Foretravel Owners' Forum

My rear wheel hubs get hot, not so hot that my tire monitors but hot enough I will not keep my fingers on them, (probably should replace my IR temp gun)!
How hot is normal, could not find an answer in the old posts, would it be a brake issue? Brakes work very well.
Thanks, David

When were the brakes last inspected for proper operation, that they are not dragging or the pads separated from the backing plates and jamming? Has the rear axle been checked for proper oil level? The other bearings need that oil for lubrication.

About 1000 miles ago, this spring, I was assume they should not be hot, sounds like I need to get them looked at, thanks Dennis

David,

If it has only been about 1000 miles sense the brakes have been serviced I would figure:
1. the calipers were greased with wrong grease
2. Didn't bleed/purge the caliper properly after greasing
3. Didn't adjust the actuating arm turnbuckle properly.
4. removed the helper springs and didn't reinstall
With it being both sides I am betting a combination of # 1 & 2

If you were loosing rear end grease you should have a mess on the back of coach and toad and inside of the wheels.

Mike

I believe these are air disc brakes. I seem to recall that sometimes a spring kit is needed to prevent the pads from dragging on the drums. These were an add on. New brakes will tend to run hotter and not brake as well until the pads have seated with the rotors. How hot are they really getting? When the brakes were done, were the wheel flanges pulled which would let some oil run out. Was that oil replaced? And axle filled to the proper level. I would hope the shop knows what to do but I have been disappointed. I found my rear was filled to the wrong, lower plug when it was serviced. Then after filling oil started coming out the driver's side hub. The flange bolts were all loose. I trust very few folks to work on my stuff.

Yes, they ARE air disk brakes.

And, yes many techs have no idea how to (and more importantly how NOT TO) service them. For many of them ,it they see a grease zirk, they hit it with chassis grease. Which is why, if you have others working on your chassis to put a zip tie on the brake caliper zirks-- kind of "idiot-proofs" them.

And the optional spring kits, IMO are an excellent and necessary improvement.

Item number 2 and perhaps number 3 in Mike's potential problem list (Reply #3) bit us in the butt after a brake job at MOT.  We got one (front) wheel and brake assembly hot enough that it was smoking.  I documented the whole incident in a looooong rambling thread, if anyone is curious.

Right Front Brake Pads Dragging (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=29786.0)

RE: Helper Springs.

Old thread with some good photos on the helper springs: Helper springs on Meritor disc brakes (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=16318.0)

If you do not have them, do a web search for Meritor 15018 .. they look to be around $20 a set Amazon.com: Meritor Genuine KIT15018 Air Disc Brake Spring Kit (https://amzn.to/4mNGTXV) ... We found NOS (Rockwell) on eBay when we added them to our couch, about $9 a set.

Basic install Instructions (these are Rockwell, but are the same as Meritor)

 Normal  long run temp may be around  130- 150  rear hubs.  Both should be the same  ..
 Fronts, a little less.  Hot to the touch but should not leave burn marks .   

Thanks, I have the helper springs, MOT put them on a few years ago when they noticed the brakes were not operating properly.