Manual Hubs Hot as H E LL

[Kona]

I noticed that after 4x4ing my hubs were pretty darn warm , got concerned when I noticed they were hot in 2wd also. They had all new bearings last year did not go through very much water or hard 4x4ing . Took them apart and everything , bearings ,rotors,spindle and stub axles were screwed. Took good used out of my parts truck (this stuff looks brand new!) stubs, spindles etc, used Lucas grease inner bearing 35FTlbs spin loosen torque spin loosen torque spin torque to 35 ftlbs back off 90 deg (no inch lb wrench) tighten inner spindle nut by hand till snug , lock ring , outer spindle to 150 ftlbs . Went for a test drive and they still get bloody hot!!! what the !!!! Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Earl43P]

Brake calipers dragging?

Quantify "hot as hell".

Can you hold your hand on the center part of the rim for more than a second? If so, it's not hot enough to be a concern, IMO.

Is it so hot that the merest fingertip touch makes you pull away instantly? I'd be worried about that hot and brakes are your biggest suspect. You've ruled out the hubs. If it gets so hot the grease liquifies and runs out, that's a problem.

For a sanity check, check another vehicle after a normal drive. As soon as it's stopped, touch the center of the rims around the lugnuts.

In short, some "hot" is normal. If it's too hot, suspect brakes dragging. If both sides are the same temp, it's probably normal. If you REALLY think it's hubs, you can push the front caliper pistons back in, reinstall the calipers, never touch the brake pedal so you KNOW the pads CAN'T be dragging, drive it and slow and stop with the (rears only) parking brake pedal. See how hot they get.

You don't seem to be shy about taking things apart.
I don't think you have a problem. Now, you gotta convince yourself.

 

[Hahnsb2]

They sit right against the brake rotor, of course they get hot..

 

[Kona]

Going up the hill 2.4 miles with a 1100 ft elevation change the Warn hubs are hot coffee hot (warm your hands on a cold day, shift grip every 10 - 15 seconds) coming back down you can touch them for a second or two but not hold them (I work in automotive, I handle fresh oil filter hot all the time) there is no smell of brake pad.

 

[Shran]

Wheel bearings set too tight? Had that happen one time...if you have the tire off the ground, how easy is it to spin it? Might have to back the inner locknut off a bit.

 

[Kona]

How easy is it to spin? How should it be?

 

[merc2dogs]

Warm is normal, hot isn't. A thirty mile drive should leave the hubs cool enough that you don't feel an immediate need to pull your hand away.
Disk brakes don't really touch the disk all the time, they are pushed away very slightly by tiny imperfections in the rotor which give them the clearance to run cool.

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Edit: in a recent brake discusion on another board the statement was made by several people that the seal is what pulls the piston back, two things wrone with that arguement. The thing simply isn't strong enough to work against the fluid in the lines all the way back to the master, and second, if it were strong enough, then it would move the piston back to the same location every time, which would leave a gap that gradually grows as the break pads wear. Since the gap stays the same with wear, it is not retracted.
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A few things to check, simplest is to bleed the brakes, if that doesn't help change the fluid. Air expands a lot with heat, and if the fluid is old it draws moisture that turns to steam with heat and expands. Won't effect the rear brakes unless they're disk too.

If that doesn't take care of it, check the power brake booster valve. If the valve leaks it will either cause a slight drag that will heat up the brakes, or with a bad leak, fully apply the brake. In my old mustang the valve went out badly, you could fire it up and watch the brake pedal slowly move to the floor.

Bearing clearance will cause heat, but it will normally go away after a while, 'last year' being long enough for them to wear in/out. Only takes a couple hundred miles for them to either stop heating up, or wear out, depending on how bad the clearances are.

Ken.

 

[Shran]

I don't know how to explain how easy the should be to spin...they shouldn't be hard to spin but there should be a little bit of drag because of the brakes and the preload on the wheel bearings...if that makes sense.

 

[Destroyer000]

when you spin the wheel it should feel like "honey" if that makes sense.

 

[Kona]

Creamed or pasteurized?

 

[Shran]

Pasteurized.

 

[Kona]

Gonna lube my caliper sliders and loosen my inner spindle nut a wee bit.

 

[wizkid00104]

I believe when you are in 2 wheel drive, the front wheels spin on the bearing in your hub. That is the wheel spinning around the stationary drive shaft. It may be those bearings that have gone bad. Remember too that the hub housings are aluminum, which transfers heat very well. It may be worth a try to repack your bearings with new grease and cleaning your hubs.

Attached are pictures I took of a hub I disassembled. The parts are in the order they come out of the hub. You can get replacement bearings, but if not just clean all the parts with WD40 and then regrease everything.

(click to enlarge)

 

[4x4junkie]

Hey those are some great pics wizkid, but when they're that big, please try to use clickable thumbnails or plain links instead. This is so others won't have to scroll horizontally to read the page

Thanks!

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Edit: in a recent brake discusion on another board the statement was made by several people that the seal is what pulls the piston back, two things wrone with that arguement. The thing simply isn't strong enough to work against the fluid in the lines all the way back to the master, and second, if it were strong enough, then it would move the piston back to the same location every time, which would leave a gap that gradually grows as the break pads wear. Since the gap stays the same with wear, it is not retracted.

When I took my first year of automotive tech apprenticship, all the literature explained that it is the double cut seal that slighly retracts the pads so that they don't ride on the rotors.