Weird thing happened this morning..

[diesel4me]

Had to go get a blood test at 7:30 am today--was surprised my 6.2 started,it was about 18 degrees,and I didn't have the block heater plugged in..thing started OK,but sounds like more than one cylinder has a dead glow plug,it stumbles badly and will stall if you dont hold it at fast idle for 2 minutes or so..but that wasn't the issue I had that is puzzling me..

I had two tires put on the front recently--old BF Goodrich TA radials that are 10 ply..the truck rides like they are not perfectly round after you first drive off,but smooths out after a short distance..I assume they are worn from whatever vehicle they were on and it'll be awhile before they "wear in"..they don't have much tread and have wear of one edge more than the rest of the tread..

I drove the 3 miles to the lab ,got the blood drawn,and was back out the door in 5 minutes--I drove home ,had to take the "longer" route to avoid having to fight crossing 2 lanes of heavy morning rush hour traffic..

Everything felt "normal" on the way home,until I had gone maybe 2 miles--when I came to a intersection and had to stop,a billowing cloud of smoke was coming out from under the truck--it smelled like burning brakes or clutch (its a TH400 so that counts out a clutch!)...

I couldn't pull over and check it out right away until I got away from heavy traffic,and I saw more smoke bellowing out behind me..I feared the truck was on fire,or about to be,didn't know if wires were burning or what,but it didn't smell like burning wire insulation..

I got out and hastily peeked under the truck,with it running in park..
No leaks I could see dripping underneath it,and no smoke,but it did stink bad like the brakes were dragging..I couldn't park there for long,so I got back in and drove the 2 miles the rest of the way home,and saw no more smoke,no odors..

When I got home,I got out and felt all 4 rims ,to see if any were hot,like the brakes were dragging..all 4 were ice cold,even the front calipers were not warm at all..

I checked under the hood,saw no leaks,and the radiator was full,and had pressure when I opened the cap,so its not a coolant leak..still no sign of anything under it had leaked either..

All I can think is maybe the brakes got soaked Saturday when I drove it about 5 miles each way to a store and back in heavy downpours,and the moisture made the rotors or drums rust up while sitting all day yesterday,and it burned off ?....but I find it strange no evidence of a sticking caliper or wheel cylinder existed..

Maybe the "out of round tire" feeling I get after a cold start when it has sat a day or so is a front caliper sticking,I don't know..but I'd think it would have been hot as hell by the time I got home,even if it had freed up after the smoke show,where it happened isn't that far from home,I doubt the brakes would have cooled off that quickly.. ..

Not a good start to the week....

 

[Fordum]

You should be old enough to remember this, but its been so long you may need a reminder.....
The old nylon belted tires always took a set when they sat up overnight, especially in cold weather. I can fondly remember pulling out of my driveway headed to school or work, and going thump thump thump for a few miles until they warmed up enough to smooth out.
If your "new" tires are old enough, they might be nylon. Also, I think that they may still be making them in heavier truck tires, but I'm not sure.

As for the smoke, I'm not sure. Even with a locked caliper that freed its self, it might have had time to cool off by the time you got to feel the wheels. To just throw some ideas out there, I had a similar situation with my '79 150. I pulled up to a gas station, and was fueling up when the guy at the other side of the pump pointed out that it seemed my truck was on fire.
I tossed the nozzle back in the pump and drove out fast.
I considered the difference between trying to put out whatever fire it was then, and risking the whole place going up and getting far enough away to spare the building and rise losing the truck.

Jumped out, and the smoke was coming up between the cab and the body. Slid under and discovered that a large piece of newspaper I had run over had gotten sucked up and wrapped partially around the muffler.
There was a piece of it against the converter, and it was the main source of smoke. It was smoldering pretty good.
On that truck all the gas lines run on the opposite side of the truck, and there is not a lot to burn on that side. I imagine that if I had not stopped for gas, or noticed the smoke, it might have burned away or fallen out when enough of it burned away and I would have never known it.
Not sure what smells like brakes or clutch, besides them, know that smell well, but it could be something that splashed up on the exhaust or got jammed against the cat and then either burned off or fell off.
Otherwise, odds are its going to happen again. If it was a brake, you could probably find evidence if you pulled the wheels and examined the rotors and pads, but given your weather and physical condition, I don't think I would bother.

