Hot front wheel

Hi. After driving home from work tonight (15 miles)I noticed the front offside wheel on my S80 was really hot,almost to hot to touch, also there was a burning smell though there wasnt any noise coming from the wheel when I was driving. Does anybody have any ideas what is the matter whith it ? I have had a search through the forums and cant find any answers. Thanks.

Could either be a dry wheel bearing or a binding brake I would reckon.

Thanks for the speedy replies I have jacked the car up and it looks like it is the binding brake. Is there a easy way to fix this or is it another barrow load of money to the garage?Just had an after thought, would the RAC fix it as a roadside repair? Thanks.

It would depend on the type of calipers fitted to your car. I have Bendix calipers which have one half of the caliper sliding. If the seal at the end of the slip bolt(s) has gone, there can be a build up of muck in the slide and this can effectively stop the motion of the caliper. This would leave it in situ as you had just fully applied the brakes. I would dismantle the caliper as if to insert new pads and then clean out the muck before re-greasing the slip bolt(s) and replacing the rubber seal(s). Other caliper systems would require a different approach.

Amazing what a good clean and a drop of grease can achieve!!! As migrator testifies above!!

Thanks for your help, will give it a go tomorrow and post how I get on. Its to cold and dark to do it tonight and I am a bit nervous about tinkering with th brakes.

I had this problem with a rear brake on an 850. Looking at the disc in daylight showed the problem as it was blue'ish in colour from the overheating pads. Might be worth a look before even taking the wheel off.