Burning smell

cw girl

I drove quite a long distance yesterday probably ~450km, got a smell like burning rubber from the car. would this be from the tyres due to the heat and distance travelled or should I get this checked. I checked and water and oil are ok in the car.Thanks

Tipsy Mac

Could be the catalytic convertor, perfectly normal.

peasant

Probably one of two things:

1) Clutch on its way out

2) A sticking brake caliper that causes on of the brakes to rub slightly and overheat.

Does you clutch ever slip? Do the revs go up but acceleration isn't really happening as fast as it used to?
That would be the symptoms of a failing clutch. Not really tragic ..just costs a good bit of money to get replaced.

The brakes on the other hand would be critical for safety, as an overhaeting brake could boil the brake fluid, leading to sudden loss of braking power.

Drive a few kilometers up and own the road and then immeditadly check all four wheels for temperature at the rim (not the tyre). If one or two are hotter than the others, then you've got a sticking brake. You should get that seen to immediatedly and not really drive any more.


EDIT: actually Tipsy Mac is right ..it could be something as harmless as the cat too. Still won't do any harm to check the rims for heat after your next drive, just to be safe

cw girl

peasant wrote: »

Probably one of two things:

1) Clutch on its way out

2) A sticking brake caliper that causes on of the brakes to rub slightly and overheat.

Does you clutch ever slip? Do the revs go up but acceleration isn't really happening as fast as it used to?
That would be the symptoms of a failing clutch. Not really tragic ..just costs a good bit of money to get replaced.

The brakes on the other hand would be critical for safety, as an overhaeting brake could boil the brake fluid, leading to sudden loss of braking power.

Drive a few kilometers up and own the road and then immeditadly check all four wheels for temperature at the rim (not the tyre). If one or two are hotter than the others, then you've got a sticking brake. You should get that seen to immediatedly and not really drive any more.


EDIT: actually Tipsy Mac is right ..it could be something as harmless as the cat too. Still won't do any harm to check the rims for heat after your next drive, just to be safe

Thanks folks, I'll check that. It's a new car ~ 11k km on the clock so hoping it's just the cat convertor.

peasant

cw girl wrote: »

Thanks folks, I'll check that. It's a new car ~ 11k km on the clock so hoping it's just the cat convertor.

In that case it most likely is ...you just burned off the "new car smell"

pontovic

How much would it cost to get a new clutch put into a ford focus ? (1999 1.6l LX Manual)

kona

probabley not the best idea to take a brand new car with 11k(not ran in properley) on such a long drive at motorway speeds i presume??

afaik all owners manuals will tell you not to overload the engine or over rev it above so much rpm(depending on new cars) for the first 500miles??

The only times ive smellt burning is when im in a 10 year old ricer that has just had the arse ragged out of it.

Id guess that smell is either somthing on the way out due to the engine not getting run in, or just simpley the factory coatings of components being burned off.

craichoe

kona wrote: »

probabley not the best idea to take a brand new car with 11k(not ran in properley) on such a long drive at motorway speeds i presume??

afaik all owners manuals will tell you not to overload the engine or over rev it above so much rpm(depending on new cars) for the first 500miles??

The only times ive smellt burning is when im in a 10 year old ricer that has just had the arse ragged out of it.

Id guess that smell is either somthing on the way out due to the engine not getting run in, or just simpley the factory coatings of components being burned off.

11,000 km isn't run in .. lol
I think even Boeing 747's are run in at that stage

kona

craichoe wrote: »

11,000 km isn't run in .. lol
I think even Boeing 747's are run in at that stage

i thought i read 11kms....excuse my brainfart:D

Esel

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

Could be the catalytic convertor, perfectly normal.

Cat gives 'a smell like burning rubber'? Never knew that. I would check the belts.

Henry Ford III

Cats smell of bad eggs. A burning rubber smell is different, and a bit worrying tbh.

pontovic

Sometimes a strange burning smell is when you have over exerted and burnt out the clutch. This has happened to me once when I had an old Ford Fiesta that got stuck in the sand at the beach. I revved to get it out of there and it wouldn't budge, but the engine made alot of noise, so I can imagine the clutch was under a huge strain! Strangely enough, after that, the car drove as normal!