M1009 Front Hub Temperatures

[tgtaylor64]

What is the deal with hub temperatures? After driving under 6 miles around town (<50 mph) in under 15 minutes, I noticed that my front hubs are very hot (air temperature around 85°F). I could not hold my hand on them for longer than a second to two. Rear hubs were slightly warm. I have noticed no odd noises or pulling coming from the front end. Is this normal or is something wrong?

 

[Warthog]

Should be warm, not really hot.

Have you ever had them apart?

 

[wayne pick]

Sounds like your calipers are hanging up. the heat will transfer from the rotor to the hub assy and even to the wheel itself. It could also be the hub bearings, Jack up the front end and spin the tires, if there is any resistance, excessive play or movement the caliper and or the hub assy should be disassembled and inspected for damage. If you run the truck through deep mud frequently and fail to clean the calipers, they tend to freeze or hang up. It's a common problem. I would strongly suggest not driving it untill you figure out the problem.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I would strongly suggest not driving it untill you figure out the problem.

I once had a front bearing disintigrate on me while driving on the freeway. The only thing holding the wheel on the car was the disc and caliper.

It was NOT fun.

 

[Barrman]

Stuck calipers and brake hoses acting as check valves are both very common on 25-30 year old vehicles.

$50 will get you new calipers and hoses. A few minutes reading the -20, a special socket and an afternoon spent pulling both hubs off to re pack the bearings and inspect everything is a cheap easy alternative to being a 3 wheeled projectile going down the interstate trailing sparks, having no brakes and no steering.

 

[swbradley1]

True and sad but still funny.

 

[cscmc1]

What you describe sounds far too hot, but this is a case where one of those IR thermometers is really nice to have. I bought my dad one last year to watch the hub temps on his tow-behind camper; they have gotten really cheap the last few years.

Anyway, any significant temperature difference from one side to the other or changes in "normal" ranges indicate it's time to figure out what's happening.

Good luck!

 

[tgtaylor64]

Turned out to be a bad caliper that was hanging up the pads on the passenger side. Replaced the bad caliper, added new brake pads, and bleed the brakes. All is well.

 

[Barrman]

Do the same to the drivers side. Calipers are cheap enough.

 

[SouthernSteel]

Yes, But i just bought napa calipers and they have a $40 dollar core on them and i ran into the same problem so im gettin ready to do the same thing glad you found the problem though.:]

 

[wayne pick]

The rotor on the the side that hung up should also get a clean up cut on the brake lathe and visually inspected for heat checking, microscopic cracks that occure when a rotor or drum is overheated. An overheated rotor will have a yellow hue to it, if it's blue, without question, I would toss it. More than a quater century ago an old mechanic showed me the results of heat checking, by dropping a brake drum from a ten wheel dump truck onto a concrete floor. It shattered into about five pieces. The bearing grease could also have reached a high enough temprature that is rendered down to tarr like substance. A broken rotor, like a siezed bearing at highway speeds can get real ugly. I am a firm believer in doing any front end brake repair in sets, rather than just repairing one side, just my.