Originally Posted By: Fred_Garvin
Lift both axles fill partially with diesel and run for 10-15 min then drain and fill with GL5 of your choice. It has been more times than you can imagine in the past. The damage from the water is far worse than any damage you think will be caused by the diesel.
If you have not driven it with the water in the axles there should be none in the hubs. If you have then it may be wise to pull the wheels/hubs and clean and inspect the bearings. If old enough some rear axle hubs were packed with grease But you would have to go back to the mid 70's or earlier.
Hi
Thanks for the responses
Good call Fred.
I posted the question and received some considered responses. Buddy went ahead without our carefull considerations. However, he is no fool and went ahead and refilled the diffs with the cheapest 80-90 he could find, then went for a short drive. Good, but not good enough, with wind chills in the -30 C range he was not able to warm the wheel bearings enough.
Fred, you made a good call, as when one wheel was removed to check the wheel bearings ( as the were grease packed, 72 vintage chassis), the bearing was packed In white cream. So obviously water conmanination has reached the wheel bearings and now all wheels will need a complete wash and repack.
Oh well nothing like hard [censored] work in a frozen hanger that only a small few will appreciate.
Poor Buddy is working hard for his cheap crane, but in the end it will pay for him.
Thanks
Lift both axles fill partially with diesel and run for 10-15 min then drain and fill with GL5 of your choice. It has been more times than you can imagine in the past. The damage from the water is far worse than any damage you think will be caused by the diesel.
If you have not driven it with the water in the axles there should be none in the hubs. If you have then it may be wise to pull the wheels/hubs and clean and inspect the bearings. If old enough some rear axle hubs were packed with grease But you would have to go back to the mid 70's or earlier.
Hi
Thanks for the responses
Good call Fred.
I posted the question and received some considered responses. Buddy went ahead without our carefull considerations. However, he is no fool and went ahead and refilled the diffs with the cheapest 80-90 he could find, then went for a short drive. Good, but not good enough, with wind chills in the -30 C range he was not able to warm the wheel bearings enough.
Fred, you made a good call, as when one wheel was removed to check the wheel bearings ( as the were grease packed, 72 vintage chassis), the bearing was packed In white cream. So obviously water conmanination has reached the wheel bearings and now all wheels will need a complete wash and repack.
Oh well nothing like hard [censored] work in a frozen hanger that only a small few will appreciate.
Poor Buddy is working hard for his cheap crane, but in the end it will pay for him.
Thanks