Hery guys
So today i was driving around town with the windows down cuz it was so nice out. I started smelling this burning smell like a metal shop. I just put another 18" piece of pipe on my exhaust and thought it was the price tag burning off. Well sitting at a stop light i noticed smoke but just thought it was the car in front of me. I got home and the grease from the wheel bearing was bubbling out of the cap I pulled the cap off carefully, and all the grease had liquified!! it poured out onto the ground and hardened after a few minutes of cooling. I dont have a socket big enough to torque the nut so i caked some grease in there and put the cap back on. Im going to be doing some surgery this weekend (hei ignition and carb spacer) so ill probably grab a socket and some other tools and pull the hub off and see whats up. Is the grease liquifying and the smoking usual? i still dont know where the smoke was coming from.

Any suggestions on what to do?
Thanks
Cody

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

No that's not normal. For some reason your wheel bearing is over heating-maybe its too tight? Or your brakes are dragging and the heat from that is getting to your wheel bearing.

_________________
50 chrysler,54 Plymouth, 64 Valiant conv 4 speed, 66 Valiant V8 wagon, 70 Challenger R/T 440+6 conv 4 speed,80 Colt, 98 Neon ACR,84 Honda V45 Magna
Taking care of 57 300C conv,48 T&C conv. Missing my 67 GTX and 36 Ply coupe

Well my brakes were really hot. I had been driving all over the place and theyve been sqeaking but im more concerned with keeping it running right now. They next thing im doing is brakes all around.

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

Do not drive the truck until the problem is located and repaired. It's likely you'll cause more damage if you drive the truck. This means it will cost more to fix or it could be catastrophic and the wheel comes off.
My D100 failed an outer wheel bearing and it 'ate' the spindle up.
If the wheel does not turn easily when raised off the ground it's probably a seized brake caliper or bad brake hose. Inspect both sides!
I would pull both rotors and inspect the inner and outer wheel bearings. Clean the bearings and hubs and repack with new grease.

_________________
Joshua

Yeah, I've heard a wheel bearing make it so loud that conversations or radio cannot be enojyed, because my sister doesnt follow my advice

The fix is super easy, change em out and keep slantin! Save yourself the work and cash! Or keep it and it could be a costly smoke screen for the batram

_________________
The only way you can ever really break something beyond repair is to give up trying to fix it.

It doesn't squeak. My rear brakes do. But do those wheel bearings have to be pressed in? I don't have a press. How hard are they to change. I've done them in class on an 18 wheeler axle. Also how big is the retaining nut?

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.

Probably was loose, not tight. You don't need a socket, and using one might get them too tight. Just use a crescent wrench. You should pack the bearings, then install the nut and tighten the nut fairly snug. Then loosen the nut and lightly tighten it this time. Just the weight of your hand on the end of the wrench should be enough. Then grab the top of the tire & push in & out. If you feel any motion, the bearing is loose. If you have to tighten up the nut a lot to remove the "play" in the bearing, they need replacing.

You don't need any other tools to replace the bearings, but you do for the races, which you should replace along with the bearings. If you don't have tools for that job, a machine shop should be able to to it for a minimal cost.

Trick:

To get at the inner bearing, remove the nut & outer bearing, then screw the nut back on a few turns. Use the drum as a "slide hammer", pulling the drum away sharply from the spindle. The nut will seat up against the inner bearing and the bearing will pop the seal out without damaging it.

_________________
Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

bearing is not pressed in but the bearing race is-and they have to be a matching pair. When you buy the bearing it will come with the races (inner and outer). And you will need to have a new wheel bearing grease seal pressed in, but that you can do with a 2X4 piece of wood.

_________________
50 chrysler,54 Plymouth, 64 Valiant conv 4 speed, 66 Valiant V8 wagon, 70 Challenger R/T 440+6 conv 4 speed,80 Colt, 98 Neon ACR,84 Honda V45 Magna
Taking care of 57 300C conv,48 T&C conv. Missing my 67 GTX and 36 Ply coupe

Ok thanks for the help guys. I'll do both front inner and outer bearings this weekend. I'll let you know by Sunday how it turns out.

_________________
Old truck: 82 D150 225, 2bbl, dutra duals, 2.5" straight pipe to dual 2.5" tail pipes. Mud tires, 4spd, old forest service truck.
Current truck: 98.5 Ram 2500 ccsb, sport, 24v cummins, 5spd, 4.5" lift, 35's, 5" straight pipe.