Drivers rear wheel smoked!

[doc91w]

So for the second time in less than 10,000 miles my drivers side rear wheel got smoking hot. Last time i left it with a local mechanic who said the seal went out of it. He repaired it and all was well until now.Today after it cooled enough to touch i took off the hub. When i opened up the hub cover out came about two cups of diff fluid. I saw absolutely no grease in it at all. Now ive got two questions.. Does anyone else have an issue with that wheel burning up bearings ( the set at the back of the hub was grinding just a little on some rough stuff in the fluid, ... and is there a reason all the grease would be gone in the hub? I don't want to have to do this every year or less. Whats the trick guys? Help me out. I can no longer afford mechanics and dealerships, im now a do it yourselfer. HELP!

[fbenross]

well it's not normal-something is causing it and I dont thik the last mechanic fixed the root problem. What that problem is will take some investigating. Good Luck

[doc91w]

It was easy enough to pull out the inner and outer bearings at the hub but im curiuos to know about greasing them. In every other vehicle i've always greased them, and in the Haynes manual it shows to grease them on the 9 1/4" axle. It would make sense to but i pulled the spline cover off the other wheel to check and there was no grease there either, and more diff fluid came out that side. I've never had a problem with that passenger side. So when you guys replace bearings do you grease them or not because wouldn't that diff fluid just clear it all away? My rear diff level is just below the hole so i would'nt think i've got too much fluid in it. Im learning that i really have to do my own work on this truck. Can you guys just help me not make a spendy mistake? The bearings i pulled out looked pretty good, but i think i got some brake dust in there as i was pulling everything apart. It was a pain to clean. Is it possible my e-brake is hanging up and there was nothing wrong with the hub and bearings to begin with?

[06powerwagon06]

I've had the same issue with both sides of the rear axle. The first time I did the same thing as you except I bought new bearings with the intent of changing them rather than taking it to the dealer. First time it was the passenger side that got smokin' hot so I did take everything apart to change the bearings but they were fine. Found that it was the rear brakes sticking on that side. Blew out all the dust and dirt then lubed everything up in there and bled some brake fluid too. Same thing happened a month or so later to the other side. I should have done them both at the same time! I asked a mechanic buddy of mine that works at the dealership and he said not to grease the bearings as the gear oil at the end of the axle is sufficient lube for them. Haven't had a problem since.

[TrueCowboy426]

I agree with Kris on the brakes hanging up. If the entire assembly (rim and all) is getting very hot you have either the caliper hanging up on the bracket or the piston in the caliper sticking. If you were having wheel bearing issues the heat would be more concentrated to the hub only and if it is getting as hot as you say, you would definitely see heat scoring, and play/damage in the bearings. I've had the rear brakes on my old 02, and the front brakes on my PW hang up, and things can get very hot very quick. Go for the easy stuff and check your brakes first.

[doc91w]

Yeah, it definitely heated up the wheel and everything. Heres an update... ( Wish id have seen your post a bit sooner).This evening i put my hub back together with lightly greased bearings to test if it even was the hub or not. I took a five minute drive and then checked the hub out. The hub was cool to the touch but there was heat coming off from behind so i touched the brake rotor and burnt my fingertip. I then went to the other side of the truck and touched the passenger side rear rotor. Normal. I could hold it as long as i wanted. So now my guess is the brakes. In the morning i will take off the brake caliper and check it out. I noticed the pads were in great condition earlier. I hope thats the end of this issue. One question though... Should i take apart my hub again to get that grease out of the bearings, or just leave it and change my rear diff fluid in 1000 miles? Any suggestions?

[azracer]

Parking brake cables binding due to rust inside the cable making the park brake shoes drag inside the rotor is a common problem too. Be sure to check that out too! If you got the rotor of with no trouble its likely okay though.

We have one cable to each wheel and the passenger cable is the long one on our trucks.

[RustyPW]

Do you use your E-brake alot? If so, your cable maybe hanging up, and not releasing the E-brake. IF your cable is free. Then you have a caliper hanging up on the slide, or a piston sticking in the caliper. Look at your brake pads on both side of the PW. Compare the thickness to each other. That might give you an idea on whats going on.

[08TwinStickPW]

FYI, it is typically the pivot in for the E-brake freezing up more so than the cables.

My friend is a Dodge tech and he deals with this all the time, he says its never the cable, always the pivot.

