Extremely Hot Wheel Assembly

[John L]

Guys:

I've been driving my 710M quite a bit. I drive it highway to my deer lease then off road in dust, sand and mud. When I got home yesterday after driving about an hour I smelled something burning. When I checked it out both front wheels were smoking hot. The wheel step and wheel were very hot. The housing in the back of the wheel was hot as well. The shiny silver ball felt like referred heat as it wasn't as hot. Both front wheels had the same problem. The back were cool to the touch. Any ideas on what to check? Could this be a brake problem and both front brakes are dragging? Master cylinder problem or just an adjustment? Or could there be bigger troubles? Any help you can provide is much appreciated. My truck and my hunting are shut down till I find a solution.

Thanks,

John

[Buzz]

Check your brakes. It sounds like the front shoes are touching the drums.

[Buzz]

Try adjusting the shoes first. Make sure everything is clean and moving normally. It sounds like they are touching and not retracting. After cleaning, adjust them with both wheels off and spin the drums so you don't hear or feel drag on either side. You may also consider replacing the drums or having them turned. If they get hot, they get out of round more easily. Once they are out of round they will not work well and could contribute to your problem.

I have my Pinz for hunting too. Those drums hold mud and sand. Good luck!

[pinzinator]

Years ago I had the same thing happen. The master cylinder was not releasing all of the brake pressure for some reason, and my front brakes got toasted. The only cure was a new cylinder, I'm not sure why it failed. I had to release pressure by loosening a brake line, it was a real pain.

[John L]

Thanks guys. Since it was both front wheels I suspected the brakes. I was also curious if themaster cylinder could've been the culprit. I have a new one I bought from Scott a while back and never installed. Ill jack her up , take off the wheels and let you know what I see. Hopefully there isn't too much damage in there. I appreciate the feedback and will let you know what I find out.

Thanks again,

John

[John L]

Well I wanted to report that I jacked up the front, removed both wheels, and believe it or not the brakes had released. I actually didn't do anything other than take off the wheels and do a "looksee". So, I was kind of thinking that maybe the vacuum check valve may be a problem? Obviously this is an intermittent problem. I put the wheels back on and drove her around a good bit and both wheels were cool as cucumbers when I got back. I'll try taking her for an extended drive in the next 24 hours and see how it goes. Maybe some mud or debris caused the brakes to hang up and then once it was cleared they released. I'm not really sure what happened other than there was clearly a problem and I'm not sure of the source, but it seems solved at the moment.

If you have any thoughts, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll put her back in service and check on the issue on a regular basis to see if it comes back.

Levers down!

JL

[Buzz]

I would plan on doing the master cylinder soon or as soon as hunting season is over. It's not hard to do and you are less likely to have a serious problem that leaves you stuck on the road or in the woods.