Drive on the Beach = smoke and rubber smell

So I went for a ride on the beach last night for a little fishing (Bass r Running)...anyway the beach is a little hairy right now and I ended up driving on an incline (Driver's side low/ psngr side high) into some soft sand....stopped had to back up...but while I was readjusting my direction I noticed some smoke from the driver side front and a hellishly nasty rubber/electrical smell afterward. The smell is still there today....can't find any leaks, blew a ton of sand out of the skidplate, all fluid levels are good....can't find any rubber or plastic on the exhaust....have no clue wtf is smelling...

Diff fluid came out the breather?

any ideas?

 

Manual transmission? Clutch plate?

 

Bearing shot maybe? If you lift the driver side front tire off the ground, can you shake the tire? I'm thinking maybe if the bearing was on it's way out and sand worked its way in there it could do some damage but I would imagine you'd hear something like that and feel it when you're driving.

 

Yeah it is a 2006 trd off road dbl cab v6.....6 speed any way to inspect it?

 

i would go n double check your front diff seals.....mine smellled for a week before i found the problem......how big of an incline were you on to have the fluid leak out of the diff breather????
also welcome fellow li brother...
how far out east r you ???im in long beach

 

stupid as this may sound, the last time I was wheelin I got my engine bay full of mud...I tell you what, you bake some mud and sand/weeds off those headers all kinds of smells come in the cab.

hard to tell until you wash it completly.

 

You sure it's not from your brake overheating from extensive atrac use while stuck? Some of the FJ's have mentioned overheating of the brakes when using the atrac too much.

 

what beach you on???

 

mabye the wind was blowing in from jersey that day.......

 

You sure it's not clutch your smelling?
It's pretty easy to overheat the clutch in sand on this truck if you start and stop when it's real soft. I smelled mine driving on the beach at the outer banks this year a couple times. The smell went away after a day or so and the clutch still works fine.

 

Im betting it was the clutch.

 

Im betting it was the clutch.

+1

 

I had a problem with the clutch once when driving on soft sand....had to air down to 22lbs....then had no issue....

Question....would the clutch smoke and stink...then continue to stink for a couple of days?

I checked the diff breathers for oil....dry..

So I bet you guys are right with the clutch....how will I know if it is shot?

I am still shifting ok...should I be looking for something specific...and wtf with the clutch smoking on soft sand.....I have had a 4runner, land cruiser fj60...and now a taco.....never an issue on the beach...I will be pissed if the clutch is smoked...only 40k on the clock.

SH Village beaches for those of you asking.

Thanks for the input! Stay safe.

 

Yes it could smoke if you were slipping it too much. And yes the smell would stick around for a few days.

If its shifting ok, then don't worry about it, you just decreased its life a little bit.

 

Mine smelled for the first week I had my truck haha... not to smooth on the 5 speed. If you smoke it bad, it'll continue to smell for a little while afterwards.

 

Yeah my dad sorta smoked mine (no actual smoke, just smell) once pulling my brother out of an arroyo and it smelled for about 2 days. Im pretty sure mines original at 162k.

 

what he said

 

Being a big trime sand driver, I would bet on the clutch... also 22 psi is hardly 'airing down'... Almost no change in the tires floatation characteristics until you are below 20, with major improvement about 15 psi.

Different sand and weather conditions (heat/ humidity) will change how much airing down will save you from being stuck or just heavily over-working your Toyota. I have beach driven from 32 psi to 8 psi. The same beach in winter that I could drive at 32 psi, required 15 in the summer.

Having an automatic tranny helps alot in the sand, as well... But, I have had manual trannys in the past... Let more air out and save the clutch!

 

I usually just drop the clutch and let the tires spin till I get traction. No need to destroy the clutch. Auto's are nice though since you can get going slowly without much wear on the truck.