Hi all, need to bounce some ideas off you guys. I have a burning smell coming from the front of my 350z and I can't figure out what it is. I started noticing the smell after I replaced the front wheel hubs.. Is there a break in period for new wheel hubs? They aren't smoking and are pretty quiet..

Only other thing I could think of is maybe the clutch? It doesn't slip, at least not that I've noticed. Car doesn't seem to burn oil or anything, and I don't see any residue from any liquids or oil leaking anywhere. Anyways, got any ideas?

Thanks!

 

Btw, wheel hubs were replaced 2000 miles ago, and immediately after changing them I drove the car 6 hours (hwy) to another city. Change the oil and filter 500 miles ago, but noticed the smell before then.

 

What does it really smell like?????

 

Must be something dragging or touching in the front. Maybe something got jacked up in the brake setup when you changed the hubs and they are dragging. Does the car roll freely when they are warm?

Any wiring/shields close to any moving parts?

This is something you are gonna have to get under there and diagnose yourself, too vague of a problem to troubleshoot over the internet

 

Hard to say. I would say it smells like an oil burning, that was my first impression. I'll pay more attention next time I drive it!

 

Thanks. Yeah I'll go double check everything. I figured it wouldn't be solved on here, but I'm looking for ideas and things to check, such as what you suggested. Thanks

 

make sure your dipstick is seated all the way in also, just for fun

 

Drive for abt 20 mins. Go and smell the wheel hjb area and see whether the smell comes from there

 

Ran over a plastic bag that melted onto your exhaust? I've done that twice. It stunk for months every time I drove it.

 

Rotfl lolol I ran over a small trash bag that had **** it melted got stuck and it started smelling like exhaust fumes and ****. Had to go under and rip that stinky **** off. Fml

 

+1
I would check this out before going crazy looking for the issue..
Happened to me once as well

 

The worst part about it is even if you go under there and rip the bag off it still leaves a stinky rotten smelly gooey patch of toasted plastic that is there for the long haul. The second time it happened to me I spent a good hour or two under the car picking at it to get as much off as I could and it was frustrating the hell out of me. Just gotta wait until it burns off.

 

Haven't run over a plastic bag, but I did run over a dead deer and had some hide/hair stuck on my exhaust that smelled really bad. That was a couple years ago though.

I feel stupid admitting to this, but when I got home from work today I immediately popped the hood and started smelling around the wheels and engine. The smell seemed to be the strongest on the drivers side near the air intake, so I grabbed a flash light. I can see an oily area around where the dipstick enters the tube and I realize the rubber grommet on the end of the dipstick is ripped and it isn't seated properly. Took it out and was able to slide it back in and get a good seal. So I'm pretty sure that is what has been making the car smell.

 

.

 

I just replaced my dip stick this week, rubber seal was broken as well... car had a real wierd smell. Seems to have disapeard. My car just seems to get real hot/smell hot after long drives which seems about normal for these cars.