Friction Test 2:18 Heat Test 25:15 Water Test 40:48 Greases come in a verity of forms and consistencies, for this video I’ll only be reviewing wheel bearing greases NLGI Grade 2.
For the most part you can just grab some grease from your local auto parts store and call it a day.
However if you own a Mercedes you will find that you need a Mercedes approved grease FOR WHEEL BEARINGS!! Let’s get a better understanding of what wheel bearings are made out of. METAL! And only a few manufactures make wheel bearings. SO what does metal like? Lubrication, plain and simple.
Now that we know that, let’s see what makes a good lubrication for Metal wheel bearings. Mercedes Benz is no exception.
We have ratings, ingredients, temperature tolerances; wash out ratings, Composition, and so on.
For automotive purposes we need to look at a few ratings by the
NLGI which stands for the National Lubricating Grease Institute.
SO usually you will see a number after NLGI. Most likely it will be #1, 2, or 3. Most automotive bearing greases are #2. The number represents the hardness of the grease. #000 is closer to a fluid where as #6 is more like a solid. Think of cheese. #2 is closer to the consistency of warm peanut butter. This is good for protection and coefficient of friction.
Another rating to look for is GC-LB which indicates whether the grease is acceptable for chassis and disk brake applications (wheel bearings). (LB) meaning it is acceptable for Chassis and (GC) meaning it is acceptable for wheel- bearings
Next we'll look at ingredients: there is lithium, moly, aluminum and so on. For most automotive wheel bearing applications lithium is the best choice. There is also synthetic greases which offer high heat ranges and added protection
NOW the big one, COLOR, Mercedes grease is green. Most other greases are RED. SO what’s the difference??? Green, red, white, and purple are usually made with lithium.
White Gray-black is aluminum and gray-black is lithium with moly
So your green Mercedes grease isn't magical except for the PRICE. $6.00 dollars for 150 grams compared to $5-10 dollars for 1lb of the same grease.
So, to sum it up. When looking for chassis- wheel-bearing grease, pay attention to NLGI and LB GC ratings, whether its lithium based, and the operating temp of the grease. Everything else will be extra goodies that the manufacture adds like rust protection, thickeners, antiwear additives ect.
So at the end of the day the most important thing is that you pack your bearings correctly and that there is plenty of grease in the hub assembly, and that you're using the CORRECT grease for the right application. I hope this helps. I have provided some links in the description below to help you with your buying decisions.
Mobil 1
Fuchs
Timken
Greases tested in this video:
Lamb Components
Fuchs Renolit Replex 2
Timken
Mobil 1
Super Lube
Febi
Fuchs Renolit LX-PEP 2
Fuchs Renolit S2TX
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