HELP! Hot rotors/hubs!

[iPandaBar]

I have a 1993 Ranger with manual hubs. I replaced both front calipers, brake hoses, and rotors and repacked the bearings. I have tightened the locking nuts down to spec using the steps in the service manual. I also greased the caliper slides and pins. What the heck am I missing?!?!?!?!

 

[Denisefwd93]

Does your brake pedal get higher and higher at the same time the front brakes are dragging?


On my 93 4wd the front brakes were getting hot, the back also, bypassed the rabs valve happy ever after.

My 94 had bad front hoses, did all like you did, booster and MC. bypassed the rabs also,

 

[adsm08]

How hot is hot? Brakes turn kinetic energy into thermal energy, so the brake parts, particularly the rotors, will be hot.

 

[iPandaBar]

How hot is hot? Brakes turn kinetic energy into thermal energy, so the brake parts, particularly the rotors, will be hot.

It is the hub itself where it locks and unlocks that is hot, even the rim is warm! After a five Mile drive I can still hold my hand on it, but it ain't comfy and I use to do ironwork so I'm use to touching hot metal. I couldn't fry an egg on it but it feels hotter than it should. My brakes are not dragging at all. This is the first time I've ever repacked bearings and I'm a little worried to be honest. But the hub is directly connected to the rotor so maybe it is just heat transfer. Should I take it on a longer drive and see how hot I can get them? ?

 

[4x4junkie]

You didn't perhaps confuse inch-lbs with foot-lbs when you tightened up the inner bearing nuts, did you?
(the inner nut that secures the bearings gets a final torque of ~15 inch-lbs (barely more than finger-tight) before the outer lock nut goes on... For the outer nut, the book says 150 foot-lbs, though many of us take 'em up to 225 ft-lbs because they sometimes do come loose from 150 ft-lbs).

 

[adsm08]

It is the hub itself where it locks and unlocks that is hot, even the rim is warm! After a five Mile drive I can still hold my hand on it, but it ain't comfy and I use to do ironwork so I'm use to touching hot metal. I couldn't fry an egg on it but it feels hotter than it should. My brakes are not dragging at all. This is the first time I've ever repacked bearings and I'm a little worried to be honest. But the hub is directly connected to the rotor so maybe it is just heat transfer. Should I take it on a longer drive and see how hot I can get them? ?

No, that sounds excessive. The reason I asked is because we had a guy here some years ago in a tizzy over a 3 degree difference in the temps of this front rotors after a drive around the block and couldn't seem to grasp that the one on the outside of the turn was going to be hotter. So now I have to ask.

Junkie's suggestion would be my first thought as well, that you possibly over-tightened the bearings. I usually get them all greased up, but a big glob in the open space in the middle, then get the rotor and outer bearing up, put the first nut on finger tight, then put the wheel on without the hub lock and use the socket just with my hand to adjust the nut up until there is no play in the bearing at the wheel.

Once the play is out I make minor adjustments until the key ring goes in place, and get the lock nut on. Then I take the wheel back off, torque the locknut, and put the rest together.

 

[Denisefwd93]

More than once someone has put the outer and inner lock nuts on backwards, [emoji56]. The old quarter-turn tight, quarter turn back used to work but if lock nuts are wrong it's really easy to make them too tight!

Also when/while you have it apart wash the grease out of your locking hubs they should not be packed with grease .