Just bought this baby and drove her home from Nebraska. After 300 miles pulled off the interstate and coasted down the offramp. Applied brakes slowly but as I got to the stop sign the car's ABS feature felt like it was REALLY firing up. The ABS light lit up and when I pulled her into the gas station the right rear wheel had some faint smoke lifting out of it. Smelled like really light popcorn oil, I saw some spray on the wheel well, and the smoke was rising off the exhaust pipe where some of the spray had landed. After that I had my wife drive the car around the station and could hear some definite grinding from that specific wheel, no others.
I am posting some pictures as I am not ENTIRELY sure what the problem is. My first thought was definitely the brake system (Caliper, Pad, or Rotor) but this fluid, it is not brake fluid (at least Im not sure yet) as the master cylinder still is at max level. After driving vehicle for 5 minutes the wheel hub, and entire rim is blazing hot, no other hubs are even mildly warm. Took a shot of the rear diff., Rotor Pad, and the Wheel Well.
Diff. looks wet, but I don't see any noticeable or large leaks. I have never worked on any american car, have done plenty of mechanical work on Foreign Models. Need help identifying issue!!
Could it possibly be one of the Caliper's Pistons breaking the rubber seal, could this be the grease from the caliper piston that sprayed? I hope to god it is just that, cause that's an EASY repair. Maybe I'll just put on some performance brakes since I'm under there. Still, I'd feel more comfortable if someone else knew what was going on... I haven't pulled the caliper yet, rotor doesn't look glazed or lipped...
Last edited by Kithrax : 06-22-2009 at 12:26.
Reason: adding info
It's the axle bearing. Click my black Bronco in my sig & read the captions in the 8.8" Axle album. Once you replace the bearing (& seal), you also have to replace the brake pads because they're contaminated with oil, and so are the e-brake shoes. If the rotors are old (thin/warped), you might as well replace them at the same time & just not have to worry about them again for several years. For pics specific to that car's axle, click my '99 P71 & look thru the E-Brake Shoes album.
Hey thanks for the info, Ill check into what I need to do to pull the axle and replace the bearing. I guess $20 bucks to replace a bearing and seal isn't so bad, I hope the axle isnt worn :(. OK so I have replaced a bearing before, but I have NEVER messed with differentials, so I gotta drain that transfer case, but is the process fairly simple when pushing that axle out? Or is it a major PITA? P.S. Couldnt find your E-brake Album, but the Bronco pics are helpful, only difference I see so far is that you have rear drums, instead of discs.
Hey thanks for the info, Ill check into what I need to do to pull the axle and replace the bearing. I guess $20 bucks to replace a bearing and seal isn't so bad, I hope the axle isnt worn :(. OK so I have replaced a bearing before, but I have NEVER messed with differentials, so I gotta drain that transfer case, but is the process fairly simple when pushing that axle out? Or is it a major PITA? P.S. Couldnt find your E-brake Album, but the Bronco pics are helpful, only difference I see so far is that you have rear drums, instead of discs.
Alright I'm ready to give this a whirl, Im still a little confused on ONE thing. So I get the case open, drain the fluid then twirl the driveshaft until I can see the pinion bolt, or retaining bolt, get that bad boy off, and slide the bolt out... Is it just that easy, after sliding this bolt out the axle then slides out as well??? Is there anything I should be very careful on so I dont mess up the gears. I dont wanna @#$% something up here Thanks for all your help guys. I just wanna save some money here!
Ok I opened her up, got the pinion shaft pulled out then I thought this thing just slid out but what the hell is it? and how do I remove it??? Noones pictures has it, please help me out once again, I can't tell what kind of trick is needed to budge this thing.
You don't have to take that out. You have to loosen the wheel speed sensors quite a bit and shove the shafts in to remove the U-clip. Sometimes you need to rotate the axle a little so the wheel stud doesn't go against the park brake parts in order to move the shaft in enough.
That's the spring to compress the Posi-trac clutches. You only remove it to do the clutches.
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Thanks for all your help guys. I just wanna save some money here!
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