How hot should front discs/hubs get?
#1
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 42
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From: Placencia, Belize, Central America
How hot should front discs/hubs get?
1979 4x4 pickup. Solid front axle. Manual lockers.
After inadvertently driving 100+ miles at 70mph+ with hubs locked but NOT in 4WD - and apparently both front calipers seized 🤬 - the front hubs got so hot that lug nuts expanded and all got loose to the point where I tore up the lug studs, dropped a couple of lug nuts and had both front wheels nearly drop off at a gas station when I finally realized something was not right… basically nearly killed myself.
Anyway after fitting new rims, lug studs, lug bolts, brake calipers, pads, and correct bleeding and no drag when on axle stands, I have been obsessed with the temp of brakes and hubs ever since - but cannot get a straight answer…
After driving, hubs free with gentle braking in corners, for about 12 miles my brake discs get to about 200F (90C) and the hubs are about 150F (65C). I can put my palm on the face of the hubs for a few seconds - sure they’re hot, but not skin-searing. Is this normal?
How hot should hubs and discs get during normal road driving? Anyone?
After inadvertently driving 100+ miles at 70mph+ with hubs locked but NOT in 4WD - and apparently both front calipers seized 🤬 - the front hubs got so hot that lug nuts expanded and all got loose to the point where I tore up the lug studs, dropped a couple of lug nuts and had both front wheels nearly drop off at a gas station when I finally realized something was not right… basically nearly killed myself.
Anyway after fitting new rims, lug studs, lug bolts, brake calipers, pads, and correct bleeding and no drag when on axle stands, I have been obsessed with the temp of brakes and hubs ever since - but cannot get a straight answer…
After driving, hubs free with gentle braking in corners, for about 12 miles my brake discs get to about 200F (90C) and the hubs are about 150F (65C). I can put my palm on the face of the hubs for a few seconds - sure they’re hot, but not skin-searing. Is this normal?
How hot should hubs and discs get during normal road driving? Anyone?
#2
Rusty,
There's a couple of things I think I should point out here.
First, I doubt this was caused by driving with your hubs locked. No, it isn't a good idea, but it definitely didn't' make your calipers seize.
Second, it isn't normal for both front brake calipers to seize at the same time without something else causing the problem.
Third, you didn't mention anything about inspecting or repacking your wheel bearings. If they got that hot all of the grease is cooked out of them.
I don't have any hard data on what temperatures you are seeing at your hubs, but 200*F seems a little much after a 12 mile drive.
Good luck.
There's a couple of things I think I should point out here.
First, I doubt this was caused by driving with your hubs locked. No, it isn't a good idea, but it definitely didn't' make your calipers seize.
Second, it isn't normal for both front brake calipers to seize at the same time without something else causing the problem.
Third, you didn't mention anything about inspecting or repacking your wheel bearings. If they got that hot all of the grease is cooked out of them.
I don't have any hard data on what temperatures you are seeing at your hubs, but 200*F seems a little much after a 12 mile drive.
Good luck.
#3
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 42
Likes: 5
From: Placencia, Belize, Central America
Thx akwheeler for replying. Kinda the other way around… The truck had been sitting on axle stands for about 3 months whilst waiting for new timing chain, guides, etc. i live in Belize about 100yds from the Caribbean Sea which provides a massively aggressive salt-bound maritime atmosphere. This, coupled with callipers that, in my 5 years of ownership plus at least 15 years standing outside in TX weather, have never been serviced (my bad) and they finally seized. So it was, I believe, the seized callipers rather than the lockers that created the heat build up during that fateful trip. My question still remains… what is a good operating temp for discs and hubs. And, to your point - I’ll take a good look at the bearings next. Thx!😊
Last edited by Rusty Bob; Mar 8, 2024 at 06:18 PM.
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