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burnt oil smell

ladyvol21

2
0
After driving my truck I notice a burnt oil smell coming from the wheel well on the driver's side when walking by it. All fluid levels look good and no noticable leaks to be found. Any thoughts of what this could possibly be would be appreciated. Oh, all most forget, have vibration (began last night) as if a tire is out of balance and steering felt a little weird when turning.
 
O'Rattlecan

O'Rattlecan

Redneck Prognosticator
26,687
797
Belton, MO
I'm no expert, but some of the smarter guys might be helped if you provided information about the truck, such as the year and model.

Fellas, is it possible to get a leaky caliper and have the oil burn on the rotor?

Ryan
 
Fellro

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
7,953
360
Iowa County, Iowa
Possible power steering pinhole in the pressure hose, or valve cover leak.
Brake fluid will burn, but it takes a lot of heat. Just take a cutting torch to a rake line, it will burn quite well....
 
mrfixit

mrfixit

Chief Chaotic Engineer
8,334
171
Malfunction Junction, Fidelity MO -or- Mound City,
ladyvol21 said:
After driving my truck I notice a burnt oil smell coming from the wheel well on the driver's side when walking by it. All fluid levels look good and no noticable leaks to be found. Any thoughts of what this could possibly be would be appreciated. Oh, all most forget, have vibration (began last night) as if a tire is out of balance and steering felt a little weird when turning.
Click to expand...
Just a hunch, not knowing the which model we're dealing with here, but there's a typical problem that may have both issues covered here; On Ford Trucks with I-beam suspensions, when you get a leak from the power steering reservoir, steering box or brake fluid leaks, the fluid can drip onto the pivot bushings (located on the end of the I-beam). This erodes the bushing, and "air flow" or pressure can also cause this leak to blow onto the exhaust manifold or downpipe, causing the burning smell.
again, just a hypothesis at this time.
 

ladyvol21

2
0
I have an 2001 F250 V10 Triton. A brake job was done back in August '07. New pads left alot of brake dust on rims (front). As for power steering leak, that is a thought, however, I notice it felt as if the wheel/tire was "skipping".
 
mrfixit

mrfixit

Chief Chaotic Engineer
8,334
171
Malfunction Junction, Fidelity MO -or- Mound City,
THIS sounds more like a faulty caliper or contaminated fluid then. You need to take it back to whomever did the brakes; If the caliper is galled or hydrolocked, it could wear that new pad down to the metal in no time, and sounds like it's real close. If you can see the rotor, see if it looks blue or very rough.
 

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