"Tegger" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns9986D4270250Dtegger@207.14.116.130...
> "Wayne L" <wlogsdon@snip.net> wrote in news:af84c$46ba7006$d1cc7c5a$19925
> @snip.allthenewsgroups.com:
>
>> Should the rear wheel bearings on a 2003 Accord be cleaned and re-greased
>> every so often?
>>
>
>
> No. Sealed for life. These are not like the old tapered roller bearings
> you
> may be used to.
>
> The rear bearings tend to have far longer lives than the front ones. This
> is because they are largely shielded from road splash.
>
>
> --
> Tegger
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Hi Tegger. Thanks for getting back to me. You're the best!
Yeah, every other car I've owned, except my wife's 99 Grand Prix, has had
the tapered roller bearings with the keyed flat washer, all around, or just
the back, and the rule of thumb I used was "clean them out and re-grease
every 35K. When I took the dust cap off of the 2003 Accord, it looked
similar to the 87 Accord I had...same disposable "peened" nut (I have a half
a dozen used ones in the tool box...figured in a pinch they might be usable
on the opposite side) but when I saw that instead of a keyed flat washer it
had what looked like a sealing sheet metal disk.........I figured I'd better
get some info before starting the disassembly. A few weeks ago it popped
into my little brain that the Honda had about 61K on it and I had never
greased the rear axles. I've seen more than one car on the shoulder with a
broken rear axle, probably caused by a red hot bearing. My wife's 99 Grand
Prix has an obviously sealed rear axle unit. This is the first car I've
owned in a long while that I didn't spring for the whole shop manual set,
because I usually kept them until they were ready for the junk yard. I've
had dealers tell me they didn't want my trade in. Then I'd tell them "no
trade in, no sale", then they would offer $50 and I'd say thankyou, saved me
the trouble of getting rid of it :-) But after spending countless Sunday's
under the car fixing things, and with Honda's being the most reliable cars
I've ever owned, and with just about the lowest recall numbers in the
business, I hope to trade this one in and get another in a year or two.
BTW, the manuals are up to about $200 for the complete set.

Thanks again Tegger
Wayne