[Hybrid]

I've just replaced a toast front wheel bearing on the Jim (water ingress). The new cassette bearing came with a note saying that it was pre-lubed. The FSM also didn't mention packing the bearing with grease like on the sierras. I noticed tonight, just a couple hundred kms later, a new noise coming from the same corner. When I got out and put a hand on the hub it was warm to the touch as opposed to the other side which was cool. Do these bearings indeed need to be packed with grease? The only other alternative I can think of is a freewheeling hub issue. I did the conversion a while back but I didn't rebuild the freewheeling hub itself. It doesn't run a bearing that could be causing an issue does it?

[Reubs]

FW hubs have no bearings and can't generate heat.

Wheel bearing is dry or caliper slides are seized and the brake is dragging. I have always repacked new bearings with way more grease then they came with although I'm not sure if that has been necessary. Last set I did I removed as much of the factory grease as I could and packed it with lithium grease.

Given water ingress was a previous problem you might have dry and seized caliper slides. A clean, and a kit with new slide boots and rubber grease is the go. This problem will generate heaps of heat as well and wear the pads very unevenly and can cause a pull to one side as well.

[Hybrid]

Reubs wrote:

FW hubs have no bearings and can't generate heat.

Wheel bearing is dry or caliper slides ......

Thanks Reubs. It did end up being the brake but not what I expected. The caliper had spat one of the spring clips out that holds one end of the outer brake pad. I asked the Mrs if she'd noticed anything the previous couple of days driving. She said that she did hear a bang front right but thought it must have been a stone flicked up. On the way out the spring clip bent the pad backing plate/shim which put the pad out of square.

It's a weird one but glad it was an easy fix. I'll definitely be checking those clips are properly seated in the future.