Rear wheel - Mystery burning rubber smell
 

After driving my sister’s ‘07, there’s a distinct smell of hot or burning rubber from the driver’s rear wheel.

Today we lifted the car and inspected. There are no plastic bags or foreign debris on the exhaust. The wheel bearing turns quietly and smoothly. I have performed the axle nut TSB (180 ft lbs + 60 degrees). The brakes are not dragging. The caliper floats freely as it should. CV boots are intact. Diff is completely dry on the outside. The ebrake is adjusted appropriately.

The only thing we discovered was a leak in the rear damper. The damper still feels like it’s working properly, but the spring perch and shock body looked damp with oil and grime. I thoroughly cleaned that up with some rags and a touch of brake cleaner, so now the outer shock body is fully clean. Unfortunately, the intense smell is still present after a drive.

Any thoughts on what this smell could be?

Would a failing damper smell like burning rubber?

Tyre<tire >rubbing on rubber arch protector :ponder:

No signs of rubbing. She’s on oem suspension, wheels and stock tire size.

A leaking damper wont smell like burning rubber.

Maybe the alignment is bad or the damper is allowing the tire to bounce uncontrollably and heat up as it hits the pavement.

Also look for peices of rubber on the mufflers.

I suppose it could be alignment and/or weak damper, but I’m not getting any indications from driving it. She rides smooth as silk and tracks perfectly straight.

We did notice that the smell is far more intense after a “spirited” drive. But of course, only on the driver’s rear.

An infrared thermometer is giving me nearly identical readings on both sides of the car from tire tread, rotors, calipers, wheels, etc.

I’m stumped.

How about the ball joints? No torn boots?

Neither of us noticed any tearing or issues with the boots. But, we do appreciate the continued attention and ideas to this post. Just trying to figure it out because all of the possible “obvious” causes don’t seem to be the issue. Stumped at this point.

~Xaspar

Any mods done to the car at all? Incorrect exhaust hangers or maybe they are really wore out and have extra slip making it touch the bumper sometimes when driving? Any heat shields or other things loose or out of place?

Anything stuck between the dust shield on the breaks and the rotor?

The exhaust is stock and the hangers are in good shape. Debris on the brake shield is a good thought. Like I mentioned, it’s barely noticeable when she drives it (kindly), vs when I drive it (like I stole it). At this point, we’ve run out of time to diagnose it before she takes the car back to NC. We’re satisfied that the smell is nothing dire, since all the major components are reading good temps. If the smell persists, I’ll suggest she peak behind the rotor when she gets home.