Nice to hear from you and please don't think I am talking down to you...I know who you are and it is my aspiration...
I don't generally think people are talking down to me. Especially on this board.
This synth sticking to metal stuff is new info to me, and I just don't have enough information about it to be knowledgable.
Same with the grease pack. I just don't know if it makes sense to change them if they are working well. The sticky synthetic thing is interesting, though, and could add a new layer to the
issue, considering my bus sits about 10 months out of the year.
I do know I find it easer to tear down a hub that's filled with oil than with grease. Easier to get rid of the old oil than to get rid of the greasy gasoline after cleaning the parts.
Also, on my autos, I change the oil at 4000 miles. The synthetics I've looked at recommend much longer (some were 1 year or 15000 miles). I can't condone that kind of run time, and it
doesn't really make sense to do an analysis vs. just changing the oil due to cost of the analysis. It might make sense on the bus, where you have 8 gallons in there. I change the oil in the bus
at a target of 8000 miles, which typically comes out to once a year. Usually in the fall just before I put it to bed for winter.
Iver, I think the seals were National, or maybe Scot. JD, at C&J Bus Repair seems to think the primary cause of seal failure is the bearings being set too loose. I suppose it's possible I had
them too loose. I set them my hand, and don't have a gauge to tell me amount of movement. It's also possible that one was leaking under the wiper as I don't think I used RTV the
first time I replaced them. Also, one of the seals that was leaking was one I had initially installed on the tag, and then moved the hub and drum as a unit to the front, and did not replace
the seal, so I suppose I should not have been surprised that one leaked.