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rotorwrench · 07-05-2018, 07:16 PM

I work with a lot of different bearing applications and have found a person has to be somewhat specific when temps are up. It's not uncommon for bearings to get as high as 180 * F and especially when they are new. If you grab something that is that hot, you will get burned if you stay with it for more than 2 to 3 seconds. Normal bearing temps are around 160 on most types. Bearings like tapered roller Timkens with a higher pre-load will remain high most of there service life but they are usually bathed in gear oil so it helps take some of the heat away. The rear axle wheel bearings on an old Ford are just flat rollers and they tend to run cooler than average with no pre-load. Timken front wheel bearings are tapered rollers and run warmer due to more pre-load even though they don't have all that much. To me, hot is anything over 200* F. Most over temp warning switches are set to go off at 235* F.

Any bearings in brake drum or disk brake hubs will run higher than a lot others due to the brakes plus may get wet due to road conditions. This is why they always recommend a grease just for this purpose. It can take more heat without separation and it tends to work OK if some moisture gets in there.

07-05-2018, 07:16 PM	#20
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,476	Re: wheel bearings I work with a lot of different bearing applications and have found a person has to be somewhat specific when temps are up. It's not uncommon for bearings to get as high as 180 * F and especially when they are new. If you grab something that is that hot, you will get burned if you stay with it for more than 2 to 3 seconds. Normal bearing temps are around 160 on most types. Bearings like tapered roller Timkens with a higher pre-load will remain high most of there service life but they are usually bathed in gear oil so it helps take some of the heat away. The rear axle wheel bearings on an old Ford are just flat rollers and they tend to run cooler than average with no pre-load. Timken front wheel bearings are tapered rollers and run warmer due to more pre-load even though they don't have all that much. To me, hot is anything over 200* F. Most over temp warning switches are set to go off at 235* F. Any bearings in brake drum or disk brake hubs will run higher than a lot others due to the brakes plus may get wet due to road conditions. This is why they always recommend a grease just for this purpose. It can take more heat without separation and it tends to work OK if some moisture gets in there.