop rag
• Metal bucket or pan
• Spray-on solvent

Instructions

1. Remove the wheel bearings from your wheel hub and rub each individually with a shop rag to remove excess and old grease.

2. Work the rag into the crevices of the bearings to try to get as much grease as you can.

3. Place the wheel bearings in a bucket or a pan that can hold strong solvent.

4. Spray some solvent on the bearing to help cut the grease that you might have missed with the rag. Make sure it's a strong solvent that will eat through any stuck-on grease.

5. Allow the wheel bearings to sit in the solvent until all the grease has been cut away.

6. Let the wheel bearings air dry for about 10 minutes or until the solvent evaporates.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask the clerk at your local auto shop which solvent would be best for your bearings depending on the amount of grease residue.

• Make sure all of the grease is dissolved before reinstalling your wheel bearings.

• Don't use gasoline to clean your bearings. While gasoline cleans the grease you can't reach with your rag, the friction could cause your wheel bearings to ignite while driving.

Resources

• Learn more about maintaining your wheel bearings.