Front Hub eating bearings

[DaveM]

Hard to see what's up from the pictures, but here's a few ideas:
- If the ball bearings themselves are coming out, either you have the cone (axle parts) way too loose or you maybe used the wrong size bearing.
- If it is just the bearing holder that is tearing up and that pushed the dust cover out, you could have installed the bearings backwards or had the cones too lose. Or it could be that the cone and/or cups (the two surfaces the bearings roll on) are very torn up and this destroyed the bearings.
- Plumber's grease is not the right thing for this, but I doubt it caused the problem. Basic auto bearing grease works fine, water-proof trailer bearing grease is better. Or any standard bike bearing grease.
- Putting the wheel "backwards" wouldn't do anything. The front wheel can go either way.
- What went wrong would be nice to know, but isn't that critical to fix it.

You need to:
1. Take apart the hub again and inspect the cones and cups for damage. Replace if needed.
2. Get new bearings. Loose balls are preferable, but the kind in retainers will work. (You can fit one more ball per side with loose bearings so the load is spread out better.)
3. Make sure you're getting the bearings in the right way
4. Make sure you're adjusting the cone and lock nut correctly. It is possible to do this without a cone wrench, but it's a lot harder. The simple idea is that the cone should be as loose as possible, but where there is zero side-to-side play in the bearings AFTER you tighten down the lock nut. Simple theory, but it takes a little practice to get this right. Having the cones significantly too tight or loose will eat up the bearings very quickly.