Ford KA burning smell!!

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Fri 14 Jul 2006 15:06
Ford KA burning smell!! - aaflyer
Dear all

Looking for some help and advice on a '99 Ford Ka. Bit of a novice with motor-related matters so apologies if this sounds somewhat naive.

Sister's Ka with almost 90,000 miles has developed a worrying smell of something burning around the driver's side wheel arch / wheel itself. Last night she drove it home from work (less than a mile) and the actual wheel hub burnt my fingers when I touched it! It seems to drive fine, and the brakes (recently serviced and passed MOT) show no sign of fade, or squeaks, squeels or other unpleasant noises. Doesn't appear to pull to one side or other when driving. I'm going to take the wheel off - what should I be looking for? Could it be that the wheel wasn't put on again properly?

Thank you for any advice.

AA
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Fri 14 Jul 2006 16:36
Ford KA burning smell!! - ChrisMo
Sounds like the brakes are binding, you'd soon get a seriously hot hub and burning smell.

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Fri 14 Jul 2006 17:02
Ford KA burning smell!! - DP
I agree, it sounds like a sticking caliper piston.

Did the recent service include new pads? I had this on our Fiesta which had been running on very worn discs and pads so a lot of the piston was exposed to the elements. When I took the old pads out I noticed bit of rust on the sides of the piston which I didn't think was too serious, but it was enough to caused it to seize in the caliper body when the piston was pushed back in.

The car had identical symptoms to those you describe, but there was also an intermittent high frequency vibration through the steering accompanied by a rumbling noise at motorway speeds, presumably caused by the disc and pads overheating so badly. Didn't pull to one side and seemed to brake OK. Hub on the affected side was too hot to touch after even a short run.

Fitted a recon caliper to the affected side, bled it all through and it's been fine ever since. Surprisingly cheap (£30 something exchange IIRC) from a local factor.

Cheers
DP

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Fri 14 Jul 2006 19:21
Ford KA burning smell!! - henry k
>>what should I be looking for?
>>
The first thing when you jack the car up is to spin the wheel to feel if there is a lot of drag.
It might be worth doing this on the "good" side first so you have something to compare it with.

I am sure one of our mechs will be along soon to give you more ideas / instructions.
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Fri 14 Jul 2006 19:40
Ford KA burning smell!! - Simon
It could also be a knackered wheel bearing. Jack up the car, grasp the wheel with one hand at the top and one hand at the bottom and 'wiggle' the wheel towrards and away from you to check for any play. If it gets that hot that quickly and it is due to a worn wheel bearing then it will be pretty obvious if it is this that is at fault, cos it will have a large amount of play in it.
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Sat 15 Jul 2006 13:09
Ford KA burning smell!! - Railroad.
Most likely the brake pads stuck in the caliper. I've found that not many people apply a thin layer of grease to the back and sides of the pads when fitting them. This means that over time they corrode as they get hot, and don't slide and retract as they should do.

Remove the pads and clean the sides with a wire brush, and also the contact area with the caliper. Re-fit the pads with a smear of high melting point grease on the back and sides, NOT ON THE FRICTION SURFACE !!
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Sat 15 Jul 2006 13:46
Ford KA burning smell!! - Screwloose
AA

It's not often that I'll contradict another poster; but I'd think twice before applying HMP grease to any part of a brake pad - purely because it's flammable. The only substance that should be used is a clay-based thermally-inert compound usually known as "Copa-slip" or a similar proprietory product.
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Sat 15 Jul 2006 20:00
Ford KA burning smell!! - aaflyer
Thank you all for your posts.

Scewrloose, I appreciate your post; I'm not that proficient in any case to even start thinking about such a job!!!

The post was really placed just to get an opinion of backroomers so as to have a better idea when I take it to the local garage.

Cheers
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