Hot Wheel Bearings

[David53]

Since re-doing the front brakes recently I have noticed that the RH side wheel gets very hot after a long run. The wheel itself is hot to the touch as is the hubcap. The LH side gets warm to touch, but not hot. Bearings were new about 5,000 miles ago.

I noticed when reassembling that the RH wheel did not spin quite as freely on it's bearings at the LH side. I checked the bearings which seemed fine, packed them well with grease and refilled the grease cap. There is no wobble or movement from either wheel, and there is no apparent noise when spinning either wheel and listening closely. The RH wheel spins about 5-6 times when spun by hand, the LH side probably about 8-9 times.

Should I be concerned or will the RH free up with use? Just concerned about the heat being generated.

[bmcecosse]

It's far more likely the brake is causing the heat - either it's dragging - or the one on the other side is not doing it's share of the braking, and the 'hot' one is having to work harder than it should. If that amount of heat is being caused by the bearing - there is something very wrong with it.......

[David53]

Yes I would have thought it was more likely to be brake shoes rubbing but there is no evidence of this when I spin the wheel and listen. Both sides are adjusted equally (as outlined in a previous post about shoe adjustment).

It does seem strange that it would be the wheel bearings causing the heat but it does seem coincidental that the RH side spins less freely than the LH side, and that's with shoes backed right off. It spun more freely before the hub nut was tightened so I presume the bearings are perhaps reacting to being tightened? They are not taper bearings on the MM style hubs, so the nut is only tightened up to hand tight and lined up with the hole for split pin.

[mike.perry]

The hub nuts should still be tightened up as much as possible to fit the split pin and only wound back a little if necessary. Hand tight is not tight enough. When you fit the brake shoes push the brake pedal hard a coiuple of times to centralise the shoes, then adjust then push the brake pedal again. You may have to back the adjuster a couple of clicks to stop the shoes rubbing

[bmcecosse]

Aye - the hub nut should be tight - trapping a spacer between the bearings. On a later car I would simply advise swapping hubs from side to side to see if the 'heat' follows the hub. Not sure how easy it is to swap the bearings on your older car - but if possible - I suggest it is a way forward. Some will say that too much grease can make the bearings overheat - but I reckon that in that case the 'too much' grease will soon run away as the bearing heats up.......

[mike.perry]

The bearings are integral with the hubs, just swap the drums over. I have fitted sealed bearings on one side, which seem to work so I will fit them on the other side.

[David53]

Probably not the right term - when I say "hand tight" I mean as tight as possible with a standard socket pulled with both hands, then knocked around another few mm with a rubber mallet on the socket handle to line up the split pin hole.

Yeah, I guess swapping the hubs over is the go. I might leave it a few hundred miles to see what happens, then if still an issue do the swap.

Thanks