My hub oil is Coffee-colored (Photos) Compliments of Hurricane Irene

[Scott & Heather]

Passenger side hub oil on both steer and tag looks fine.
Driver's side hub oil on steer and tag is coffee-colored. I assume it's dirty/water infiltrated. Did a lot of searches on hub oil, but no one really commented on the color. Should I just take a turkey baster and suck out the old stuff, and fill it with new? Lucas 75-90w? Doesn't appear to be any rust anywhere in the hub. But that oil looks nasty...

[junkman42]

Scott, You have water in the hub and removing it should be a priority!  Remove the hub covers and use a air suction blow gun and rinse with kerosene until completely clean!  Best would be to remove wheel and then hub so You can inspect bearings for rust.  A new seal should also be at the top of Your list.  Has Your coach been sitting in high water?  Hard to get that much water in a hub.  Regards John

[Scott & Heather]

No...the coach hasn't been in high water...I drove through a deep puddle once, but that was all of 15 seconds of deep water...and that was a this past spring. Thanks for the head's up. I'll get on it...

[TomC]

If the rear oil seal is not leaking, then the rubber plug isn't seating properly-that's probably where you got the water.  Pulling the wheel and installing new seals and inspecting everything is not a suggestion-it should be mandatory!!  Be sure to get a new outside window with new rubber plug also.  Good Luck, TomC

[Scott & Heather]

Doesn't it seem strange that this happened on both passenger side hubs?

[Scott & Heather]

Ok...so pulled off the hub cover. Things look pretty nice and dandy in there. I want to get under the coach to see if the inner axle seal is bad, but my guess is that it isn't. I would be super low in fluid if it were I would think??? Anyway, I drained the coffee out of the hub bearing well and used compressed air to really clean it. Now, I just need to get some kerosene to douse it all in before compressed air cleans it again. Which brings me to my final question...where do I purchase the hub cover gasket (I don't like the way it looks) and clear sight glass plug (the plug seems loose). I am in Apopka, FL at the moment. Again, what I need is:

1. Hub cover gasket
2. End-cap (clear sight glass) rubber plug
3. Hub Oil. Lucas 75-90w? Autoparts store?

Thanks so much sirs. You guys make me feel like I have my own pit crew. 

[bevans6]

I use 40W engine oil personally.  There is no need for hypoid gear oil in a bearing, but it probably won't hurt, it's what is in the drive axle bearings.  Remember that 75 - 90W hypoid gear oil is about the same viscosity as 30W engine oil.  You can always use hub oil too, Lucas makes a version that has all sorts of miracle claims and it's made specifically for oil lubed truck hubs.  50W manual transmission oil would also be a good choice.

http://www.teamrip.com/viscosity_chart.html

Brian

[Busted Knuckle]

Scott,
First off if your coffee looks like that your drinking some awful nasty coffee! (only reason it needs to be dr'd with cream & sugar) Real coffee is served BLACK!

Second if I were you I'd take the hub cover down to your local NAPA store and have him get you 2 new ones (don't cost that much!) and come w/plug & gasket.

I have to wonder which side of the bus it was you said was hammered with rain for hours during the hurricane. Could this be the source of the water?

As said above just about any hub oil is fine. We personally use the Lucus and keep a Qt. bottle of it in each bus in case a driver needs to add some on the road.

Also as you noted if the inner seal was leaking yes the level would be much lower.
  BK 

[junkman42]

BK, I was going to ask what a young pup knows about coffee but I will wait until I ask a favor before being a wise a#"""s.  What is the chance Your going close to Bob Glines place in the near future and if so what about Fort Walton Beach Fl or anyplace close?  I have a pair of radiators at Bobs and need them out of His way and I need them in My coach!  What say You Sir?  I live 45 miles north of FWB and am Close to Pensacola etc.  Regards John L

[Utahclaimjumper]

NAPA for your parts and Lucas for the oil.>>>Dan

[Scott & Heather]

You guys crack me up...(Heather is cracking up too)

Bryce First of all, my mother is a Brit...so coffee is ONLY served with cream and sugar  And that's how I used to like it when I drank it...yep, heavily doctored. Now, your theory of why the water is only in those two hubs? SPOT ON! During the 30 hours of hammering hurricane Irene rain, the coach driver's side was indeed facing the rain/wind. And it was intense to say the least. With compromised hub cover plugs, my best guess is they took on water. What's even scarier is that I just drove the coach 1200 miles on that watery mix.    I'm feeling a bearing replacement someday soon. Anyway, thanks so much for realizing the hurricane/water connection.

JohnL That's a mighty truck from Apopka...there's a chance we'll give a concert at a church out there at some point, but as of now, nothing is scheduled. Where exactly is Bob Glines?

[Jriddle]

I'm with Bryce on this one. Coffee is BLACK. I'm not sure I can use the language to describe the doctored stuff on this board. LOL Get new ones and you will be able to see through them to check the oil on EVERY stop you make.


Good luck
John

[luvrbus]

Probably is water Scott they are way overfilled I would install the old one and flush with diesel a couple of times then clean oil 


good luck

[kevink1955]

By the droplets at the top that look like they condensed there it's got to be water.

[TomsToy]

If your hub caps are Stemco check the following link
http://www.stemco.com/Portals/0/StemcoWheelSeal.pdf
Page 79 Part number 343-4080 and page 86 for the replacement parts.  I ordered mine from Ryder Fleet Products.

HTH 

Tom