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  #1  
Old 02-16-2008, 12:49 PM
lilbrudder lilbrudder is offline
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Did my wheel bearing catch on fire??

I was replacing my rear 1/2 shafts last night and i noticed my rear passenger bearings seemed scorched. i replaced that bearing less than a year ago and used synthetic valvoline bearing grease which is bright red with little to no odor, well after looking into the back of the hub all the grease was black, clumpy, with an overwelming burnt odor. the seal seemed strangey brittle too. but the hub spins smooth and quiet, i haven't been getting and external signs of bearing failure(droneing/wheel play/pull). i wonder what went wrong? maybe the seal wasn't set all the way. anybody else experiance this?
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  #2  
Old 02-18-2008, 09:50 PM
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It's Just Eric It's Just Eric is offline
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I know svxfiles had an instance where a wheel bearing got so hot it melted the cv boot and burned some of the surrounding areas. I would imagine, though, that you'd notice such a thing via noise
Could it be the seal was bad, and the greese is just dirty? the burnt smell coming from...something else perhaps?
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Old 02-18-2008, 10:36 PM
lilbrudder lilbrudder is offline
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well, the rubber cv boots were fine and that smell was definately from the hub/bearing, as soon as i loosened the axle nut i could smell it. i forgot to mention the other bearing (drivers side) grease was still red and odorless, they were replaced at the same time. pretty wierd huh. i scooped out all the black grease i could get and injected new grease in, still feels smooth w/o play and rides good(no growling).
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Old 02-18-2008, 11:15 PM
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more than likely the seal was not set properly allowing not only air but debris and likes into the bearing housing. This will impede the bearing's ability to roll freely and with also make a mess of the grease.

Tom
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Old 02-19-2008, 02:55 AM
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svxfiles svxfiles is offline
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Let me be clear!

Quote:
Originally Posted by It's Just Eric View Post
I know svxfiles had an instance where a wheel bearing got so hot it melted the cv boot and burned some of the surrounding areas.


I FOLLOWED a non-member to my house for about 100 miles who drove it against my recomendation and watched the right rear wheel smoke and wobble till flaming rubber (the boot) fell off the car into the road!

I drove out about 100 miles to check a noise on a guys SVX.
His RR wheel bearing was shot, the worst I had ever seen!
And AGAINST MY RECOMENDATION he proceded to drive it the whole way to my house, 100miles of swerving, and barely being in control!
He would not stop the whole way back!
He would not answer his phone.
It was two hours of HELL!

THIS WAS NOT MY DOING!

When we got to my house I had to soak the wheel with a garden hose for about 15 minutes untill it quit steaming!




The car THEN needed the axle, spindle, RR brakes, RR rotor, parking brakes, and three times the labor, instead of just the bearing


Some people just won't listen.
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Last edited by svxfiles; 02-19-2008 at 03:17 AM.
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  #6  
Old 02-19-2008, 11:11 AM
lilbrudder lilbrudder is offline
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well i definately didn't have that experiance, sounds tramatic. tom i think your right, my guess is the seal wasn't pushed all the way in and the inner edge was rubbing on the cv housing (after tightening the axle nut) witch eventually roasted the seal from too much friction. i'm going to see what happens to the grease when i burn some up, if it turns black and clumpy then it would make sense.
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  #7  
Old 02-19-2008, 11:16 AM
lilbrudder lilbrudder is offline
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does grease expand significantly when hot?? maybe there was too much grease and it pushed the seal out against the cv house. just a thought, i'm gonna go burn some grease now.
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  #8  
Old 02-20-2008, 05:53 AM
dcarrb dcarrb is offline
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I think that bearing would be howling now if the grease literally got hot enough to burn.

dcb
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