extremely hot lug nuts = ?

JohnS.

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I was taking my front lip off today and the back of my hand touched a lug nut (driver side) and I immediately backed it off. It was hot as hell. I couldn't even touch it for more than a second without pulling away. I didn't touch any of the other wheels but I'll try to remember later when I get to class.

I just replaced the rotors and pads not even 5000 miles ago. Could it be a bad caliper? How do you test for a bad caliper? I also read that it could be a bad wheel bearing. But my car doesn't vibrate or make noises when turning. It pulls slightly to the left. I got an alignment done 2 months ago back when I had bald front tires. It drove straight as an arrow after it. Then I got new front tires and it pulled slightly to the left.

I can't afford to have my car in the shop for a day since it's my only car and I work every day and don't even have a bike to ride to work. Any ideas?
 

Esotericimage

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its heat soak from the rotors.. if its hot, dont touch it!
 


31dev31

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How long were you driving the car before this happened?

This will help determining if it's normal or it could be a seized caliper.
 

mixwell

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no mention about bad bearings being a culprit? is it the same on the other side?
 


JohnS.

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its heat soak from the rotors.. if its hot, dont touch it!
So hot lug nuts is a normal thing? How do you tell the difference between a hot lug nut caused from a bad wheel bearing / seized caliper from a hot lug nut from heat soak?

How long were you driving the car before this happened?

This will help determining if it's normal or it could be a seized caliper.
Hmm... Maybe a half hour, city driving (not heavy stop and go, but some).

no mention about bad bearings being a culprit? is it the same on the other side?
Like I said, I forgot to check the other side when I touched the driver side. I'll try to remember to touch the other 3 wheels when I get to class later. It's about a 20 minute drive.
 

projektej8

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I gues if they are made out of a pretty heat conductive metal, it would just be heat soak from the brake system. The lug nuts are always hot when we take them off at work, if the cars been driven.
 

Jbuck2KCivic

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I blame it on the steelies, and the tires probably had something to do with it as well. My vote goes for replacing with new wheels/tires and...problem solved! lol
 

Szady

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Its just b/c your azn John. Thats your problem, you know. :lol:
 

31dev31

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And your car has a slight pull to the left (driver's) side?

Might need to get your brakes looked at. If you want to do it yourself: Take your brake caliper off, use a large channel locks and see if the caliper piston will go back in it's bore.
 

Billy.

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its probably heat soak from the brakes. but if you want to check the bearing just jack up that corner of the car so the tire is completely off the ground, then spin the wheel and listen. if it sounds like its grinding then the bearing is probably bad. make sure youre not hearing the brake pad sliding on the rotor though - completely different noise. also the wheel should turn relatively freely and not come to an abrupt stop when you let it go
 

obracer12

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I had a caliper "hyper extend" on me and lock shut.. melted the hub cap right off the steelie... thankfully it was a rental car and i didn't have to deal with it lol..

I suggest taking it for a regular drive, and comming back home, and going to all 4 corners to see if they are all hot.. if so heat soak, if not and only that corner coupled with the pull to that side I'd sat it was your caliper, or it not retracting when you get off the brake.. did you grease your pins when you did your break pads?
 

JCCLARK

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Try spinning your wheel when up on a jack, I'll be your
brake callipers are binding.
This is exactly why people have brakes that don't last very long, they never clean out their calipers
and eventually they stop releasing, from all the dirt and water buildup.
I've seen them so tight I couldn't turn the tire by hand.
Most shops just replace the caliper, but a good cleaning is all that's needed.
You have to remove the piston and clean it all out.
you'd be surprised at the crud I've seen.:cool:
 

matt2122

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it's a pretty common thing, i wouldn't worry too much about it. if the car tends to pull to the left or right while braking that is usually indicitive of a brake issue, also steering wheel shaking under braking is an indication. last time i toasted a rotor was on my dodge truck.....got a rock stuck between the rotor and pad, pretty ugly. left about a 20mm gouge around the diameter of the rotor
 


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