Front tires over temp June 14, 2022, 07:10:38 pm We ran into an issue today, driving into Huntsville, AL. As we were about 1 mile away from the state park we’re staying at the next 2 nights, I got an over temp alarm on my right front tire. It quickly shot to over 150 degrees, all other tires were about 110. Pressure was normal after a day of driving (69 psi). I couldn’t pull over easily, so proceeded to the Park. As we pulled in, RF tire was 178 degrees. The left front started getting high as well, climbing to 126 degrees. Prior to this alarm, the previous 10 miles or so there was a lot of stop and go, low speed, in hilly terrain, but I’ve never seen temps this high in the last 2000 miles in similar ambient temp/terrain. I’m cautious about brake usage/avoiding overheating them — or so I thought. Before leaving on this trip, I installed TST 507 monitoring system (caps, not flow-throughs). Again, rears never got over 110 degrees. Before we left on this journey 10 days ago, Ford dealer checked all brake components and flushed brake fluid. Has anyone experienced something like this? Does this sound like the front brakes weren’t releasing? Thank you!Jason
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #1 – June 15, 2022, 12:17:52 am While we’ve not experienced this issue, I think you’re on the right track. I found the following in a Good Sam’s blog posted by a mechanic. QuoteHeat is a sign of resistance-an underinflated tire is one cause, but so is a dragging brake drum, a bad bearing, etc.Another suggestion was to use an infrared heat gun to get an accurate measurement. Perhaps the tire pressure valve is giving a false reading. Good luck with this tricky issue.
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #2 – June 15, 2022, 01:41:03 am Hi Jason. Ed was on the right track. You want to confirm that the temperatures of the front wheels were really that hot. I too have TST flow through sensors, and the last time I went up a grade and down in heavy stop and go traffic, say 20-30 mph on a moderate heat day 75-80 degrees, I started getting high temperature alarms. First on the passenger side, then both fronts. My front sensors are pretty much out in the open, and I don't think the tires or wheels were all that hot. Driving characteristics remained the same. It hasn't happened again. I think that it was hot air from the radiator coming out from around the tires with just the right speed (slow) and prevailing wind direction making for not much air flow. Speeding up actually lowered the temperatures. It may have been happening all the time, but with the TST sensors, now you know about it. If the brakes had a binding up problem the first one would cause drag enough for the vehicle to pull to one side, and steering would have been hard to keep in a straight line. (I've had that happen on another vehicle in the past). RonB 2 Likes
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #3 – June 15, 2022, 07:39:15 am Thank you Ed and Ron!I’m definitely going to have to pick up an infrared heat gun. Ron, the rig wasn’t pulling to one side or the other, and the pattern of the alarms (first passenger, then driver side fronts) sounds just like the situation you described. I’m cautiously optimistic that this is exactly what I’ve experienced. I VERY much appreciate you both taking the time to give me some advice. There was no “sign” of anything wrong when I crawled under the front end. Nothing smoking, no brake line damage. Under the hood, same thing, and brake fluid reservoir was full with nothing about it appearing abnormal as far as my untrained eye could tell. Thank you!Jason
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #4 – June 15, 2022, 07:51:28 am This is one of those situations where a non-contact infrared thermometer can be helpful. If i was dealing with this problem, I would use my non-contact thermometer to check temps at all 4 corners after taking a short drive with multiple stops. My experience is that the front brakes will run a little higher temp than the rear brakes because the front brakes do more of the braking. As was pointed out, a sticking front brake would likely be revealed by the steering pulling to one side or the other. Another potential cause of increased front brake temperatures could be that the rear brakes are stuck and not doing their share of the braking. I had such a problem and after a lot of effort by my repair shop, it was found that an old brake hose was preventing return of brake fluid to the master cylinder. This was discovered after replacing calipers....Good luck and please report back if any problems are found.Steve K 2 Likes
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #5 – June 15, 2022, 08:48:51 pm Thanks Steve!I’ll keep investigating. So far, braking characteristics have not changed, but that info about the rear brake line is helpful in case that’s where this leads. Thankfully, with rare exception, this 2003 rig has never sat idle for more than one week it’s whole life (previous owner drove it once weekly 18 miles —religiously — when not on a trip). And the Ford dealer advised a couple of weeks ago against replacing the calipers and master cylinder as they checked them out at my request (along with my approval of replacements as needed) and found they were working “just fine.” Neither of those two facts guarantee that any components are fine now. Thanks again!Jason
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #6 – June 15, 2022, 08:56:04 pm It’s been pretty hot, and the asphalt along with the engine and radiator all give off a lot of heat on summer afternoons. My first suspicion would be that it’s just really hot around the tire, and investigate with an IR thermometer. You can shoot the brake rotors directly through the holes in the rims to get some idea of what might be going on with the brakes. Rich
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #7 – June 16, 2022, 09:43:54 pm Quick update, several test drives before the drive back to FL did not cause the issue to repeat (or any other issues or symptoms to appear). Never took it into the dealer. However, on the drive through AL toward FL, there was a similar situation (hilly, HOT, and stop-and-go), and I got a temp alarm (RF tire — 138 degrees). When traffic sped up to 65, the temp alarm cancelled. You all were right, and kept us on track. It was just the engine heat causing a false alarm. Thank you again!!Jason 1 Likes
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #8 – June 18, 2022, 04:50:46 pm Have you considered swapping a front sensor with one from the rear to determine whether this apparent issue follows the sensor or the tire?Steve 2 Likes
Re: Front tires over temp Reply #9 – June 18, 2022, 10:41:37 pm That is a good idea. I think I’ll try that, and when/if the conditions are similar enough to cause the alarm, I’ll know. The driver’s side front tire didn’t get as hot, but it did alarm as well, if a few minutes later. Thanks, Jason
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