You asked why the rims might be getting so hot? It's for sure one of two things... either the brakes are binding up causing a great deal of heat (that would be very noticeable...) the other and more likely one is that it might be a wheel bearing failure..
Is there a noise coming from the wheel while driving?
Those are tanky vehicles indeed! Does it have a manual or automatics gearbox?
Hmmnn... I never thought about the wheel bearings you know.
I hear this whistling sound from the front wheels especially the right one when I accelerate. It stops when I hit the brakes. Could it be the bearings?
I intentionally worked on changing the brakes and the calipers partly because I thought it was the brakes.
I noticed the calipers look 'burnt' sort of. You might notice in the pictures. I'm not sure if the brakes are overheating.
The vehicle is a 4 speed automatic. It originally came with an auxiliary gear which was janked off by the previous owner, perhaps due to gear issues. So it's pretty much either locked to 2WD or 4WD, not sure which.
Well it depends if the sound stop completely when you brake... or does the sound go on until the vehicle comes to a complete stop....
It might be a wheel bearing that caused the brake disc to heat up... it might be the brakes...but by your description I wont say it's the brakes... unless the vehicle pulls to one side or is hard to drive...like something is draggin it back... that'll be the brakes. (Hard to explain over a message I know..)
If it's the wheelbearing you can jack up the car on that side and spin the wheel... it should spin freely for a couple of seconds and it should feel smooth when spinning it... if the wheel has a rumble when you spin the wheel it is most likely the wheelbearings. You'll feel it pinching up on stuff when holding your hand on the wheel and turning it
I see. I'll be taking it back to the mechanic's workshop today. I'll ensure they all of these things too and I'll give a feedback.
Thanks a lot!
The caliper is what holds the brake pads in place, you might want to check if the piston in the calipers are seized.
I doubt that, but I'll double check again.