New Bronco Owner (Unmolested) 1977

[rtginga]

I'm new to the Bronco world. Never owned a 4X4 and I will have a lot of questions. First, should my front hubs get warm? After a 10 mile drive (unlocked) my hubs a very warm to the touch. Is this normal? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[bknbronco]

First off welcome to classic broncos

Sure they would be hot. The heat generated from the bearings and brakes has to radiat out someware. There is no way to know if the heat is excissive but im sure its normal. If you jack up a front tire spin it to make sure the bearings arnt too tight. It shouldnt take much effort to spin them with a tire on, and you dont wana hear anything but smooth spinning. Also grab the outside of the tire and shake it to make sure the bearings arnt too loose.

 

[rtginga]

Thanks. I had to hang new calipers so I had to turn the rotors. I replaced the stock hub locks with Warn's. I torqued the spindle nut to 50 and backed off 1/4 turn and then the locking to 80ish, but well under 100. The heat worried me. Glad to know it's normal/

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes normal, but it shouldn't be excessive. Brake dragging and bad or misadjusted bearings like bkn said will cause them to get hot. But if you can touch the hubs without trouble, you're probably fine.
As a comparison though, mine just get warm even after a decent freeway haul.

With the Ford brakes, it wouldn't be a bad thing to "dress" the sliding surfaces with a file the next time you have them apart. And use brake (hi-temp) anti-seize lube on them. Not much, just enough to keep rust from building up and things sliding smoothly.
If you do that as part of your normal maintenance, you should never have a brake issue with the fronts.
And the dressing up with a file thing really should only be needed one time. Once you've lubed them they should never rust or cause you trouble. If they were set up just right from the factory and kept maintained over the years, you probably don't even need to worry about them now. But since the Bronco is new-to-you, and you may not know the previous owner's disposition, it might be worth a quick check next time you're under there.

And you did the bearings right, so you're probably ok there. Short of actually checking the play with a dial-indicator, the proper adjustment procedure usually gets you right on the money.

And last but not least, if you don't know the history of this rig and it's got more than, say, 80k miles on it, replace the rear wheel bearings. At least check them, but if in any doubt, just fork over the money and replace them both.
It's one of those things listed under "Cheap Insurance" on your Bronco's to-do list.

Enjoy. And welcome again.

Paul