Hot hub

[Liam]

Hi all, I have a problem with the front left hub getting very hot after driving a few miles, too hot to touch, in fact. Had the brakes checked to see if they were binding but they were ok. Also noticed a slight pull to the left under normal driving and pulling to the right under heavy braking. Any ideas? Should have said this is normal driving in 2H and not off road.

96 2.7TD,Manual,SWB. No Mods.

 

[zippy656]

id have the bearings looked at maybe that

 

[extreme-4x4]

bearings, ball joints and stearing components


jack it up both front wheels off the ground together and have a good wiggle underneath

 

[Liam]

bearings, ball joints and stearing components


jack it up both front wheels off the ground together and have a good wiggle underneath

Ok,will try that first. Just went throught the DOE test (MOT ) on 9th Jan and nothing showed up. Strange.

 

[jims-terrano]

My money is on the auto locker, I had one do the same. When mine got hot there was loads of smoke from it too. Before you check the bearing just remove the ato locking hub and check it out. My guess is that the brake rings have jammed together which is causing your drag.

Jim T

 

[Liam]

Hi Jim
That seems very likely to be the problem. How does it happen and what do I need to do to fix it?

 

[zippy656]

From what ive seen on here, manual hubs are the way to go or serviceyour autos. My Lady had trouble with hers, serviced then but still had to change to autos in the end. so payed twice.


for the poor poeple who dont YET know, My LAdy is Willow ( why pay me £10 ill tell )

 

[jims-terrano]

Well there's several trains of thought on these auto hubs and there is loads of threads one of which has norfolk in the title and has millions of replies which is what Zippy was hinting at. I'm pretty sure that when auto hubs are working OK they must be the best solution however when they give repeat problems like I had it was cheaper and easier to switch to manual hubs (jump out the car and manually turn them to engage them) and since switch to these I have not had a minutes trouble. when I'm going to need 4wd I simply engage them before I set off and don't actually engage 4wd in the cab until I need it, locking the hubs just means that the front drive shafts and transfer box turns with the road wheels and not powered by the gear box. The manual hubs are available from Milner Offroad, I think Willow bought some a few weeks ago for about £50 each.

There are several workshops in the downloads section (quick links) regarding hubs. Since yours have over heated then they may very well need striping down and cleaning and new grease as your old grease will be burnt. You will notice the brake ring that has lugs on the inside edge, these tend to shear off and lock or semi lock the hub causing the drag and the over heating. You buy the brake ring as a pair that repairs one side, the other one to the pair is fixed on the drive shaft with a cir clip. You may of heard a clicking or shhhhhing noise from the hub thats jammed. Later Terrano's had fixed hubs so this makes me think Nissan may of known about these hubs. When the hubs are locked or engaged you will also use more fuel. I've seen people post on here in the past regarding the transfer box oil, supposedly when it gets cold outside the oil thickens and causes drag which simulates 4wd and locks the hubs. The cure for this was to replace the transfer box oil with synthetic which doesn't thicken in low temps.

Please note that what ever your hubs are your transmission is not supposed to be run in 4wd on hard surfaces.


Jim T