strange smell?

Hey all, my husband is currently deployed so I was left with his truck. we just had to replace the ball joint and inner and outer tie rods becaus the ball joint broke. The ABS light is on but i was told at the shop i needed a new sensor but wouldnt harm anything other than i may not have abs. i drove to truck to walmart and when i got home and got out my brakes smelled like they were burning like burning rubber. is it still safe to drive? what could the smell be? Please help i have to drive it from nc to florida and i dont want to lose my brakes.. thanks in advance...

 

something is wrong!..will be hard to diagnose over the internet..but the more precise symptoms and info on exactly what is going on will be insightful for us and maybe we can help you out!

but in the mean time, take it a worthy repair shop or even a Toyota dealership and let them see whats going on.

would be helpful if you give details on the truck itself such as year, 2 wheel drive or 4x4.

 

It is a 4x4. Trd sorry i dont kniw much about it. my friend said it kind of smelled like rubber and i have literally just put tires on it so could it just be the smell if the tires? It smelled like rubber and asphalt... but the brakes work just fine.. im about to sell this thing.

 

Look on the tires, especially the inside, for wear marks. Compare to the rear tires for reference. If everything looks the same, the tires aren't it. Brakes are tricky, have it inspected by a certified ASE brake tech, or dealership(some are iffy).
Broken ball joint? If it broke while you were driving, I would suspect there are larger problems than just the ball joint.
Let us know what the tech says. We can only guess without some more facts.

 

We got everything fixed from the ball joint luckily he was only pulling out of a parking spot and not going fast. i just noticed it today and i have driven it quite a bit since the ball joint issue. The tires have 50 miles on them and i never noticed it before tonight. i have smelled the smell before on my mazda and the dealership told me my brakes were hot and it was because it was cold out and they had not been used in a few days. i slammed on the brakes a few days ago then got under to make sure no brake fluid was leaking and it wasnt. Damn this truck its fine and when 1 things goes everything goes we just had to put 2k into it we i cant handle much more..

 

If it helps at all it is a 2004 v6 TRD 4x4 with a 3 inch lift.. i just got size 285/75/16 tires for it..

 

Best thing is get a estimate somewhere, burning smell is not good, pop the hood check your brake fluid level. With no visible signs of smoke coming from anything specific your gonna have to look harder. Does it smell at idle, or just when your driving? Happen only when you apply brakes? Need more info. If you just upgraded to 285's another possibility you could be burning your clutch if it's a stick shift.

 

I only noticed it when i parked it and got out after driving 3 miles but i was using the brakes. there was no visible smoke and the brake fluid is good but i will double check it in the morning. it is an automatic so its not the clutch. is there a chance is was just because the brakes were wet and cold? It rained here for 2 days and i hadnt driven it for those 2 days. im sorry this is so complicated i dont knoe who else to ask and i know before my husband left he was all over this site so this was the fiest thing that came to mind..

 

Well something is not right, wet and cold should not cause this. Not to sound like an ass but you have the parking brake off right?

 

That made me laugh haha. No i don't use the parking break. The shop told me the tires might smell as i am wearing them in but i dont know what smell they meant. i dont know i will probably just stop in and ask them tomorrow. Im sure they hate me by now i forgit to give them the tire key when i took it in to get new tires... -_- but when i got out of the truck and smelled it as soon as i smelled it it went away like it didnt linger around.. first sniff i smelled it second sniff it was gone..

 

Assuming the odor has only occured once and not excessive, I wouldn't be immediately or overly concerned. The smell could come from not fully disengaging the parking brake, riding the brakes while driving, or a contamination of one or more of the brake pads. Drive it (carefully) one or two more times to see if the odor goes away.

However, I wouldn't ignore, nor put off repair of, the ABS warning light. And I most certainly wouldn't take the truck on a long trip with that warning displayed. Get the problem fixed, and have them check out that odor in the process.

 

After the amount of money we just dumped into it we dont really have enoung. the sensor alone is 360 bucks. the sensor itself isnt bad but when the tire fell in from the ball joint it stretched the line connected to the sensor. i triple checked with the shop if it was safe to drive and he had said yes just get it fixed when you get there and it is just going to be like an older car without abs. also my husband had said the sensor could have grease on it because the cv boot tore and grease went flying everywhere but we got that fixed. i just dont know what to do with this thing its breaking the bank.

 

The warning light could just as easily be an indication of another problem (low brake fluid, etc). Leaking brake fluid could also be a source of the smell. Thus, if you're really determined to travel with that warning light displayed, at least check the brake fluid level often, including before and during the trip.

By the way, some auto parts stores, such as some AutoZones, will check the ABS diagnostic codes for free, provided you eventually have the problem fixed by them. The resulting code might provide a better indication of the problem.

Anyway, that's about all I can offer here. Good luck with your trip.

 

Okay, so I checked the brake fluid and it is not low. I just drove it about 12 miles to my friends house and when I got out it didn't make the smell. I even stuck my head in the tire well and there was no smell at all. She was probably just being a tempermental c*** at that point in time because it is fine now.

 

Welcome to TW from Sparks, NV
It could be the tires rubbing on the UCAs if they are stock. Did it have that size tire on it before?

 

the parking brake was my first though, my sister drove her car 4 or 5 miles home with the parkin brake on. Had to completely replace the brakes and i believe the disks as well

so now when i hear burning rubber, that is always what i think of

good luck figuring out what it is

 

if you didnt use the parking brake, you brake pads could have stuck a little from normal braking. Is the smell only on one side? just becareful when you smell that, that the brakes dont heat up enough to melt to the rotor and seize up....(ive done that)

if its only doing it occasionally which it sounds like, it might be from when the tire fell in and goofed up your brakes a little bit, maybe bent it a little. if you can get the tire off inspect the pad yourself see if there is any uneven wear on it.

just becareful driving when you smell the burning rubber.

EDIT: mine was caused from using the parking brake and when i released it, it did not fully disengage and they melted to the rotors

 

Was there an alignment check done after replacing the ball joints and arms?

If not it could be way out of alignment and the tires wearing real hard causing the rubber smell.

 

Are you sure the ABS isn't malfunctioning due to the sensor or whatever you need to replace. For instance are the brakes lightly engaged...allowing you to drive but not hold speed. (Does the truck coast as it did before without gassing?)

 

Two things:
1. New tires can smell strong for quit a while. I had new tires put on my wife's minivan and I can still smell them after 6 weeks. Not a strong burning rubber smell, but it does smell like rubber.
2. I recently cleaned my throttle body. Some of the cleaning solvent ran down the side of the engine, taking some old oil with it, and it dripped on the manifold. That smelled exactly like burning rubber when i started the truck for the first time. Scared the living daylights out of me - I though I messed something up big time. Anyway, OP mentioned that the CV boots broke not long ago and "grease were flying everywhere". Maybe some of that ended up on the manifold, or close to it where it now dripped onto the manifold and caused the smell.