smoke pouring from DS wheel (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Nov 27, 2006
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374
Location
Northern VA
Morning....

Ok, so last night while at a meeting for a Search and Rescue team, I get the call from my wife (due inside 4 weeks for C-Section delivery of child #3) that Maggie (child #1) has rolled outta bed, struck her head and is bleeding profusely.

EMT-guy kicks in..."ok honey, what did she strike, amount/rate of bleeding, her level of consciousness?" questioning begins. I get a "there's lots of blood, ..oh and now she's peeing all over the floor.... I NEED you NOW". "All ready gone, babe....I'll call while enroute, get sterile gauze and boo-boo bear ice pack and keep pressure against the laceration, I'll see you in 15 min." - Click.

Mind you, I'm 30min out in normal drive time. I briefed the SAR chief and out the door I went. While EVOC II qual'd to respond Priority 1, I'm in my POV 80 and not about to throw lights. Also weighing heavily if I should call the guys at my stationhouse near my home. So.... I make it home in 12 min, safely.

Alot of engine revving, and alot of braking involved. All guages were registering good all over. Pulled into the driveway, wife is at front door to greet me and the look on her face really makes me pause! I threw my door open, am sliding out (OME lift + 285's) and I see her point at me and say, "the truck's on fire?". WTF??? Focus... triage priority....:eek:

****key point of posting - begin here **** ;)
I look down and there's WHITE SMOKE BILLOWING (honest description, remember... I'm a firefighter). :doh:

Checked with Sue first on Maggie...reports she's good, bleeding has stopped, hematoma developing, LOC is good, etc. So I turn back to wheel and inspect.... no flame, nothing from engine bay itself, source of smoke is contained to DS wheel. Specifically I can see inside OEM wheels to the rotor and it looks like the upper half of the rotor on both sides ( in and out) are where the "seat of the fire" is.

I grabbed my BLS-Aide bag and placed a fire extinguisher down on the driveway near the wheel just in case. After treating Maggie (she's doing well), I inspected the wheel about an hour later. No signs of damage, but no opportunity to pull the wheel for deeper inspection.

Any experience with this level of smoke coming from DS? I'd smelled something in that vicinity before, but thought it was a belt or so. Still 4 months into owning this '97, ...obviously still in discovery phase. BTW, AC blows, but no cold. Dealer (used) said it wouldn't hold a charge. Haven't investigated that further yet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Going to call shop foreman at local Toyota dealership now. Great guy, helps FF's.

Thanks, Folks.
 
How are your axle seals? My old 80 was smoking due to oil getting on/near the brake pads. After periods of hard braking the heat was sufficient to start burning oil.

From the sounds of your drive home (hard braking) you probably had those rotors blazing hot.

Glad everything else was ok.
 
Have you replaced your pesky heater hose?
 
I'm not sure about the brake problem, but I'm glad everything worked out with the little one.
:flipoff2:
 
How are your axle seals? My old 80 was smoking due to oil getting on/near the brake pads. After periods of hard braking the heat was sufficient to start burning oil.

From the sounds of your drive home (hard braking) you probably had those rotors blazing hot.

Glad everything else was ok.
I think you may have hit the nail on the head here.

I just got off the phone with the Toy Shop Foreman. He'd looked at my rig extensively a few weeks ago and he recalled seeing issues with the left axle seals. His opinion was also that likely due to the hard braking and such, that the axle grease coming in contact with the rotor was likely cooking off.

I've noticed a faint smell in that location before, and thought it might've been a bad belt of something. It always dissipated quickly and never got a good read on what it was. Well last night I definitely pushed my rig up to a new level.

Great thing it performed for me when needed, but obviously I've now uncovered a liability. And this rig is being set up for response of not unsimilar sitations. Of large concern is when SAR call-outs require long distance drives. What'll happen then. Or for that matter, what happens next time I get a call to get my rear down to an incident directly (Comms officer position) and POV is only option. Not good....

I have a pic of the DS axle area I'll try to post now. This'll be a first, so wish me luck.

Thanks everyone for their quick responses.
 
I'm not sure about the brake problem, but I'm glad everything worked out with the little one.
:flipoff2:
Thank you.

Maggie is doing well. Changed the dressing and I think some fresh bandaging and lots of Neosporin will help that heal well.

Two reasons why I call her "train wreck" Maggie.... as a newborn she'd sleep through a basement renovation happening right under her room (nailguns and such), and this isn't the first head wound. ;)
 
Here's a glimpse at the DS axle/hub
DSaxle-640x422.jpg
 
As opposed to the PS.....
PSaxle-640x422.jpg
 
Anyone have any experience in time/difficulty or special tools, etc req'd to do a birf rebuild?

Anyone done it in their driveway/garage? Possible, challenges?

Thanks.
 
Check the FAQ section at the top of the 80 section. All the info on tools and parts needed. I done 3 in my garage. You could do it in the driveway if your neighbors don't object to the mess while you're doing it. :D

I'm sure there's a mudder or two around your area that would be glad to offer whatever assistance you need. Don't know what part of VA you're in, but I'm in the Reston area about once a month if I can be of any assistance.
 
Glad your lil one is ok!

If you have wrenched before the birf job is doable, just takes time and gets messy! The write-up in the FAQ is great, with that and the FSM I did mine the other weekend.

Is it common to have the DS leak more then the PS? I noticed the same on mine before doing the birf job.
 
Hmmm.... I will add my 0.02.

Do you think that the birf seals are the culprit? Bear in mind that all that grease simply falls down onto the ground and the area of the rotor is protected by this metal cover. Moreover, if some grease really falls on the inside of the rim, the centrifugal force would not let it touch the rotor. I don't think this is the cause.

Are bad axle seals the problem? From my understanding the leak would be visible on the hub caps first. I can't see how grease or diff oil could escape through the outside hub area (is there another route) and return in the direction of the rotor. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Why am I so picky and fussy? Well... whenever I drive for a longer period of time I smell a funky smell of burnt rubber or plastic that comes from the driver's side. The hubs are dry, the rims are clean.

Maybe stuck calipers overheat the rotor and pads, which causes stink and smoke? I am also interested in your opinions.
 
When an axle seal goes, and this one definitely has by looking at the pictures. it leaks everywhere: out the rear felt seals, out the hub seal, everywhere. The liquid goo just keeps working its way out.

Do a search on Pesky Heater Hose or PHH. You'll find more than enough information about that little gem. And by looking at the condition of your axle seals I would say there is a high probability that your PHH has not been done and should be.
 
Can you use Gunk or similar to clean all that crap off before doing the birf rebuild.
 
Can you use Gunk or similar to clean all that crap off before doing the birf rebuild.

Yes, you can I believe it mentioned somewhere in the FAQ. I sprayed degreaser on it then sprayed it down with a hose to get rid of some of the loose grease and dirt. It's still a messy job either way.
 
#1) Likely time for a birf rebuild. Do a search for birf rebuild dvd. I have not seen it but will before I do mine.

#2) I experienced a similar smoking after a hair raising decent of a mountain road. Boiled brake fluid was the culprit. Flushed and filled with a DOT 4 synthetic brake fluid IIRC.
 

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