Cleaning and packing tapered wheel bearings is pretty easy as you know. But if you just want to do a little check, pop the dust cap off and look at the grease. If it looks dry or chunky, you need to remove,clean and pack. If it still has a thin paste look, wipe a sample out and push between your thumb and index finger. It should feel smooth with no sign of grittiness. If you feel any grit or abrasion at all in the grease, remove,clean, repack. Finally, check the lateral play by grabbing the wheel/tire and flexing the assembly. You should feel a small amount of clearance in the bearings. About 1/8" is normal cold. Factory service manual recommendations are not the best for the way 90% of our cars are driven as collector cars. We generally put much lower mileage on our cars than the manual would recommend for cleaning and replacement, along with the better lubricants that have been developed over the past 50 years. I can look up the exact factory specs. and post if you would like tomorrow.
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