Front Hub cover warped!

[Greg from Pittsburgh]

Hey everyone, I was on my way to Legonier Pa. when my right front caliper overheated. After cooling off, the oil in the front hub all came out, removed the hub cap and realized that the cover with the clear gauge for oil had warped from the heat and now the seal will not fit. Anyone know where to get a replacement bearing cover and what weight oil goes in the hubs?
BTW...Happy Memorial Day!

[EngineerMike]

find a local truck parts outfit, might be one that specializes in brakes & brake service that will have it in stock; they are pretty common and widely available.
90 weight gear oil IIRC (which isn't always)
There is a "fill-to" mark on the cover that is easier to read before you put the new one on, and you fill thru hole the red plastic plug goes in, not the threaded Allen drive nut port(s). Full level is generally at or just below the point it would overflow from the center hole.

[Greg from Pittsburgh]

EngineerMike, Thanks, Ill check in with them on Tuesday.

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Greg:

Since not all front hubs are the same, make sure you take the old hub cover with you so they can match it with the correct one.

[Algoma]

EM. When changing the hub oil don't you have to remove the allen bolt to drain the old oil first? You then rotate the wheel, fill with new oil and re-install the allen bolt. Or are you suggesting you drain by removing the cover?

[EngineerMike]

Algoma- Yes, except the last part.
If topping off oil, use the red plug. If changing, do the drain bit.
There are those who take out the 6 hex bolts and remove the Stemco cover & clean everything. In either case, I'd remove the wheel first to save the hassle of messing up the rim. And if removing the Stemco, I'd use a new gasket.

[hax]

Does anyone know how much 80-90wt oil it takes to fill the front hubs? I'm going to have new tires put on, and the tire shop said they would change the oil for me, but I'd have to bring the oil. Is a gal. enough for both sides? Will they need a pump or can the lube be poured through a funnel? Thanks Hax

[EngineerMike]

Gallon oughta be excess; shop (if its any good) will have a suitable funnel. They don't need to remove the cap to change the tire, but w/the wheel off its a good time to do so to minimize the mess. I'm surprised they don't have some kinda Stemco approved oil hanging around, or able to order it from their daily suppliers.

I couldn't find anywhere in Stemco's Tech Tips that they covered actual fill volume, but the gallon oughta do it.

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Hax:

When I changed my hub oil I did it without removing the tires and wheels as my hub cover had a threaded plug on the side of it. I jacked the axel up and rotated the tire until the plug as at the bottom and drained the oil using a small paper bowl to catch the oil. I replaced it with Hub oil from Lucas oil “Lucas Hub Oil” Lucas Hub Oil : Lucas Oil

One quart will be more than enough for two changes of hub oil. (4 Hubs)

[Beagle RC Air]

A warped Stemco hub cover can be easily trued up with 12" mill file and sheet of 180 grit wet or dry sandpaper. After filing off the high spots, a full sheet of 180 sandpaper placed on piece of plate glass and stroking the cover back and forth will leave a nice level surface. The addition of water during the sanding process will make the work easier. Not more than a ten minute process.A nice even application of silicon gasket maker will make complete the job. Allow the silicon to set up for 20 minutes before bolting the hub cover back on.

[Greg from Pittsburgh]

While replacing the rotors on all four wheels, they were all cracked!!! I discoverd that the front bearings were a little loose, After tightening the wheel bearings, the MH dosent wander like it used to..I used 90w gear oil in my hubs, took less than a quart for 2.