 

[diesel4me]

It definitely smelled like burnt brake linings...but I found it strange the brakes were ice cold when I got home,when they were hot enough to make a smoke screen behind me only 2 miles from home,and I went 35 mph all the way home too..

One thing I didn't mention was the drivers side door was frozen shut when I tried opening it,I had to really pull hard on the handle several times before it broke free--it rained hard Saturday all day into the night here--then we had a flash freeze,it dropped to 20 overnight,lots of black ice everywhere yesterday morning..
Perhaps some water got in the brakes and froze,and when it thawed out ,it got hot enough to smoke the linings or turned to steam..
Also noticed when I replaced a rear wheel cylinder a few weeks back,the leaky one was full of mayonaise looking gunk,like water got in the brake fluid--I have bled the brakes often enough to not allow much to accumulate,but who knows..maybe ice was in a rubber hose or steel line and it melted by the time I got home ?..

As for the tires,I know they are not that great,they don't have a lot of tread,but I wanted to have 10 ply tires on all 4 wheels for a change--been riding on two goodyear wranglers with sawtooth treads ,and they were only "P" rated 255/70-16's..one had an old rotted plug in it that I replaced and it still slow leaked,so I decided to put the two BF Goodrich 245/75-16's on it that were 10 ply,those will bear up to the weight of the plow better..--the rears are Firestone Transforce 265/75-16's,they are about 1" taller,but I notice no ill effects in 4wd despite the slight size differences..

I think once the tires get used to being on my truck they'll get better,or maybe worse..time will tell..

As for my physical condition--your right..
I should go outside and test all the glow plugs,replace any dead ones,and do "something" besides sit here and cramp up worse..my legs are dead from sitting too much yesterday,they cramped up the minute I got in the truck this morning..

My throat has been acting up lately again,I get a "charley horse" cramp feeling in it often,I think it might be my thyroid--my heart rate has been weird and troubling lately, and I was told a hyperactive thyroid can cause heart beat disturbances..also feels like my right shoulder is "out of joint" ,probably slept on it wrong,or I have carpal tunnel from using the mouse hours on end daily..poor circulation is a suspect also from sitting too much..

Friday I'm supposed to see my doctor,but with the flu "epidemic" increasing daily here,I'm tempted to postpone going until it subsides--
Last week there was 1000 flu cases in MA,heard today on the news at noon its up to 2,500+-..

--every time I go there I get exposed to 20 coughing slobs that are deathly ill in the waiting room,and left in the exam room a half hour in my underwear freezing before the doctor finally comes in to examine me..I also don't want the "lecture" about why I'm wrong not to get a flu shot too..never had one--don't want one..only had the flu maybe twice in my life--bronchitis is what nails me more than anything..

I may go out anyways and see if I can accomplish anything..more crappy weather headed here by tomorrow..

 

[Greg Ducato]

I ran over a dry cleaning bag once, it was thin as a ghost but it stuck to my exhaust and burned quick, producing a lot of smoke and stink but was gone pretty quickly.

 

[diesel4me]

I had a trash bag blow across the highway and cling to the Y-pipe on my El-Camino years ago--it stunk "forever",and it was impossible to get it off,all I could do was hope it eventually burnt off without starting a fire..so I know that stink well!..

But the smoke yesterday from my truck sure smelled like burnt brake linings or pads..

I haven't done a thorough inspection yet,I just felt all the brakes when I got home and they were ice cold--going to have to see if there might be a mouse nest behind the engine or something,I rather doubt it though..I think it was the brakes--but its hard to believe they got that hot,and were ice cold after a 2 mile ride home..if anything they should have still been hot or at least "warm"..