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burning smell and smoke coming from engine


teeman2
01-05-2006, 05:58 PM
Hello All,
Happy New Year. I have a 1995 Grand Cherokee with about 140, 000 Miles. My wife told me she had been smelling something like burining wire coming from the engine so I decided to check it out. I drove the car for about 3 miles and started smelling something like burning wires, then after mile 5 I started seeing smoke, so I stop the car and open the hood. The smoke was coming from the inner workings of the radiator's belt. After the engine cooled, I drove the five miles back without any smoke but the smell was still there.

Can anyone tell me what the problem was? Thanks for your help.

JeepForever
01-06-2006, 10:58 AM
When you're driving, watch the temperature guage. If it looks low or normal, then engine wouldn't be overheating. Then check the belts. If one is stuck or slipping you'll notice some wear on the belt (and it will be really hot after running the engine for a few minutes). If you know what a blown fuse smells like, that smell indicates an electrical problem (burning wires). If it smells more like burned rubber, that could be a belt or a hose.
Try running the engine for a short while (a few minutes) and looking under the hood for the source of the heat or smoke. See if there's any noise like a belt slipping. Also, squeeze the hoses and see if any feel really brittle or soft in spots. That might indicate if the hoses had been getting really hot.
Let us know what you find out!

teeman2
01-07-2006, 10:15 AM
Thanks JeepFever,

After I posted my question I checked the engine again and noticed the engine coolant was very, very low so I topped it up. Since then I have not driven the jeep longer then a mile. I am not smelling any burn or noticing any smoke. I am still worry about the source of the smell and smoke.
I did what you said but I still did not see any smoke coming out or smell any burns.

bringselpup
01-07-2006, 11:23 AM
You'll need to start watching what's going on under the hood. To be low on coolant means it got out somehow. You might want to plan to just drive around for a bit nowhere special but not far from home keeping an eye on the temp gauge. Let the vehicle come up to temp for a bit and then park it back in the driveway. Pop the hood and start looking for where that coolant got out.

Goldfishy
01-08-2006, 01:15 AM
Sounds like the rear main oil seal is going bad. Check underneath the car and look for some oil drops or drips, also look especially up the area of where the tranny mounts to the engine, or look to see if it appears the oil pan or tranny oil is oily. The engine oil will lightly drip on top of the hot exhaust pipe. Keep us posted.

the_demi
01-09-2006, 01:30 PM
Hello All,
Happy New Year. I have a 1995 Grand Cherokee with about 140, 000 Miles. My wife told me she had been smelling something like burining wire coming from the engine so I decided to check it out. I drove the car for about 3 miles and started smelling something like burning wires, then after mile 5 I started seeing smoke, so I stop the car and open the hood. The smoke was coming from the inner workings of the radiator's belt. After the engine cooled, I drove the five miles back without any smoke but the smell was still there.

Can anyone tell me what the problem was? Thanks for your help.

There is a plug on the bottom of the cooling system--it easily corrodes and allows coolant to drip down, and get spread over the engine bay. The smoke then is whitish and smells of rubbery-like stuff.
I lost my plug on the highway and the engine overheated within 3-4 kilometres. Once I stopped white smoke seeped from under the hood.

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