2010 Tahoe LT PPV Front Wheels Get Very Hot.

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Adrian92

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Hello and thanks in advance to anyone taking their time to read my post and provide any help. Before i start i will list as much info and everything i have done so far since i normally always look thru every forum that may help me before asking for help! My truck is a 2010 Tahoe 5.3L LT PPV RWD 184k miles. So, as the tittle says, front wheels get very hot, specially the lug nuts and wheel cap, the wheels only up to like 2-2 1/2 inches from the center, not like a frying pan after being on full flame but more like a metal sheet left on the sun for hours and you can only touch it for like 4 seconds hot, after driving back home from work (40 mile round-trip) or from anywhere really that takes more than 30 minutes. The car has been doing this since i bought it back in November 2024 and probably before i got it too. Since then I have replaced everything in the front since i had extra cash because the calipers, hubs and all looked in rough shape. Everything was ordered from RockAuto for my car using the sticker in my glove box to match the code with the online parts. So, Calipers, Pads, Wheel Hubs ALL CHANGED both sides (Front driver and passenger) and bled. Still does the same. So took it to a brakes specialist i know and we had the car up in a lift to see if the pads where sticking but they weren't. We tested the Brake Booster - Good. Master Cylinder - No Leaks, Good. we put the scanner on, No ABS errors in the module. He told me it could be the brake line hoses so we changed those with OEM ones since they weren't much and decided to do a full brake fluid flush and refill. Prestonne DOT 3 Full Syn fluid was used. First we filled the reservoir, let gravity so it's job and once the fluid reached each wheel we closed the valve and began bleeding the lines for air. We did furthest to closest so: Rear Passenger, Rear Driver, Front Passenger and last Front Driver. I had a lot of fluid so we made sure to pump each wheel as much as needed! But as you can guess it, the wheels still do the same, but only the front ones. The only thing not new in the whole front wheels system is the rotors, but since they don't shake, vibrate, squeak or do anything a warped rotor would do and i have had a warped rotor before, i just didn't bother with them.

Now for the interesting part of this issue and the few things i have taken note of.

* I usually work from 6am-2pm, and when driving to work at 5:30 am, i barely get traffic and almost straight drive to work, they get hot normally and 10-15 mins later they are cool. But when i get out at 2pm that now i have traffic, i stop more frequently, sometimes ALOT (i live in South FL), is when they get really hot, and one time i parked, waited for them to get hot, started driving, didn't stop for 5 miles and when i got down, touched the wheel cap right away, and was hot but not as before so it is cooling when moving.
* When i work from 2pm-10pm, it's the opposite of above. very hot when i get to work and cool down after a good 45 mins -1hr but back home at that time and less traffic, not as hot, more like normal hot but cool down in like 15-20 mins.
* Brake Fluid is perfectly fine right at the tip of the FULL arrow since the flush (2 months ago).
* Tires do not get hot and their PSI is usually between 36-37 (33 when cold)
* Car does NOT shake, jump, pull, or anything when braking, and trust me i have on purpose come to a complete stop from doing 60 mph to see but nothing. I have even let the steering wheel go when braking but nada.
* No burning smell coming from the tires, wheels, caliper or anywhere, i have even gone from under and almost burned my nose sniffing around lol but again, nada.
* ABS module doesn't show any problems or errors.

As i said, the car has been doing this since i got it and probably since before, I know these PPV vehicles are equipped with heavier equipment and all and the brake system is 7700lb (don't know if that has anything to do with it) but so far other than that, it really hasn't given me any issues or problems. Hopefully someone here maybe had this same issue and can chime in. And if this is normal behavior do to how this car is a PPV and has the extra heavy duty stuff on it i can just let it go lol. Again, I appreciate anyone who takes their time to read this and thanks in advance for any input!
 
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Adrian92

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***Forgot to add***
These are my wheels. I don’t know if they affect the cooling as well since they don’t seem to have a lot of open space. I don’t know much about wheels so
 

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Marky Dissod

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Assuming that you have no kinaesthetic braking issues (as in, any brake fade or brake knock?)
you should look into brake ducting - diverting underbody air towards the rotors and calipers.

Before looking into braking upgrades
- GM OE 2016-2019 non-PPV front brakes which require 18" wheels and lil bidty washers -
I'd buy new caliper slide pins, relube them with high-temp stuff, and use DOT 4 brake fluid.
 

swathdiver

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Get one of those infrared temperature guns for some real data.

When I leave the house and get out on the highway for 15 or so miles to my next stop, the brakes are about 90 degrees, same as my differential cover when it is 65 degrees outside.

I'm north of you a little ways, less city traffic probably.
 
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Adrian92

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Assuming that you have no kinaesthetic braking issues (as in, any brake fade or brake knock?)
you should look into brake ducting - diverting underbody air towards the rotors and calipers.

Before looking into braking upgrades
- GM OE 2016-2019 non-PPV front brakes which require 18" wheels and lil bidty washers -
I'd buy new caliper slide pins, relube them with high-temp stuff, and use DOT 4 brake fluid.
Thanks for the input, yeah after reading online i should of gone with DOT 4. However, my fluid doesn’t get hot, if anything, warm. Brake pedal doesn’t get soft either which would be one of the effects of boiling fluid. We also have a 2008 and a 2016 Yukon XL same engines as the tahoe and i use them as reference, my car brakes just as good as those two. Also, forgot to add, when i took the car to the brake specialist i know, i asked him to take apart the calipers in case something was wrong, double check pads and to relube anything/everything needed and he did.

Brake ducting seems interesting thou, will keep that in mind for sure.
 
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Adrian92

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Get one of those infrared temperature guns for some real data.

When I leave the house and get out on the highway for 15 or so miles to my next stop, the brakes are about 90 degrees, same as my differential cover when it is 65 degrees outside.

I'm north of you a little ways, less city traffic probably.
Mmm didn’t think of the temp gun, thanks for that tip! Yeah i think my brakes get higher than 90 degrees. The best comparison i have for now is the one i mentioned, like leaving a piece of metal sheet in the sun for an hour and then touch it. Or like the metal of a seat belt that we all been burned by! Also, yeah i get a lot more traffic down here, and i don’t use the highway to work, but when traffic gets me, i stop a lot, sometimes regular stops to quick fast ones from people cutting, or stopping suddenly etc.
 

swathdiver

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Mmm didn’t think of the temp gun, thanks for that tip! Yeah i think my brakes get higher than 90 degrees. The best comparison i have for now is the one i mentioned, like leaving a piece of metal sheet in the sun for an hour and then touch it. Or like the metal of a seat belt that we all been burned by! Also, yeah i get a lot more traffic down here, and i don’t use the highway to work, but when traffic gets me, i stop a lot, sometimes regular stops to quick fast ones from people cutting, or stopping suddenly etc.
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, took over 30 minutes usually to go 11 miles, driving just as you describe. I can only imagine it's much more congested now, thirty years later.
 
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Adrian92

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I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, took over 30 minutes usually to go 11 miles, driving just as you describe. I can only imagine it's much more congested now, thirty years later.
I won’t lie, it’s bad, very bad. And drivers here get worse by the day. Literally handing out driving license to anyone down here.
 

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