Hub Temps

Trevtron

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Y’all ever use a laser thermometer and check the temps of the hubs?

Shot mine today after a 20mile trip, was 125*F at the base of the hub at the rim and 110*F near the chrome ring.

Might have been hashed out here before but didn’t see any hits on my search.

More than anything was looking at the consistency of the readings between the 2 sides, wondered if it had any correlation to bearing health.
 

Trevtron

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Back was cooler, I had shot my front hubs (it’s a 4x4).

Wasn’t concerned about the readings, they were consistent. Just wondering if anyone else had used temperatures on any drivetrain components to look for potential issues.

I’d be concerned if there was a 20-30* difference from the 2 sides,
 

Trevtron

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I’ve done that over the years too, just got curious tonight when I had that laser temp tool out to see what actual readings were
 

nostrokes

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We do that at work with motor bearings. Anything over 200* we usually pull and investigate, at least when the bean counters let us:frustrate.

It would be useful to help you know when you need to pull it apart and look. A over greased bearing will run hot, same as a bad bearing, so if you see higher temps you'd have a good chance at getting it before it goes to crap.
 

IDIBRONCO

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I’d be concerned if there was a 20-30* difference from the 2 sides,
Now this was probably a one time one thing, but here's my story on this. In June of 2012 (a very hot year), I drove my 6.9 powered Bronco four hours to borrow a friend's four wheeler for a trip to Colorado. Coming back home, there was a pretty strong south wind that was hitting my driver's side. Since I was in the Bronco, I had to pull my three rail motorcycle trailer to haul the four wheeler on. It has 5.70-8 tires. Since it was so hot (still 109 at 9:30 at night which is unheard of around here) I was concerned about the bearings on the trailer. At one point, I stopped along the highway to put my hand on the hubs. The driver's side one was really hot, but the passenger's side was just warm to the touch. I was a little bit nervous, but drove the last 1 1/2 hours home with no problems from the trailer. It had to be the hot wind that was blowing on that side to make the hub feel so hot. Since you're from Katy, TX, it's possible that you may experience something similar some day.
 

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