Wobbling and burning smell problem Options

[smiffythecelica]

After 20 minutes driving on country roads at 60mph I've gone into a town area to drive at 30mph and after 2 or 3 minutes the car has started wobbling/vibrating up and down on perfectly flat roads. The wobble even occurs when I have the clutch pedal full down (i.e. gear not engaged at all). This is accompanied by a burning smell which is coming from the front of the car (don't know where exactly).

This has happened 3 times over the last 6 weeks. After the car's been allowed to sit still for a few minutes the car drives fine again. I don't have a worn out clutch as I've tried accelerating hard in 5th gear and the revs don't jump.

I've had Mr. T take it for a test drive and have a look over it and no problems were found. Any ideas? Don't know if it's related, but there is a rattling sound under the bonnet that I get when the engine is cold.
Cheers,
Dave.

[808celica]

engine mounts?????

[GriffGirl]

Sounds like a timing belt issue maybe? Can you better describe the "wobbling"?

[97GTinKC]

I'd suspect a caliper trying to freeze up or a front brake hose collapsed inside and not letting pressure out of 1 caliper.

[celica101]

Mine did the same thing and it turned out to be the front brake hose like 97GT said

[smiffythecelica]

Hmm, it's just as though the whole car is wobbling up and down like driving over cobbles. It's not a violent wobbling but definitely noticeable. Bit disconcerting. There's also that weird burning caramel smell. Someone told me it might be a warped front disc rubbing against the pads. I'll forward the tips to Mr. T so thanks.

Updates will follow when I find out what it was.

This post has been edited by smiffythecelica: Dec 26, 2008 - 4:10 PM

[dgbldr]

When it happens, let it happen for a bit and then stop and smell/look around. You should be able to smell whether it's coming from one of the wheel areas or from something under the hood (I mean bonnet ).

[smiffythecelica]

The wobbling/burning smell happened again today. I stopped the car and had a smell. The front right wheel arch stank. Further inspection showed the front right disc to be scorching hot - the alloy wheel itself was pretty hot too from the heat conduction. The front left disc in comparison was warm to the touch but not burning hot.

I took the car to Mr. T.

Verdict: "the front right pad was not greased" and as a result the (non-officially Toyota) pad was not retracting properly when I took my foot off the brake. This caused the disc to heat up and warp and cause the vibrations. He presented me with a bill for £175 parts and £125 labour to replace both front discs and pads. When I was presented with this bill, I asked if he could just re-grease the pads. He said "the damage has been done" whatever that means. Does he mean the disc is warped beyond repair? I put the car up on jacks and rotated the front right wheel - the disc seemed pretty flat because the gap between pad and disc stayed the same while it rotated. :-S

Any thoughts on Mr. T's verdict? Should I just re-grease them myself? Cheers.

[97GTinKC]

Rotors and pads are not that hard to change and yours are probably toast if they got really hot., 1st thing would be to try to verify what he said. I'd jack it up and do it yourself. maybe have someone press the brakes and let off, see if both wheels spin free immediately after releasing the pedal. let is sit a while and see if either one turns easier Maybe bleed the brakes, be sure you get fluid out both sides easily. I still suspect it could be a brake hose collapsed internally. Does the car intermittently pull to either side? that would be a good indication one side is sticking. SOMETHING is sticking for one side of yours to get hot. Whether it's the caliper slides or hose problems or something else is the question ( I learned about bad hoses on my truck. After replacing rotors, pads and Calipers due to the same symptoms you have, one side wouldn't bleed at all. the rubber hose had swelled up inside and was not letting the fluid return, keeping the pads against the rotor) could have saved a bunch instead of just assuming the caliper was stuck. IIRC the Toyota caliper pins have dust boots and shouldn't stick all that easily unless they were re-assembled without grease in the past.

[smiffythecelica]

Yes, that's the problem; I don't think they were assembled with grease. Anyway, got the car back. It cost £275 inc. VAT, labour and parts to replace both front discs and pads. As a consolation, I got them to place the old pads and discs in a bag for me to take home. I've had a look at them, and the discs look worn by the same amount, and there is no visible warping. All this is contrary to what I was told at the garage but you live and learn - the old pads/discs were non-genuine Toyota parts which is why I think they were so keen to replace them. I was in a rush to fix this as I need the car every day at this time of year, and had I read the posts above in time, I might have had a go myself. When this current set of pads/discs wear out I'll have a set to replace them with already at least.

By the way, the car didn't pull to one side before.

This post has been edited by smiffythecelica: Jan 2, 2009 - 2:03 PM