What do you guys think this is? Need Some Help

Cmike2780

Hey guys. For about a few months now, I've noticed a stain around the center cap of my rear wheel showing up every time I wash the car/wheels. I thought is was just dirt/rust coming from the hub, but now I'm just not 100% sure. There was a big storm that rolled through the other day and it looked worst than usual, so I took the wheel off. I can't tell if water somehow got trapped in there and started rusting or something leaking. I don't see any liquid though, so my first thought is just rust. What do you guys think this is? I want to get an idea if have to bring it in to a shop or not. Thanks in advance. Here's what it looks like.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

wheee!

wow..

Might need new wheel bearings/hub!

Pull the brake drum off and clean out the emergency brake too....

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Cmike2780

Please say it aint so.

It doesn't seem like grease though. I also don't notice any noise/humming that would make me think it's actually the bearing.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

SouthArk370Z

It's not grease, it's rust. It looks like the car has been submerged at least to the axles, but it could be caused by a lot of things.

As per wheee!, I'd pull the rotor and inspect the bearings - it's been a long time since I saw that much rust in that area on a car. Might as well regrease while you're in there. Clean all the ferrous parts well and apply some high-temp paint (or a VERY light coat of grease) to everything that is not close to the rotor. Put it back together.

If you see any problems, especially with the bearing, I'd check the other three, too.

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Cmike2780

Thanks. The lack of noise or play/wobble made me think it's just rust also. Any ideas on the best product to use to remove rust?


....It just dawned on me that the last time I replaced the brake pads a little over a year ago I washed the inside of the wheels. I could have easily placed the wheel back on the car without letting it fully dry around that area.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

SouthArk370Z

If you're not going to paint, a wire brush ought to do the job. If you are going to paint, I'd use something like Naval Jelly (see also).

Well, that sounds a lot better than submersion. If you feel sure it was just "not quite dry" parts, you may want to forego pulling the rotors/bearings.

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kenchan

yah, wire brush the hub clean, use some brake cleaner to blast, degrease, and spray the hub with some black engine enamel. might want to primer first but engine enamels stick pretty well without primer.

Waiz

I had this same issue with my other car's front rotors, I just ended up getting a new set of rotors with rust-proof coating and my problems went away

Considering how cheap blank rotors are that is what I would suggest to you as well