Firstfives.org

81' 528i: What is best grease to use when replacing and packing? And How much grease do you put in hub? How much in cap? I have #2 EP Lithium with a NLGI grade of 2. Is this OK to use? I want to get this right before I close everything up. I cant find the specification in the shop manual set that I have. It keeps referring me to "See service information", which as a section does not exist in the manuals. Thus, I come to the land of Oz seeking wise counsel.

I normally grab the cardboard can that says "wheel bearing grease" and go from there, but this "extreme pressure" grease should be better than the auto store brand wheel bearing grease.

If you are re-packing, as usual I would clean out all of the old grease with brake cleaner, check all parts for irregular wear, hand pack the bearings, put a thick film on the races, and a little extra in the empty part of the hub. Complete it with a proper tightening, a new cotter pin, top it off with the dust cap and you are done.

Thanks for the input. Soooo how much do you pack into the cap?

Jcat wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:57 pm Thanks for the input. Soooo how much do you pack into the cap?

Jcat - You asked this question last November - here's what I found from researching and using the shop manual:

If not already, I recommend replacing inner and outer bearings as well as seals on both sides. Also use a grease with a drop point of at least 500. The drop point is the temperature at which the grease loses its viscosity and becomes liquid. I use Red Line synthetic CV-2 which is >800.

The manual doesn't specify how much grease to load in the cavity. My guess is the shape of the cavity encourages the grease to shift outward towards the bearings when the wheels are spinning so I apply liberal amounts in that area.

The process to tighten the bearings is 2 turns of the castle nut while turning the wheel, then back off almost completely then tighten to about 2 ft. lbs. of torque. The amount will vary a bit as you'll need to line up the nut with the hole in the axle for the cotter key.

Here's the online manual for reference:

https://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/057en/index.htm

Yes, I most surely did, and I am still working on it, a bit ashamed to admit. But I decided to tear it all out including the exhaust and put all new stock BMW parts in... as best I can find them. Also, I later discovered that you torque the castle nut to 24 ft lbs before backing it off so the races properly seat. Then torque to 2 ft lbs. I find that tough to determine so am just backing it off until the underlying washer moves freely given its slop. Got this tip from a German Master Tech and Judge for Mercedes Benz, so I ran with it. I hope to finish this job by the end of the summer as I am also finishing a 15 year ground-up on a 69 280SL and have front and rear end rebuilds to do on my recently acquired 65 Vette (33K orig miles Survivor). I very much appreciate your helpful suggestions, as most everything I do is a first time for me. I'm slow, but particular about doing it as correctly as is possible. Thanks again for your help (again) PBP! PS: I did FIND the BMW recommended grease for the bearings by looking in the glove box owners handbook. But this isnt 1981 anymore and they dont comment on volume. Many cars specify grease volume in cavities. Not here for e12's, as least not that I can verify. I was looking for precise BMW specifications and am empty handed to date. Thats what made me re-post ...just in case someone had this for me.

I've got several manuals and none of them list that volume. For future reference something that may be of interest is the factory manual online. Do note the nominal values and specifications tab, it's easy to focus on the model and miss it.

https://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/index.htm

Mike, this is a tremendous resource - thanks for posting. The part number for the "repair film" showed up at Turner Motorsport as available ("Reparaturanleitung") with no description, so I don't think you would find it unless you knew German or the part number - $22 with shipping - so I ordered a copy for the day when BMW pulls this down. That day may never come, but at least I'll have a digital copy. On CD, and maybe in German, there was no language code listed, but that's easy enough to deal with. I'll need to rip this while I still have a functioning CD-ROM drive ...

Mike W. wrote: ↑Thu Jun 07, 2018 12:32 pm I've got several manuals and none of them list that volume. For future reference something that may be of interest is the factory manual online. Do note the nominal values and specifications tab, it's easy to focus on the model and miss it.

https://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/index.htm

Thanks a lot Mike for posting this. I have three shop manuals in paper form which seem to have more in depth info. than does the on line version. HOWEVER, the on line version is so much lighter to carry around and I think it wise to get a copy of that CD to go along with my HTK CD from back in 99 when made in Germany. Frankly, I had no idea that this was out there. The sheer numbers of these cars is dwindling like the plague, not to mention parts used, in particular. Speaking of which... if you have a source(s) for NOS parts, I would be most interested. I need a few new parts. Not urgent but still would like to have. Thanks again for all you have done to contribute to FF over the years, Mike.

I just contacted my local BMW dealer after speaking with Turner about the CD. It is NLA anywhere in the world. Turner's system is different from the dealer system, as Turner rep told me. The non-dealer system has been down for weeks and therefore they have no idea what is available and what is not. Thats why he directed me to the dealer. We need to find someone who has this CD and get them to make copies for us. Just sayin'... Hey 528i-1981, Turner stated that they just got an order for this yesterday and that they dont know if they can fill it, so you may want to double check with your local dealer as to availability.

That's undoubtedly my order at Turner .. sooo ... guess it's not coming. The alternative is to manually capture the online version.

If anyone is following the saga of Der Reparaturanleitung (sounds like a Wagner opera) with any interest, I've allegedly located a physical copy with a dealer in the UK and am working on getting it shipped over the Pond. I looked up E12s on the UK national car registration database, and there were only a handful of them remaining on the road, so if there is a copy of this CD collecting dust in some bloke's store room, he might be happy to see it go.

Please DO keep me posted!