[doc91w]

I almost never use my ebrake, and i took a look at it while i had the rotor off. There didnt seem to be any one spot on the ebrake surface that looked like it was rubbing anywhere, and the rotor came off really easy at first, no pounding or anything. The brake pads were both thick and pretty even on the caliper too, which throws me off a bit. The inside one may have been just a bit worn. There was a boatload of brakedust everywhere though. Its odd cuz at first the wheel just smelled HOT, not so much the strong brake smell. I could smell the brakes slightly though. Today ill pull off the caliper and pads and check if the cylinder is free moving. Is there an product i should use to lube that cylinder? Im gonna clean up the ebrake too. Any hints for a good, safe cleaning? Is there an adjustment somewhere to back off the ebrake a notch just in case? Thanks for the help so far guys. If i dont get this working today, im gonna have trouble getting to work tomorrow!

[06powerwagon06]

[quote="doc91w"] One question though... Should i take apart my hub again to get that grease out of the bearings, or just leave it and change my rear diff fluid in 1000 miles? Any suggestions?[/quote]

It's up to you if you want to take the hub apart again. I don't think it will hurt having a little more lubrication in there. I would just worry about having two different types of lube together. If it were me, I would just take the bearings out again and clean them. You've done it before so it won't take you too long. Just make sure you have enough gear oil in there when you're done. If you can, jack up the side you are working on a little higher so you don't lose much gear oil when you take the end off. I agree with the others that if you dont use your e brake much (or at all like me) then it most likely isn't the cable. Just check the caliper piston and lube the $#!t out of everything that moves. Worst case scenario you have to get a new caliper. Keep us updated

[doc91w]

In the end i needed a new caliper. The old one had one cylinder completely froze up. I couldnt even get it with a hammer. The rotor was in pretty rough shape too so i replaced it while i was at it. I manually adjusted the ebrake back to its smallest setting after lubing it all up. After bleeding the brakes a bit it seems like everything is ok. I then took a moment and tightened up the adjuster on the steering box. WOW did that help tighten things up. I had almost 6" of steering wheel travel before and now i have none! I still get a little wander in my front end but im pretty sure its getting close to ball joint time. Thanks guys for the help! The whole floating axle thing threw me for a loop with no bearing grease and the diff fluid lubes the ends. Now to learn a bit more about how to start updating the FRONT end!

[azracer]

In the end i needed a new caliper. The old one had one cylinder completely froze up. I couldnt even get it with a hammer. The rotor was in pretty rough shape too so i replaced it while i was at it. I manually adjusted the ebrake back to its smallest setting after lubing it all up. After bleeding the brakes a bit it seems like everything is ok. I then took a moment and tightened up the adjuster on the steering box. WOW did that help tighten things up. I had almost 6" of steering wheel travel before and now i have none! I still get a little wander in my front end but im pretty sure its getting close to ball joint time. Thanks guys for the help! The whole floating axle thing threw me for a loop with no bearing grease and the diff fluid lubes the ends. Now to learn a bit more about how to start updating the FRONT end!

Glad you figured it out.

Steering box adjustment will be temporary at best. So budget for a new box ASAP as all you have done is compensated for wear that is likely only on center. Once turned to its limits (left or right) it is going to bind up. How much it will bind is based solely on how much adjustment was made.

[doc91w]

Very good to know. I'll go out and do some lock to lock turns in my field right now. I loosened the locknut and brought in the adjuster 1/2 turn. Thanks for the heads up.

[doc91w]

Went out to my field and checked my lockers ( lots of lock to lock steering ) and everything seems good and tight for now. There was no noticeable binding in the steering yet. Im gonna take your advice and save up. My trucks an 05' and i think the steering box is original. How can i tell if this box is a replacement and therefore part of the recall? Otherwise i'll look into one of the boxes from DOR. Im thinking about diff covers from them, i may just need to push those back a bit.

[azracer]

1/2 turn is not much and may be fine for some time. With 6" of play I was envisioning 2 or more turns. Typically the adjuster is used at the time of assembly and never changed during the life of the box. Many have done as you have to get by for a while or to sell their car to unsuspecting buyers.

[VOConnor]

Dodge truck rear disc callipers are notorious for seizing. The axle bearings are lubed by the diff fluid but it doesn't hurt to grease new ones on replacement.

[verdesardog]

^^^^ what he said. Full floating hub bearings are lubricated by diff fluid but greasing them when first installing them is the normal way to do it.