hubs or bearings?

[jgilbs]

I just replaced the brakes on my 92. Now, when i stop suddenly, then start driving again, it sounds the same as when the auto hubs engage(like a thunk). yesterday when i was driving, i lost almost all braking power (brake had to goto the floor) and when i looked at my pass. side front wheel, it was smoking and leaking brown fluid. so i quickly took the tire off, fully expecting to have to put out a fire, and i saw there was a slight amount of smoking coming from the hub and it was INCREDIBLY hot (could feel it from 2 feet away) also the axle grease was liquified. So I took the hub off, and let it cool down for a few hours and replaced the front brakes. now it seems to stop the same as before, but sometimes with a thunk upon resuming motion. did i fry the hubs? or are the bearings maybe messed up?

It's weird because yesterday it felt like the drivers side tire had not been tightened enough when i was driving(when i took it off today, the lugs werent freely spinning, but they were somewhat loose) but to have the smoking coming from the pass side?

 

[MrShorty]

Assuming you took the rotor off, when you torqued the wheel bearing locknut, did you torque it to 16 ft. lbs or 16 in lbs?
Did you grease the caliper slide pins, so the caliper doesn't hang up?
New or old calipers? If old, are the calipers sticking?

 

[jgilbs]

i just torqued it to a moderate pressure with a tire iron (they were torqued MUCH tighter before) but now they are tight, but not tight enough to break anything. still have the old calipers, but they dont seem to be sticking. when i compressed the piston, it went in pretty easily. and i did lube the slide pins (it had been squealing a lot before, now it doesnt at all)

 

[MrShorty]

Sorry, I wasn't talking about the lugnuts. Did you remove the rotor for machining or to repack the bearings? If so, what did you torque the wheel bearing locknut to (Big 2-3/8" nut that holds the wheel bearings in place and the rotor on? A lot of times someone will read in their manual where is says "torque to 16 in. lbs" and read 16 "ft lbs" and end up tightening the locknut way too tight.

 

[jgilbs]

no, rotor was smooth as glass so i didnt remove the rotor - only a basic brake pad change. when i spin the wheel with the tire off, the pad seems to be dragging VERY slightly. would this affect the wheel in any way? when braking, i can not feel it pull to one side, but after driving about 5 miles, the hub is hot to the touch. is this normal?

 

[jgilbs]

so i just went for like a 5 mile drive. i came back home and felt my hubs and they were burning hot to the touch. kinda smelled like burning. what does this mean?

 

[Rhett]

Usually when you get symptoms like you describe, you have a caliper sticking, or bearings torqued too tightly as MrShorty said. The other thing particular to our 1st Gen 4WD trucks is the autohubs can break and seize. In particular there is a plastic cam that fits around the spindle that is prone to breaking or wearing.

It almost sounds like you have an autohub that is partially seized. I'd pull the hub and inspect the cam, thrust washers, etc.

 

[jgilbs]

can i buy the parts for the hub individually? or would i need to buy the whole assembley. also, how do i tell which side is bad? (when i am turning hard left i can sometimes hear a clunk) is this a very difficult job to replace and repack the bearings? do i need any special tools? also, how much should it cost (ballpark figure)