How to pack a wheel bearing with grease
Updated: 23 October 2026
The hub is apart on the bench, or you are about to jack a trailer, and the open question is how full to pack it before grease meets a seal or a brake shoe. How to pack a wheel bearing with grease comes down to two fills: the rolling elements full, the housing only partly full. Peter F., editor for DIY supplies, sets out the procedure for a serviceable cone and a cup-and-cone hub. Which tub to buy is on our [ball bearing grease comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/ball-bearing-grease), captured on 19 October 2026. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The hub is apart on the bench, or you are about to jack a trailer, and the open question is how full to pack it before grease meets a seal or a brake shoe.
The hub is apart on the bench, or you are about to jack a trailer, and the open question is how full to pack it before grease meets a seal or a brake shoe. How to pack a wheel bearing with grease comes down to two fills: the rolling elements full, the housing only partly full. Peter F., editor for DIY supplies, sets out the procedure for a serviceable cone and a cup-and-cone hub. Which tub to buy is on our ball bearing grease comparison, captured on 19 October 2026. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Pack | Container | Stated bearing job | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Park Tool Park Tool HPG-1 High Performance Grease | 0.12 L; 0.28 g clash | Tube | Precision bike bearings | 9.0 | about £10.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Zefal Zefal Pro 2 Grease 150 ml | 150 g | Tube | Bike hubs and headset | 8.6 | about £5.29 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Comma Comma GR2400 Multipurpose Lithium Grease 400 g | 400 g | Tube | Wheel bearings and UJs | 8.2 | about £7.95 | View offer |
On this page
Two different fills
You pack the bearing. You do not pack the hub solid. The NLGI's guidance is a fill of about 33–50 per cent. Grease beyond that is churned, and churning heats the bearing until grease pushes past the seal. Timken puts the housing of an ordinary NLGI 1 or 2 grease at about half full. Half is a ceiling.
Knott says force grease between the rollers, leave a light coat on the races, and do not fill the cavity between the bearings, because that grease can reach the linings. If the axle sheet says less, the sheet wins. A hot hub after a short run usually means the cavity was packed solid. Do not dunk it. Intervals are on trailer wheel bearing grease.
Hand-packing a serviceable cone
Start only if the bearing comes apart. Clean the old grease out with a solvent the hub maker allows, and keep that solvent off the tyre and the linings. A pitted, blue, or cracked race stops the job. New grease will not fill a pit.
Push grease through the rollers from the large end until it appears at the small end all the way round. Seat the cone, leave Knott's light coat on the race, and fit a new seal. Do not fill the cavity between the inner and outer bearings. If you are using a gun, stop when fresh grease just appears at the seal. A powered gun will push past a tired seal and onto the shoes. Which grease belongs in that gun is on the ball bearing grease buying guide.
Cup-and-cone bike hubs
A bike hub uses the same two-fill idea at a smaller scale. Clean the cups, photograph the spacer and cone order, and look for pits. If the cup is pitted, grease will quiet it for a few miles and the click will return. Replace the hub or the cups rather than packing over the damage.
Park Tool's method is a heavy film in the cup, balls seated so they stay put, and the loosest setting with no play. Count the balls that came out. A missing ball is not replaced by more grease. Check again in the frame, because the dropout can add preload. If the hub is a cartridge, press in a new bearing square.
When to stop and call a workshop
Stop if the wheel rocks or rumbles after you have set the play correctly. That is a damaged race or a bent axle. Stop if grease is already on the linings or the drum face. The shoes need replacing, not wiping, once the grease has soaked in. Stop if you cannot torque a one-shot flange nut. Those nuts are single-use on the axles that specify them. Do not invent a Newton-metre for an unnamed nut.
Stop if a salt-water hub needs the brake stripped and you are not set up to keep the shoes clean. Put the wheel back only when grease is through the rollers, the cavity is not solid, and the linings are clean.
Common questions
How much grease goes in a cup-and-cone bike hub?
Enough to hold the balls in the cup and to coat the cones, not enough to pack the shell solid. Park Tool's method is a heavy grease film in the cup, balls seated in it, and the excess wiped so it does not migrate. Count the balls that came out. Common counts Park Tool prints are nine 1/4 inch balls per side at the rear and ten 3/16 inch balls at the front, and your hub may differ.
How do you adjust the cones afterwards?
Set the cones at the loosest point that has no play. Start too loose, tighten in small steps, and check for a knock with the wheel in the frame. Too tight heats the hub. Too loose pits the cup. If the best setting you can find still knocks or feels notchy, the cup or the cone is damaged and adjustment will not save it.
When do you stop pumping a grease gun?
Stop when fresh grease just shows at the seal, or earlier if the hub maker says the cavity stays empty. More pumping does not mean more protection. It means pressure behind a seal that was not designed as a grease reservoir. If the gun is powered, that moment arrives faster than your hand expects. Check the back of the brake plate before you refit the wheel.
What if grease reaches the brake shoes?
Do not tow. Grease on a lining or a drum face reduces braking, and wiping the surface does not pull oil back out of the friction material. Replace the contaminated shoes, correct the seal and the fill that caused the leak, and only then refit the wheel. If the strip is on a salty boat-trailer hub and you cannot keep the new shoes clean, a workshop should do it.
Can you do this on a sealed cartridge?
No. A sealed bike cartridge and a unitised trailer hub are lubricated for life and are replaced as a unit. Needling grease past the seal is not a service. It loads the seal, and on a trailer it can send grease towards the brake. If the cartridge rumbles, press a new one in square or book the hub.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings stored 19 October 2026.
- SKF: selecting a suitable grease (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- SKF: grease compatibility (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- NLGI Ask the Expert, Q4 2025 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- NLGI: NLGI grade (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- HSE: SR19 lubricants and waste oil (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- HSE: GB CLP (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Knott UK: hub fitting instructions (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- NTTA: boat trailers (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Mobil: Mobilux EP 2 Moly (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Texaco UK: Molytex EP 2 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Park Tool: HPG-1 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Shell: Gadus S2 V220 2 (retrieved 19.10.2026)