Wheel bearings and upper ball joints question

I pressed out my old wheel bearings and upper ball joints last weekend (steering knuckles are off the truck at the moment). The knuckles were a bit rusty so I've cleaned them up, removed the rust, and put a fresh coat of paint on them. I'm hoping to press in my new bearings and upper ball joints in a few days.

My questions are:

1. I've watched a number of videos on pressing in new wheel bearings. No one used any antiseize. Is antiseize not recommended when pressing in new wheel bearings?

2. Does orientation matter for the bearings? Is there a front or a back side to them?

3. Upper ball joints - Since they are non-serviceable, should I add additional grease to them before installing the boot? If so, is white lithium grease sufficient? Or should I use something else?

 

1. I replaced my own wheel bearings last summer. I used heat and ice (freezer) during my bearing install. I also used anti seize to help facilitate.
It has been recommended to NOT apply grease or anti seize on any of the tapered ball joints though (upper, lower, and steering BJ’s).

2. If memory serves me, the wheel bearings are not directional. And if they were, i would have easily noticed it. So i’m going to say my memory is still working just fine.

3. OEM upper ball joint kit comes with included grease packets. Two different flavors of greases were in each box. One flavor that goes inside the rubber cover, and a second flavor for applying a light coating on the exterior rubber sealing surface.

 

Thanks. What type of antiseize did you use?

I've got the aluminum antiseize on hand, but was wondering if having bits of aluminum in there would be bad if they were to ever work their way into the bearings.

 

I happened to use nickel. The bearings are sealed. There's pretty much no way the anti seize can get into the bearings...well, maybe if you were trying to outrun a killer volcano and had to drive through a flow of hot lava, then it would melt out your wheel bearing seals. After that, then the anti seize could possibly get really hot and dribble out around the knuckles and back inside the wheel bearings. I know that scenario seems far fetched, but i've seen it happen before in the past. But personally i think your overthinking it.

 

Thanks. That's my work mindset getting in the way. I'm someone that has to live in the weeds and think about every little detail and how all the details fit together.