Packing grease between seal and bearings to not let the water in?

[David B (DavidInMichigan)]

Hi,

Is putting a marine grease in the bearing area a good or bad idea?   I've searched the forum for an hour or two.  I can't tell if there's any conclusion or recommendation.

My machine is a Whirlpool Duet ghw9100lw2 from 2004.  In 2016 I replaced the bearing and seal.  And now in 2025 I'm doing them again.  But it's not put back together yet.   12 years and 9 years is not bad.  But now there is more pitting on the shaft where the seal sits so I'm not sure how long it be until it leaks again.

My machine has a pair of vent/drain passages.  One is between bearings and the other between the front bearing and seal.  Recently water has been draining out from there evidenced by the rusty stains down the back of the housing.  I'd guess letting the water that does get past the seal is a good improvement.  

But would filling that space with grease be better?

For the forum I see a concern about the grease leaking out and getting on the clothes.  I didn't think the grease would leak out in to the wash

I have zero experience with marine parts, trailer bearings or axles.  So I want to see what others think.  Any comments out there?

Thanks in advance.

PS Thank you Jerrod for making these repair parts available.  I'm happy to spend <$100 and several hours to keep this machine going.

[Washer Repair]

You're welcome. I"m not on her much. We have a massive group on here that normally handles the questions but I saw yours come in so I thought I would reply.

Once the water gets past the seal, there is no hope for the machine or the bearings. Packing the inside of the area with grease will not help even in the least bit and it could actually make the situation worse. 

The key is never letting even a drop of water past the seal so the bearings can do their job. Preventing that is the trick and a tough haul.

But, I will tell you that statistically 99% of the front load machine failures are from the seal failing causing the bearings to fail. That should tell you something about what the manufacturers really want. They want us to replace our machines every few years because that justifies their volume. The problem is that there IS a fix for the failures. I have two different design concepts that could be added to the front load machines that would radically increase their time-in-service. I just question if the manufacturers really want it because I've struggled to get any of them to consider it. That tells me that they want the failures to continue. I've even thought about designing my own brand of machine that would solve these issues. The struggle is competing with the factories that produce 40,000 units per day.