[LittleCinqCoupe]

I'm planning on replacing my rear brake drums this weekend. I have the parts and the torque wrench all lined up.

I bought the drums with the bearing already pressed in, and I've read the great how-to's on this site and focushack.com too (thank you if you helped with any of the write ups).

One thing I've noticed is that no one is packing their bearings with grease before installation. Would it hurt anything if I packed them with grease anyways? Has anyone else done this before?

TIA

 

[sailor]

The problem is that you can easily damage the seals trying to remove & replace them to add extra grease.

One member posted that it CAN be done, and added pictures/descriptions not long ago.

Up to you - as you mentioned, it's VERY seldom done.

 

[pasta]

are they sealed

 

[Humphrey]

They are most likely sealed. My father routinely removes the seal cover and cleans out the bearings then adds more grease. Just have to be REAL carful removing that seal.

 

[Highball116]

There's no need -- it's a sealed bearing and it's new out of the box. I work on bowling pinsetters and a lot of those guys like to repack their old bearings to get more life out of them, but those have a bajillion rotations on them and they've lost a little grease. If you over-pack them, the grease will ooze out when it warms up a little, so I don't know why it's necessary to add to a new one.

Toby

 

[Marde]

You might consider painting the drums black first? Here is what I did, -and my story with some AutoZone drums->
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=412930

If I had time and had to do it all over again; I might take new (non-Ford branded) drums with bearings already installed -and- replace the brand new cheapo bearing with a reputable brand bearing. Timken or other known good ones. Most people don't have the time, money or patience to do it. -me included.

Edit: I would not do it myself, not enough experience with a press and this type of bearing, -afraid Marde might mess-up a brand new bearing. I would find a pro with proper drift/guide/press; to help ensure new bearing does not get messed up during install.