burning smell under the front behind the tires?????

[themadness]

pulled in the drive tonite after a couple of city runs. walmart, grocery store, etc. when i got out of the car i noticed an awful burning smell that sort of smelled like burnt plastic. this drive was the most it has seen in the city since i have had it(3 weeks). it has also been sitting around at the radiator shop since thursday up until this morning. this is the very first time i have smelled it. it seems to be coming from behind the driver side wheel in the front. atleast that is where it is strongest anyway. any clues?

its going to the shop in the morning for bearing replacements and trans mount replacement.

EDIT:i also noticed an oil pressure drop at the stop lights
and the shake at idle is a little more pronounced

[JAWS89GTU]

how are the brakes?? maybe the caliper is sticking and not disengaging

[K_Watson]

Likely your caliper and the smell is likely hot hubcap. When my caliper locked up on the Prizm, while on the interstate, the hub cap partially melted when I stopped.

[themadness]

could the caliper be causing alignment issues during regular driving?
costly?
could that be the problem and not bad wheel bearings?

its going in this morning and i would like to be prepared

[Chad91GTZ]

Man, it sounds like you bought a piece of junk. Just sayin. I know its not helpful. At all. But 80% of all the help threads have been you. LOL

[themadness]

startin to wonder that myself!

but alot of it is my inability to deal little things most people ignore. i nit pick over every little thing. my wife jabs me all the time about how peculiar i am. even in new vehicles i constantly listen for noises and rattles. i also want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to the mechanics since it will be a daily driver. not that i go anywhere of great importance. hell we could be a single car family if the truth were told. i'm probably jumping the gun on most of the stuff, but better safe than sorry.

[K_Watson]

could the caliper be causing alignment issues during regular driving?
costly?
could that be the problem and not bad wheel bearings?

its going in this morning and i would like to be prepared

Yes. If the caliper is sticking that wheel will drag and the car will pull to that side.

Calipers are not that expensive (less than $40 per caliper + >$30 for basic pads and $5 for fluid) and can be changed with a simple ratchet set, tire iron, and a jack.

[Chad91GTZ]

If your brakes were burning, you would smell burning brakes, not burning plastic. Just saying.

That said, if maybe you aren't sure what burning brake smells like, a hot brake could certainly shorten the lifespan of a bearing.

Jack your car up, grab the bottom of the tire, and pull out towards you, and push back in away from you. If it moves more than a few centimeters, your bearing is shot. If it doesnt, your bearing is probably fine, and don't let some jack hole repair shop tell you you need to drop 500 dollars on getting them replaced.

[Ozzwoman9]

I had a burning plastic smell once like that, crawled under the car and I had a piece of bubble wrap melted to my exhaust.

[Chad91GTZ]

He probably isn't as enamoured with popping bubble wrap as you are.

[berettaboi]

quickest easiest way to tell if your brake is sticking, go for a short casual drive like around the block (or 3), if when you touch near the center of your wheel(s), they are warm/hot... also the disc may look a bit different than normal. (cant remember what mine looked like on an old car...)

bearings will likely make a lot of 'rrrrrrr' ing noise when you get to any given speed. could still be the problem as well, but if you havent heard that, then more likely the brake caliper.

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Just a thought here, but are any of your inner wheel well plastics "dangling" or loose? If they're rubbing that will give you the smell.