**ANOTHER UPDATE **My rims got "red fire" hot when I used 4 wheel drive?

[digmy76]

Thanks! I have checked the booster and all that has been adjusted correctly. I also drove the vehicle with the transfer case in 4wd and the hubs unlocked with no problems. I then put it back in 2wd and locked the hubs and noticed a slight difference in brake pressure (very slight..it could have been my imagination). But, again put it in 4wd with hubs locked and it barely wanted to move forward and it was like the engine was trying to pull a house. It got really hot (220 deg). The rims were once again hot. I decided to touch the back of the calipers (assuming if it was a brake issue they would be hotter) and found that they were not as hot as the rims???:? This is perplexing to me, but I don't think it is the brakes anymore, it must be something with locking the hubs and 4wd. Also, after this I noticed the TC was leaking a little bit (it has never leaked before)! Please, more input!

 

[jims66]

Are you sure you have the same axle ratios in the front and rear?

 

[NicksTrix]

take each hub assembly off and start from scratch again. inspect all the parts as well as the spindles. if you have got them to turn any color you have issues. what does the grease in the hub look like? if the wheel is as hot as you say, the wheel bearing grese has got to be cooked by now. sounds to me like you have something improperly put together in there.

 

[jpoore]

You say you touched the caliper? How about the rotor? Draging brakes would make this very hot (I though mine were going to catch fire)

This does sound weird. Differing axle ratios would produce some of the symptoms you're describing, but not the hot wheels (scrubbing tires should smoke like heck before heating the wheels).

If your up for more trouble shooting, you can try 4wd without the rear driveshaft. This would totally eliminate front/rear binding yet still have the whole front working.

However, it sounds like time for another rebuild with the right tools and careful attention to procedure. Improper preload on the bearings might possibly cause this.

JP

 

[digmy76]

Well I said I touched the rotor and I forgot to mention that I touched the dust shield and it was alot hotter! Don't know if this means anything. ?:?

 

[Fastang]

It sounds like bad or improperly installed bearings in the spindle for the axles and when you lock the hubs in the axles are binding in the spindles.

 

[70bucks]

Call the Ford dealer in your area and see if they have one of those infared pointable thermometers. If they do talk to one of the service guys and see if he'll help you out. You should be able to run it in four wheel drive for a minute and then have him use the thermometer to find your source of heat, which will narrow down your search. I understand those thermometers are super sensative and being used in a lot of diagnostics. I'm leaning towards a locking hub problem seeing how your wheel bearings get the same ammount of revolutions whether they are in 4x4 or 4x2, and the heat gets greater when you lock in four wheel drive. The dust shield being hotter would be because the calipers are insulated through the pads and caliper bolts. Real easy to jack it up and illeviate your question about break drag. I would make a list of the possible problems and there accompanying investigations and then start from easiest to hardest until you isolate the problem. Make sure and post your findings, since none of us have experienced it yet were all going to have to deal with it soon. Part of the Bronco lifestyle.

 

[digmy76]

It sounds like bad or improperly installed bearings in the spindle for the axles and when you lock the hubs in the axles are binding in the spindles.

Is that the same as the inner bearings, the ones that go on the inner side of the hub/rotor assembly? Or ar those some other bearings?

 

[77sport]

I read in your post that you used a screwdriver to tighten the wheel bearing nuts and couldnt get it to tight. That is a red flag. There is now way that you can get the bearings tightened correctly with a screwdriver. you need to get the proper socket to set them correctly. When you put it in fwd you drastically increase the load on the brgs especially when turning and all 4 wheels are trying to turn a different speeds. If the bearings are not tightened correctly the hubs would get really hot fast and the bearings and races would get deformed from running to lose. Your manual should have the procedure for tightening the nuts and installing the locknut.
Have you jacked up the front and grabbed the tires top and bottom and rocked them up and down to see if you have excessvie play in the bearings. You should feel almost no movement.
The other thing is have you put it on stands with all 4 wheels off the groundd and run it in 4wd and turned the wheel lock to lock to see if you can hear anything strange. Have someone do this while you listen at the wheels and look for anything out of the ordinary.
hope you find the problem.

 

[Fastang]

There are bearings inside of the spindle not the same as hub bearings. the only time they would be spinning is when your hubs are locked in.

 

[77sport]

I forgot about those brgs, when i rebuilt my axle they were pretty rusty. If you run it on stands in fwd with the hubs unlocked and turn lock to lock you could probably hear some noise if the brgs were bad. and if that was the cause they would start to heat up even on the stands.

 

[jims66]

I forgot about those brgs, when i rebuilt my axle they were pretty rusty. If you run it on stands in fwd with the hubs unlocked and turn lock to lock you could probably hear some noise if the brgs were bad. and if that was the cause they would start to heat up even on the stands.

That is true but he said that hubs locked, transfer case in 2WD and it did not get hot or bind. Those bearings are turning in that instance. That threw me off there.

 

[77sport]

if the brgs are turning but there is no load (txfr in 2wd)it might not show up as a real bad problem, but when driving in 4wd i think there might be enough load on the brgs to create a problem , and when you turn the steering from side to side i think the load would really go up then.
just a thought8)

 

[jims66]

if the brgs are turning but there is no load (txfr in 2wd)it might not show up as a real bad problem, but when driving in 4wd i think there might be enough load on the brgs to create a problem , and when you turn the steering from side to side i think the load would really go up then.
just a thought8)

Agreed! It just threw me off when the problem didn't show with the hubs locked. If it was my truck I would check the spindle bearings. They were my first thought. I know mine were trashed!