Hub oil draining

Depending on how many mi you get, every 6 or 12mo take off ft caps and make a card board drain to get old oil off the wheels and then with new gasket put caps on and refill and wait and top up to full line, the rear can be done if don't have a drain in hub, by parking on a hill to side so gear oil runs into hubs then turn around and let it run to other side, keeping track of the mi you have been changing the rear end gear at 1st 2 hundred fifty thousand and 1 hundred thousand after that, and keep a ck on wheel bearing end play will keep tires wearing correct.

 

Normally when the seal is leaking or the oil looks bad in the front hubs. Check for metal in front hubs during service with a pencil magnet. Some have a plug with a magnet on the end, check those. Jack up and check for loose bearings. Adjust as necessary.
We had a request to pull and inspect front wheel bearings. Driver came through and asked how they looked. Great like brand new we will replace the seals and get it back together. He said " I spend a lot of time in that truck. There is a lot of time to thank about a lot of things. I have been sitting on top of those bearings ( 9670 IHC ) for a million miles. Can we just replace them anyway so I do not have to thank about them anymore? " Yes Sir. No problem.

 

Use to do it yearly. Clean oil helps seals live and bearings cool

 

In fairness after my experinces with MY truck i tend to be distrustful of any part attached to it i personally havent replaced. So i can see where he is coming from. Especially with a million or more miles, not unreasonable to expect fatigue cracks to have formed that may be microscopic now but could expand suddenly. And next thing you know your axle is in itty bitty peices......

To the OP i plan to change mine yearly along with the seals.

 

I change it when I change the hub oil caps and I change the hub oil caps when I can no longer clearly see through the plastic or when they start leaking through the plug.

 

I only do it if the cap comes off for some reason.

 

Unless you pull the hubs, or you have drain plugs (truck axles) you're not getting all the oil out.

My personal opinion is to check bearing play every quarter, and only drain hubs when changing oils or when you lose a seal.

Most bearing failures I have seen were after replacement where someone screwed up, next up is losing a seal and not paying attention.

If you watch you're truck/trailer close, the likelihood of a catastrophic failure is slim.

 

Does topping off one that’s leaking qualify as changing the oil?