hub temps vary by 5 deg

[coolbri70]

so i finally got her splashed today, i pulled off halfway there and retorqued lug bolts a couple were a half a turn loose, stopped and bought a paddle cause i didnt want to be up the creek without, had a good day on the river, checked the torque again they were still tight, so i towed it the whole 30 miles home checked they were good, out of curiosity i checked the temp of the hubs with my ir gun, the left was 93 deg, and the right was 98, is this normal? what could cause the difference in temp?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

Its not significant to even worry about. Could be any number of things from the amount of grease to the amount of free play difference betweeen the two sides. One of them could have even been in the sun more to even account for that little difference.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

thanks bruce i wasn't sure, i just cleaned and regreased them, the freeplay seems the same, is 95ish degrees for hubs ok on a 70 degree day after a 30 mile trip, the first time i tried to splash her i had a wheel fly off and now i am so paranoid my legs were shaking the whole trip

 

[fishrdan]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

could have even been in the sun more to even account for that little difference.

That's what I was thinking...

 

[H20Rat]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

I'd be willing to bet that the side with the sun shining on it was the warmer on. IR thermometers are only accurate if you don't have a massive IR emitter overheat. If you are measuring anything that is remotely reflective and have sunlight, you are going to be getting lots of IR from the sun, making a good reading impossible.

easy way to prove it... put a mirror in the freezer, then take it out on a sunny day and measure it with an IR thermometer. Not going to ready anywhere close to actual temp!

 

[coolbri70]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

but the sun had just set and was on the side that was cooler it was about 70deg outside at the time and i was wondering if a its normal to have a 30 deg temp increase after a 30 mile trip, i mean if i have a temp increase it means i have friction, is this normal

 

[four winns 214]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

90-95 degrees is what I read on my hubs. And in my experience, distance towed doesn't affect temps after 10-15 miles. Even after towing 100+ miles, temps are the same. Hubs with brakes will, of course, read higher.

 

[bigdee]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

IR thermometers are not that accurate on shiny surfaces....what were you aiming it and what color was it,was it exactly the same as the other side? Were your tire pressures equal? Is your boat heavier on that side? The crown of the road will put a little more weight on the right side. The point is, 5 degrees is insignificant. Temperature rise above ambient would be more of a concern and you are below the margin for concern.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

90-95 degrees is what I read on my hubs. And in my experience, distance towed doesn't affect temps after 10-15 miles. Even after towing 100+ miles, temps are the same. Hubs with brakes will, of course, read higher.

thanks, i guess its normal at that temp, as my hubs have no brakes

 

[coolbri70]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

IR thermometers are not that accurate on shiny surfaces....what were you aiming it and what color was it,was it exactly the same as the other side? Were your tire pressures equal? Is your boat heavier on that side? The crown of the road will put a little more weight on the right side. The point is, 5 degrees is insignificant. Temperature rise above ambient would be more of a concern and you are below the margin for concern.

the boat was off center slightly so the weight could be the differiciating factor, i had the laser on the black part of the hub they are the same color, only the bearing savers are chrome

 

[TyeeMan]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

Yep, as previously said IR guns are terribly in-accurate. I have one at work and if 10 people use it I'll get 10 different readings. It also depends how close or how far away from your target you are as your target area (diameter) gets bigger the farther away you are.
wouldn't worry a bit about 5 degrees, probably not even 10 degrees.
Cudos to you for actually torquing your wheel lugs, LOTS of people never do. Make sure your wheel lugs are torqued, both tires have the same air pressure, both bearings are properly adjusted and you'll be just fine. If it really bugs you use synthetic grease the next time you pack your bearings, it can handle water loading and heat better.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

yeah i learned that lesson the hard way that is in anouther thread( my trailer tire was bouncing in the mirror ):facepalm:

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: hub temps vary by 5 deg

The temps are too close to worry about in my opinion.