My XLT has been doing this for a while and stuff seems inconclusive. It's consistent after you drive the truck for a while that I get a rubber burning smell after coming to a stop. It stinks bad enough I open the windows on warmer days to air out. It's coming from the front of the truck and mostly the passenger front wheel. It's not the fan or anything... truck can idle all day and not make a smell... you have to drive to get it. It's not the belt either as the right front wheel distinctively smells. Unfortunately the fan sucks the smell through the cowl and gets it in the cab.

Now people will jump right on that it's a stuck caliper.... okay... fine. So why rubber then? I have gotten the brakes hot enough to smell and it's very much the normal brake hot smell. ... this however is just like you lit the tire on fire. The truck is stock in the tire, wheel and suspension department.

I jacked it up on the road and I do have more resistance on the passenger side. Can't take apart until later.

Anything else up there that can stink? I WE? It's a 2013 XLT 4x4 with 13000 miles. It has NO WARRANTY so please don't just tell me to take into Ford as I am not. Not looking for a discussion about warranty either. Thank you!

 

Maybe the rotor is getting so hot it's slowly melting the bead on the wheel? I'd get it fixed asap. Whether warranty or not I'd take it to somebody that can figure it out and fix it if I cant.

 

No its not melting the tire lol... the rim doesn't even get warm. Who says I can't fix it either.... i just need time to look at it and hopefully it's today. Sure the brakes are hot when it does it but the drivers and passenger side show sbout the ssme amount of heat. Dealer clowns and other shops aren't open during holidays anyway... and I need to work, and this truck is part of my job so it is what it is. Seems common from what I am reading and nobody does anything about it lol. Sad...

 

Maybe you missed this part. I'm not saying you can't, just suggesting if you couldn't figure it out take it to a shop. I haven't been around here much, but I haven't heard about the burnt rubber smell like you describe. Happy Holidays

 

[QUOTE=Badass69;14937024]
I jacked it up on the road and I do have more resistance on the passenger side. Can't take apart until later.
/QUOTE]

If there is more turning resistance on the right front, does the vehicle pull to the right while driving or while braking? Any unusual noise?

I would jack it up and remove the right front wheel and look for some debris on the inside of the wheel and tire. Look for something rubbing that is not obvious without removing the wheel.

Once I got a small piece of tree branch stuck in the suspension. You couldn't see it without getting underneath.

Let us know what you find out.

 

Truck doesn't really do much of anything odd.. No debris or bits in the wheel. Right now I am stopped in a city with my trailer and currently broken FX4 on it... and there is no smell using the brakes normally. It did it however when I first stopped to check my straps this morning. No heavy braking at any point today either.

Stopped at a parts place on the way home thus far to see what I can get. Of course he basically says every single year of front brake is different on the F150 and doesn't interchange... which is likely BS. .. and has no parts for a 2013. Didn't have any for an 09 or a 2011 either so what does it matter lol. No Ford shops open today so I will open it up in a few hours when I get home. Maybe it's simple... maybe it isn't. Buy hey... worst case scenario is i can use my 2013 FX4 as a parts truck!

Maybe the pads are hanging up in the caliper bracket on the sliders they move in. I have had to grind the tabs on brake pads in the past on my gm trucks ( same brake design) as the pad fits too snug and hangs up in the guides. Who knows lol. Maybe it's the iwe vacuum line rubbing somewhere too.

 

all good things to check.

i'd pull the caliper and check the dust boots around the pistons and see if they are the source of your smell. check the rubber bushings around the caliper pins as well, while you are there.

check your wheel bearing too, and see if that is smooth or excessively hot. could be a seal on the wheel bearing if that is getting hot.


there is usually only one thing that smells like burning rubber .....
look for things that are rubber, eventually you should see something that looks like it has gotten or getting hot.

 

Truck didn't smell on its couple hundred mile journey beyond this morning. However the right caliper is grabbing harder..... you can tell that for sure now. Gonna pop the caliper off and see what happens to the drag on the wheel!

 

Well the brake is all dismantled and it looks fine. Even before teardown it turned with no drag just like the drivers side. Caliper pins are free in the bracket.... nothing appears damaged, burnt or otherwise. The rotor is grooved on the backside which is sad with only the 16000 ish miles this truck as on it. Not surprising as the F150's have the complaint of pretty crappy brakes. Pads are good..... little tight in the retainers for my liking though so they will meet the file. Pistons move easily. Hub turns fine with no noise and no roughness.


This issue started probably over a month ago and I just ignored it....... well now I will do a basic brake service and see what happens. I work tomorrow so it will get an hour long highway jaunt early in the am.... see what happens.


Now I can rip my fx4 down and see how screwed the rear diff is. Drivers axle shaft in the rear end is snapped..... I know that. But is the carrier buggered too? Hard to say. The E locker died so I don't see that as a good sign lol. I wanted a Detroit in it anyway...... so that it will receive. Hopefully the Yukon 08 and prior axles fit.... sounds like they do and they are made of better material than OEM. Pretty sad that at 12000 miles on the stock Pirelli's it broke...... oh well.

 

The only time I've seen that happen was with some pretty bad wheel hop.

 

It did in the past and probably twisted it. It didn't hop this time.... just made a big bang lol. I wanted long bars but it's not that big of a deal..... Cal Tracs do fine.

 

Well..... that'll do it. Found rubble in the pumpkin resembling teeth from the e locker. That's okay though as I hated that thing anyway. Now the question....... I could drop an axle in it and still drive it...... maybe I will.

 

My rubber smell has returned... and it's odd as there is a pattern. It only does it when the ambient temperature comes up. For a week it was cold and no smell... now it's up to freezing or into the mid 30's which for here in January is abnormal... and it's back. Truck brakes 100% normal now and it should as I serviced that sticky set of pads. So it's not the brakes I don't think go sure now. It's from the passenger side but it doesn't have to be in the suspension... Maybe it's something that is burning on the exhaust... seems weird but this truck does have a fully black powdercoated catback. Maybe it stinks when the temp comes up lol. Who knows. I will see what happens if the warm weather continues.