Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

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morningglory
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Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by morningglory »

Hi,

Bit of a scare this morning on my motorway commute.

Accelerating up the last hill before my exit junction, I noticed less performance, and as the sliproad was heavy with traffic, I could see smoke coming out of the nearside wheelarch. Smells like burned plastic to me or maybe even brake pad, but could I suppose be diesel or oil.

No smoke coming from under bonnet when engine running. No sign of anything rubbing around wheel or driveshafts but will take the wheel off and check properly later. I managed to roll steadily a few miles to work with no further problems and the smell had gone.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Joe
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by Kitch »

Sticky brake caliper?
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morningglory
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by morningglory »

Ah thanks for the quick reply. Hopefully it is just that, but it seems odd that it has only just started. I had new discs and pads 6 months/a couple of thousand miles ago and no probs since.

Could it be the hub or even any breather pipes?
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by rutter123 »

Did it smell of brake/clutch linings? As Kitch says i would start at looking at the sticking brake caliper moreso the nearside as this side is more likely to be suspect as it spends a lot more time collecting salt and dirt from the road, a sticking piston is not uncommon tho usually quite easily solved, may be worth considering the handbrake cable isn't knackered and causing the brake to stick on as over time the outer sheath cracks and lets in water eventually seizing the inner cable. Also check that the suspension strut isn't leaking spraying its contents onto the disc.
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by Defender110 »

Having new discs and pads won't stop the old callipers from sticking/ seizing.
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by morningglory »

Yeah calipers will be 20+ years old now . Anyone know wheres best to get new ones? Should it come to that. I'll check the state of them and the handbrake cable for now. Thanks.
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by KevR »

Also worth checking that the pads were fitted correctly. There's a welded 'pip' on the back of the pad which faces the piston, which engages in a slot on the piston and stops the piston revolving. I've seen cases in the past where pads for other models (205? Renault Express? Can't remember) have been fitted and they don't have that 'pip' (and even some proper BX sets only have the pip on one pad of each pair so if they're put in the wrong way round....). So over time (depends on how free-moving everything is, how many miles you're driving in one go, how fast you drive and how hard you use the brakes) the piston revolves and winds itself along the automatic adjuster thread until it's jammed on. At first you don't notice anything except maybe the steering pulling more to one side a bit, but eventually it will build up enough heat to jam on properly and cause exactly the symptom you describe. Normally I'd have said that if they were fitted six months ago that shouldn't be the problem, but if you're only doing such low mileages, it's definitely worth checking.
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by Dragon Man »

i got my new calipers from Amazon.. i got one for only £7!
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always buy base spec. that way you have the fun of putting all the cool bit on your vehicle :mrgreen:
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Re: Smoke from nearside wheelarch - ideas?

Post by KevR »

Blimey - that's good!
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