whats the smoke coming from?

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Chryslerkid

Chryslerkid

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hi guys,

i was driving on the freeway the other day, when all of a sudden, i smelled a weird burning that I've never smelled before....it wasn't coolant, it wasn't oil. When i got home i saw smoke coming from the rear left wheel. when i took the wheel off and inspected the drum brakes and all the surrounding area, i found no signs of drips or leaks in the break lines. just for good measure, i replaced the wheel cylinder and shoes. I drove the car around my neighborhood for about 20-30 minutes... at the end of the cruise test session, i noticed the smoke and smell yet again. I don't know where to go from here. what could this mystery smoke be coming from? again to try and describe the symptoms....appears to be coming out from the wheel and wheel well. i cannot see or visualize anything dripping or leaking at this point. if you guys have any ideas please help me out. thanks!


this is on my 1971 edge dart swinger
7.25 rear end
10" drum brakes
stock
 
If your brakes are not locking up, maybe an axle seal/bearing went bad? What does your tire look like? Any signs of rubbing?
 
Are the brakes getting hot? There's only so much it can be

Oil leak from the rear axle lube

hydraulic leak from the brake system

Heat, as in "abby normal" heat caused by brakes dragging, or a bad wheel bearing about to seize

 
another new symptom is that the car is lagging on take off when i put it in gear...drive or reverse. in other words, the car needs a little feathering of the throttle pedal to get going. maybe a bad axel? i don't see any rubbing from my tires in the wheel well. i have stock 15" chrysler rallyes on the front and back. no drips coming from the struts either. how can i tell if my axel bearing is leaking/bad? thanks
 
I cant imagine you being able to touch the brake parts without frying yourself if the brakes were at fault. Also gear lube or brake fluid would not necessarily smoke unless you were on the brakes often enough to get them really hot. Maybe the parking brake is dragging just a little. If so the wheel would be hot. Something is missing here. If the tire was rubbing it would be pretty obvious.
Maybe it is low on gear lube, just a stab in the dark, but hey. If it were me I would try to locate the source of the heat, instead of what the smoke is composed of.
 
Look a little farther forward,, is the trans leaking and fluid being blown back on the exhaust??,, your symptoms are similar too low auto trans fluid..check the fluid level,, jmo..
 
Also, is it possible that a tire is rubbing on something?
 
i'll check all of those items guys. I have checked multiple times for rubbing from the wheel itself onto another part of the fender well. I don't see any leaks from the transmission that would be spraying onto the other car parts and smoking. whats weird to me is that the smoke is coming from the same exact spot(the rear driver's side wheel). The parking break looks good(not rubbing or dragging on the drums). On a 7 1/4 rear end how do i check the fluid level and add to it? never done that before.

thanks for all the ideas guys!
 
It has a removable rear cover. Pop that cover off and take a look inside. It's one gasket and 2 quarts of 80-90 weight oil.
 
The differential vent is just inboard of the LR wheel,, where the brake lines attach at the "Y"..

You mentioned a smell,.. a burnt up rear end gear smells like something really nasty from outta this world..

hope I'm wrong,, but that's where I'd look..
 
i jacked up the rear end, but did not check to see if the wheel moves freely. i'll check that today. I have a lot more time today to work on the Dart, so i'll be looking more in death now. preying it's not the rear end thats bad.
 
If the rear end has something wrong and is anything other than a simple gasket/seal I'd junk that crap and replace it with an 8.75 or 8.25 rear.
 
A plastic bag caught on the muffler will get you some strange smells .
 
Brakes are dragging, maybe due to fluid not returning to mastercylinder.Burning brake shoes smell awful.Brakes dragging causes power loss .Could be rubber line. Could be m/c. Could just be compensating port.
 
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