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Burning smell, very hot and all 5 lug nuts loose on same wheel
I felt a sudden heavy vibration in steering wheel on my gen. 7 Celica, especially after climbing hills. First I thought it was wheel balancing or uneven road surface but discovered later, burning smell from nearside front wheel, all 5 lug nuts loose and whole wheel very hot, could not touch, even tyre hot. I had driven about 15 miles on 2 occasions when I experienced the vibration. But the vibration was not there all the time, only at certain speeds and road surface, which made me think it was just wheel balancing. Checked other wheels, everything ok. I do not use the car often as I am retired. It is always kept in my garage; use it about every 2 weeks to do shopping about 2mls from my home and take it for the occasional 20-30 mls run to keep battery topped up. What could have caused the burning smell, wheel being so hot and nuts to coming loose?
Re: Burning smell, very hot and all 5 lug nuts loose on...
Your brake caliper and/or brake hose is hanging up not allowing fluid pressure to release. Most likely your brake rotor is already warped from excessive heat also. Replace caliper(loaded or unloaded) and hose ,bleed brake system and you're good to go.
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Question edited for clarity, add maker.
Question moved from Misc to model category.
There can be many reasons
The number 1 reason is wheel weights missing from a tyre.
Wheel lug nuts have come off, only one left.
Wheel bearings that has failed.
Bulging tyres, normally hidden on the inside
Tyres that aren't round and have become deformed.
Engine mounts separated from the rubber pads.
Loose or worn steering parts.
Loose or worn suspension parts.
This is very serious and I would advise not driving it AT ALL, until a cause can be identified. Although you said it's "not the front end wobble", it sure sounds like there still is something wrong in the front end and/or the alignment. It could be broken engine mounts, missing hardware/very loose control arms, steering box connections, loose steering column, transmission mounts, driveshaft bearings/mounts or even loose lug nuts on the wheels just to name a few. Please have the car safely raised on jacks and have a mechanic or knowledgeable person look underneath for broken/damaged/missing parts.
The wheels develop their own type of anti-theft protection over time.....it's called corrosion. The aluminum rims sort of bond to the rotor over time and have to be coaxed off. You will have to remove all the lug nuts and then start kicking the wheel, alternating with kicks to the top and bottom. The wheel will eventually come loose. I've seen this happen on many Jeeps, especially in the salt-belt, harsh weather areas. Kick away.
The engine vibration could be due to the following reasons:
1. Dynamic unbalance of any rotary part like bent shaft, misaligned engine pulley or worn out serpentine belt.
2. Defective, broken or stretched engine mounts.
3. Muffler or silencer pipe is touching the body from under the car.
4. Loose or missing nuts or bolts in the engine bay area (like loose compressor or alternator bolts).
5. Maladjusted bonnet.
6. Front bumper loose nuts and bolts.
7. Dynamic unbalance of the flywheel.
my best guess would be a brake pad or caliper that is sticking on the "on" position. This will cause the brake to generate a high amount of heat and it will heat up the lugnuts. the smell should smell like burning brakes because that is what is happening. the smell itself is hard to describe . if it gets extremely hot you will see smoke coming from the brake that is not working correctly. if it is one brake doing it the steering should also "pull" to the side of the problem. right wheel brake dragging will cause the vehicle to "pull" or verr to the right side.
Removing the Ball Joint
Step 1
Loosen the lug nuts on the front wheel assembly with the ball joint you need to replace. Do not remove the lug nuts.
Step 2
Set the transmission in neutral (manual) or park (automatic)
and raise the wheel off the ground using a floor jack. Then support the
car on a jack stand.
Step 3
Chock the rear wheels and apply the parking brake.
Step 4
Remove the wheel lugs and the wheel assembly.
Step 5
Remove the mounting nut and dished washer that secure the stabilizer bar to the control arm. Use a wrench or ratchet and socket.
Step 6
Unscrew and remove the mounting bolt and nut holding the
inner side of the control arm to the car's body. This will relieve the
tension on the stabilizer bar. Use a wrench to hold the mounting bolt as
you unscrew the nut with a wrench or ratchet and socket.
Step 7
Unscrew the bolt on the steering knuckle that holds the
control-arm ball joint to the knuckle. Use a wrench or ratchet and
socket.
Step 8
Spread the steering knuckle joint that holds the control-arm
ball joint to the knuckle. Use a large screwdriver or pry bar. Then
separate the ball joint from the steering knuckle.
Step 9
Pull the control arm from the stabilizer bar.
Step 10
Remove the stabilizer bar spacer from the control arm and
keep it in a secure place. You will need to use it on the new
control-arm ball joint assembly.
Installing the Ball Joint
Step 1
Insert the new control-arm ball joint stud into the steering
knuckle joint. As you look through the mounting bolt hole on the
steering knuckle, align the notch on the ball joint stud with the hole.
Insert a new ball joint mounting bolt and start a new nut on the bolt.
Tighten the nut.
Step 2
Mount the stabilizer bar spacer in the control arm, then
insert the stud bolt at the end of the stabilizer bar into the control
arm mounting hole and spacer.
Step 3
Set the other end of the control arm in its mounting position
and insert the mounting bolt. Then start the mounting nut on the bolt
by hand.
Step 4
Hold the head of the mounting bolt that secures the control arm to the car's body using a wrench, then tighten the nut.
Step 5
Secure the stabilizer bar to the control arm with the dished washer and mounting nut. Tighten the nut.
Step 6
Install the wheel assembly and lugs. Tighten the lugs with
the lug wrench just enough to hold the wheel assembly firmly in place.
Step 7
Lower the vehicle and finish tightening the wheel lugs.
Step 8 Remove the chocks from the rear wheels.
Are the wheel lug nuts tight? Jack up the front end and wiggle each wheel to check for loose wheel bearings. If the truck has a lot of miles, the upper and especially the lower ball joints may be worn enough to cause problems. With the wheels back on the ground, have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth slowly while you watch each tie rod end for looseness. If the left wheel moves before the right one does, there is play somewhere in the linkage between the wheels.
Vibrations while driving like you are describing can come from tires that have defects (internally broken belts) (wheel weights that have fallen off) or a bent rim (perhaps from another driver [not you :-) ] hitting a curb) Are the tires worn? Have they been balanced and rotated regularly? You report no vibration in the steering wheel.
Vibrations during braking can be warped rotors or discs (but this doesn't sound like your problem since these kind are usually felt in the steering wheel during braking).
If and only if you feel like you can do this safely,
you can try getting the car up to 55, placing the car in neutral, then switching the "engine off" but leave the "key on" (be warned the power steering will go out but the vehicle can still be steered though the steering wheel will be much stiffer) if you try this (do it perhaps in a vacant parking lot or on an empty road) and the vibration goes away with the engine off but while the vehicle is still moving, then the vibration is engine or transmission related. If this is the case you might hope for maybe a bad engine mount. Bad engine mounts can be diagnosed with the vehicle stopped as well. However, if the vibration remains with the van moving forward but with the engine off, the vibration is likely a problem with the tires or suspension. Try to provide some more info.
If you don't feel comfortable trying the above suggestion, please take the vehicle in to an ASE certified suspension and steering professional for further diagnosis.
Finally, I had a similar situation happen to me today. I was riding with a friend in their van and the vehicle started vibrating more and more around 55 mph. We stopped and carefully checked the front tires (including the lug nuts for tightness) but
found a tire defect. (it had several broken steel belts that caused a bulge in the tire and thus the vibration) We changed the tire and the vibration was gone. Good luck to you.
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