Smoke coming from right rear hub/disc?

RETROV

Well-known member
So I got my truck all up and running again. Had a local shop do the fuel pump work because I just plain didn't have time. Had them change the diff fluid, tranny fluid, and all that at the same time. I have been driving the truck to and from work for the past week and a half or so. But today I pull up at work and noticed that the right rear hub area has a light amount of smoke coming from behind the wheel. Being dressed for work and all, I didn't have time to get all under the truck, pull the wheel, etc. But does anyone have ideas on this? Could it be caliper or disc related? I have noticed a light pulsing in the brake pedal, but I just figured warped rotors were likely the problem there. Ideas? I'd like to pull the fill plug on the rear diff, but haven't been able to yet. Anyone on this?
 

RETROV

Well-known member
rover4x4 said:
Id say if it were brakes you would be able to smell it.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I didn't really smell anything. Which I though was strange. I'm good at being hard on the brakes in my XJR and Miata and know that smell all too well. The diff fluid shouldn't get so hot that it would smoke would it?
 

RETROV

Well-known member
I guess my main question is if there actually is smoke coming from a hub area, is it possible that this is something serious? Could a caliper be stuck causing a pad to drag or something of the sort? And most importantly, could it be something preventing me from driving it 20 miles home today?
 

RETROV

Well-known member
Well I was in a hurry this morning and dressed for work so I didn't get dirty. But tonight I did. It looks like fucking axle grease. I am correct in that there are really only four places oil or grease could be leaking from the halfshaft seal, the two (inner and outer) bearing hub seals, and the stub axle seal. Correct? I'm not missing another one am I? I'm just gonna order all of them and the lock washer and give it another try.

Any advice on how to seal these well besides scraping the surface clean, wiping it down, letting it dry and applying high temp RTV?

I want a new rear axle housing to re-do off the truck!!!
 
Last edited:

RETROV

Well-known member
Yeah, after more jacking with it, I feel pretty damn confident it is one of the hub seals. The grease that leaked out everywhere is sticky, like the bearing packing grease, it is just almost black and everywhere on the inside lip of the wheel. I found some on the disc, so I'm guessing this is where the smoking came from. I just did this fix last May, so I guess it's a once a year thing.
 

jymmiejamz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2004
6,008
361
35
Los Angeles, Ca
Did the bearing fail? If it didn't I would replace it anyway since it got hot enough for the grease to smoke. If the bearing failed I would say there is a good chance that the bearing race welded itself to the spindle.
 
J

junkyarddisco

Guest
RETROV said:
Yeah, after more jacking with it, I feel pretty damn confident it is one of the hub seals. The grease that leaked out everywhere is sticky, like the bearing packing grease, it is just almost black and everywhere on the inside lip of the wheel. I found some on the disc, so I'm guessing this is where the smoking came from. I just did this fix last May, so I guess it's a once a year thing.

from what I've been told this really, seriously shouldn't be a once-a-year thing. are you using all the correct torque settings?
 

RETROV

Well-known member
Bearing has not failed. I'm not getting any mechanical noise from back there. I think the smoke was just from the grease getting on the hot brake disc, not from the bearing itself getting hot enough to smoke the grease.

Would the axle vent have anything to do with the bearings in the hub? My truck is non-ABS, so the hub bearings are sealed between the two seals I previously put in, right? Because I packed the new bearings I put in a year ago with bearing grease but filled the diff with the usual gear oil. Am I right on this?

And yeah, I know it shouldn't be a once a year deal...I'm sure the torque settings ARE where I screwed this up. I'm going to have the book out when I do it this time, rather than reading the crap and trying to do it by memory.
 

Forrest

Well-known member
Feb 5, 2009
67
0
Arkansas
this is a longshot but on my 77 corvette the inner lining of the brake hose deteiorated from the inside out causing one of the rear brakes to stay compressed heating the shit out of the pads and rotors and it gave that pulsing feel. maybe check them hoses , good luckj
 

mbrummal

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2009
2,893
22
Willow Spring, NC
Forrest said:
this is a longshot but on my 77 corvette the inner lining of the brake hose deteiorated from the inside out causing one of the rear brakes to stay compressed heating the shit out of the pads and rotors and it gave that pulsing feel. maybe check them hoses , good luckj
the parking brake got stuck on my 71 Camaro. Did the same thing, they smoked a lot! Parking Brake can't be the problem here, though
 

RETROV

Well-known member
Yeah, I'm going for inner hub seal. It's the one that was leaking before. And based on where the grease is dripping, my money is on the same thing this time. I'll know here in a couple days when I get to it. Already got the parts on their way and bought the bearings just in case. Thanks for all the help!