Hot Rubber Smell from Rear

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gomez268

gomez268

Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Threads
13
Messages
141
Location
Central Florida
So I replaced the differential fluid and decided to test the vehicle on a long 400+ round trip road trip to test the vehicle before taking to Colorado next month.

When I got back from my trip I notice a hot rubber smell coming from the rear of the vehicle. I thought it might be the tires but I touched them with the back of my hand and they felt warm. I'm worried that maybe I did something wrong when I did the differential fluid change, but I followed the instructions to a tee from another thread explaining the process. Also, the tires are pressured to 35 but they climb to 37-38 when they warm up driving and one I've noticed gets up to 39 psi. wonder if this might be the culprit?

Also, the drive back was mostly in wet, rainy conditions, not sure if this had anything to do with it and I averaged about 80 mph. I notice the smell only on the return trip and not the trip out to my location. The tires are also the stock tires, no MT installed yet.

Any advice on what I should check, I climbed underneath the vehicle to see if there was any loose fitting or hose but didn't see anything.

Also, I had a wheel alignment done about a month ago on the vehicle and am waiting to install MT tires and leveling kit before getting an alignment done again.
 
Did you drive down steep or long descents on the leg or your trip before the smell? If so...are you sure it’s not overheated brake smell?
 
Is it reproducible? See any signs of leaks/spray/grease/oil on exhaust stuff?
 
Markuson said:
Did you drive down steep or long descents on the leg or your trip before the smell? If so...are you sure it’s not overheated brake smell?
Click to expand...

I the trip was in south Florida, so it was all flat terrain and all hwy. I didn't smell it before the trip or when I drove to Miami, it was all on the way back. Would a leak in the diff cause the smell?
 
I used to get same smell after a highway trip with the stock Michelins, so much so that passengers would ask about it when we got out of the truck. Tires wore fine, alignment was fine, truck was not overloaded, wasn't speeding too much, didn't matter which tires were on the rear after a rotation, temps were about what you are seeing.

Haven't had that smell now that I am running the Falkens. I chalked it up to that particular rubber compound in those particular tires.
 
FinallyGotOne! said:
I used to get same smell after a highway trip with the stock Michelins, so much so that passengers would ask about it when we got out of the truck. Tires wore fine, alignment was fine, truck was not overloaded, wasn't speeding too much, didn't matter which tires were on the rear after a rotation, temps were about what you are seeing.

Haven't had that smell now that I am running the Falkens. I chalked it up to that particular rubber compound in those particular tires.
Click to expand...

Same here with Michelin tires when heavily loaded. The tires on these trucks are working hard and apparently can smell hot. As an odd note, my dog often sniffs the tires after a trip (and not just to “mark” them).

One further possibility: have you recently greased the u-joints? They can throw a bit of extra grease on the exhaust that stinks.
 
I have over 260,000 miles on 200’s with Michelin’s and I have never noticed any rubber smell. I did have an aftermarket exhaust burn a hole in the spare on my 4Runner when the spare came into contact with the exhaust though. Burnt right through the tread.
 
Check for spilled diff oil residue that may be heating up on long drives. I had that from a diff oil change and it eventually wore off.
 
I checked the spare doesn't appear to be touching the exhaust and I couldn't find any road debris stuck to the vehicle. I'm going to have the new tires installed tomorrow and see if I wipe down the diff cover with brake cleaner to remove any spilled diff fluid from the exchange.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I have a rubber smell on my 16 after my 20 minute commute doing mostly 80mph. I have Terra grappler g2s on mine. I can’t smell it on the vehicle but I always notice when I get out.
 
I have a rubber smell on my 16 after my 20 minute commute doing mostly 80mph. I have Terra grappler g2s on mine. I can’t smell it in the vehicle but I always notice when I get out.
 
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Wondering if anyone has found anything specific to this or if it is the tires wearing under heavier than normal load. I have KO2’s with about 23k on them.

Unusual for sure.
 
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