Finding source of a little drag

I use a temp gun to get some numbers a little hot hot as my forehead yeah that's cool I mean what's the ambient temperature where you're rolling? Tracking down a little drag yeah that's going to be a lot of fun a fish scale and pulling is how they used to check brake drag things like that The bearings are non-lubricated sealed business I guess it's they wear and take on lots of mileage they can add a little play that little bit of play can add some heat certainly But if I'm not mistaken in the southeast United States when I'm flogging down the highway at 73 mi an hour for 40 minutes something like that and pull over at the sheets I used to do the same thing quite a bit but not in the Prius in my Corollas and all four at least the front to hubs would be noticeably very warm so if it's 100 outside the front hub on each side is probably pushing 115 maybe 120 The rears are doing much of nothing they were drum brakes like the Prius

 

Too early to tell... Could be nothing... Once it gets bad enough to notice a smell or a noise we can help with a diagnosis.

 

Yeah I'd have to wait till temperatures start to really creep up 84° and it's 70 out I would think it would be running it closer to a hundred 70 out at night and whipping down the road 55 miles an hour even the tad's lower just a coefficient of drag and all the business The brakes always are touching they're not dragging per se but they're there they're not supposed to be causing any strife but the little tiny gap that there is and any touching that they can do at speed will generate heat oh well certainly it's not enough to be worried with I mean until you get over 105 or something I wouldn't think and then all of them would be close to that a couple of degrees here and there I can't really worry about I mean the cost to get matching ground front wheel hubs and all that stuff with paperwork and that cost a fortune for a couple of degrees doesn't seem like it would be something to do.

 

All that sounds way too perfectly reasonable how long do the rubber hoses and all the stuff last If you're not in the rust belt Southern United States California someplace like that where it never rains forever you'll be out of the car I'm coming up on 500k and two of them and everything is original except for brake pads brake actuators one car is actually on the original wheel bearings that came on the Toyota when the car came from the factory The rest of mine all have TRQ type deals on them no problems no noise nothing very boring on the Prius I don't generally get out and touch the hubs much I used to on my Corollas and my celica's. But anything in a hot summer day below say 1:15 here should be good I mean the pavements going to be $125° on a hot day your lower rocker panels will be quite hot All of that stuff but yeah I don't know if there's anything to fix. Don't nothing seem broke and seems working well and you're what did you say $140,000 mi Man you got a long way to go. You've got less miles than my youngest car an '07 with like I don't know now it's 190 on it I think I got it at 170 or 160 loaded every available option except heated seats which I've never seen in the United States personally.

 

It's always interesting the difference between someone who ignores all symptoms even when they're obvious and someone who is noticing symptoms before they can even be confirmed that they are valid. If I were you, I'd find something else more important to think about, especially because your wheel bearings are nearly brand new.

And I'll admit, we all get tricked into worrying too much if we have good mechanical skills/experience.

Like yesterday my woodchipper bearing felt a little warmer than usual when I was done using it. It was also the hottest day so far this year (70' F ). But the hassle of replacing chipper bearings is so known to me I keep getting tempted to think about it. But I already promised myself to not get sucked into needless worrying and overthinking until there's way more symptoms to take the situation seriously.

 

I would think one of those IR sensing thermometers that measure the temperature where you point the light would be what you'd want to use. If it's the bearing, the parts of the hub that house the wheel bearings will get warmer - you may have to pull the wheel off to get to the surfaces of the hub you want to measure.. If it's drag on the brakes, the temperatures of the discs will be higher - provided you check after you've driven for a while and only coasted to a stop (or used the parking brake).

For the most part, it doesn't sound early enough to worry about.

When I still had my Gen 2, I gained a couple MPG back when I pulled the rear brake drums and got rid of the accumulated brake dust that had been circulating around in there.

 

Thanks... You just gave me motivation to getting around to doing original rear brakes at 298K miles.

 

Try a FLIR camera, you can probably rent one if you don't want to buy one outright.

This will let you literally see the heat sources on and adjacent to the wheel. It'll be pretty easy to see what's hot and heating the wheel up.

/My money's on that bearing...

 

That notion sounds like you're determined to relive your bearing replacement experience of 2 years ago and getting actual proof that you need to do that is something you're not interested in?

Most people who do home inspections have a thermal camera. Maybe you have a friend or will cross paths with someone who does that and they'd quickly compare temps from both bearings?

More to the point, you've yet to verify anything out of the ordinary and yet you keep trying... I'm sure you got other stuff that's more concerning in your life than this?

 

Oh yeah? Seems unusually cheap. Last time I put a genuine Toyota bearing in my car the part alone was about $300.

And the time before that when my former mechanic installed a much cheaper bearing? Well... that was exactly why I needed to go back and do it myself with a genuine Toyota bearing...

 

Last I checked they were using Koyo.

This post may help you get through the clutter of counterfeit parts

tl;dr a real Koyo bearing will come in a box with a qr code and a hologram sticker, and the part itself will be stamped with KOYO and a part number.

 

You didn't mention brand new tires? That could be the source of the problem right there. Once you get past 400-600 miles and new tires are broken in, check for warmth again. It takes tires a while to get past initial wear and start performing with minimal friction.