Smells like burned rubber...

[akarol]

Hey guys,

I've been noticing that when I drive on a cool day and then park the car, if I walk near the front of the car, a strong smell of burning rubber comes off. Once, I even noticed smoke coming from the right front of the car. What could be the issue? Seems to only occur on cooler days (I'm in Florida, so anything below 70 degrees is considered cool).

Thanks in advance...

[nofearhawk]

Although I'm not too sure about how the cooler temps would factor in, check your engine coolant level. I have a similar problem and have been searching the forums. My best guess would be a coolant leak/head gasket leak. See this thread:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=smoke+coolant

Not a leak as excessive as that guys, but you get the idea. Diagnosticator has a response in this thread along with a link to a4mods for some writeups to addres some of the issues that might help you out:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=smoke+coolant

[greg@podi.ca]

Check to see if anything is dripping on your exhaust.

[Dan[FN]6262]

weird. check your serpentine belt.

[AZUltra]

I have been having the same smell, I only noticed it after I did my testpipe, but it could also be due to the weather cooling off. I smell the hot rubber smell int the cabin usually after the car sits outside overnight.

I have seen brief "wisps" (for lack of a better word) of smoke coming from the passenger side, I assumed it was just the TP burning off whatever I got on it during install.

The other odd thing is one morning after the car sat outside I noticed a 2" spot under the drivers side of the car (my front diffuser was off) it appeared to be coolant but I could not find where it was leaking.

I took it to a shop who found no issues but mentioned to me that it could potentially be the "plug" next to the thermostat leaking the coolant and the smell could be my valve cover gasket slowly leaking and dripping onto the TP at times.

I cleaned off the engine top and bottom and have not had any issues or drips in the past two weeks however the smell does occasionally maybe twice a week come back.

Let me know if you figure it out.

[Lusticles]

i had that smell once, never ssaw smoke though. When I asked a mechanic about it in just casual conversation he suggested it probably is the clutch. The smell stopped though. . .

[Boosted3.0]

Check your tensioner pulley

[Dan1969]

weird. check your serpentine belt.

Check your tensioner pulley

^^ Check this two and you'll probably find your culprit.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

Also, check and see if a market bag stuck to your exhaust.

[akarol]

Tensioner pulley? Is that something that is replaced with a timing belt job? I'm due for one late this year or early next year. Is there a risk of any belt being the culprit and snapping on me?

[wolfdog]

The serpentine belt can break without doing serious immediate damage. It's the timing belt behind it, also powering your water/coolant pump, that causes expensive damage when it breaks. The serpentine belt is usually replaced when doing the timing belt.

[Dan[FN]6262]

124,000 miles on my serpentine belt. still the original

[Dan1969]

Tensioner pulley? Is that something that is replaced with a timing belt job? I'm due for one late this year or early next year. Is there a risk of any belt being the culprit and snapping on me?

The tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt (also known and referred to as accesory belt), it keeps tension on the belt around the accesories. If the pulley is seized the belt will be rubbing around the pulley making the smell. A way to kind of tell is to open the hood and hear the belt, if it makes a slight chirping sound is probably rubbing, then you can turn on the AC to see if the sound changes.

124,000 miles on my serpentine belt. still the original

lol I wouldn't even admit to that dude...

[bs6x]

Burning rubber smell is oil burning off. Most likely from your valve cover leaking onto the exhaust manifold. Check the cam cap on the back of the head and your cam tenioner gasket as well. If you see smoke, you might want to address it before a fire starts under th hood.

[zoran]

i have the same problem and the smell sometimes comes throught my ac vents when the heat or ac is on

[A4PLAY805]

Burning rubber smell is oil burning off. Most likely from your valve cover leaking onto the exhaust manifold. Check the cam cap on the back of the head and your cam tenioner gasket as well. If you see smoke, you might want to address it before a fire starts under th hood.

x2

[akarol]

Likewise. The smell something comes into the cabin via the A/C vents. Especially when having the heater on. Is the oil leak easily visible. Or do I have to go under the car to look for it. I know for a fact that there's no leak dripping to the ground as my driveway shows no signs of it.

[akarol]

Bump!

[greg@podi.ca]

Look around the valve cover...where the valve cover gasket seals. See if there's any oil build up.

[A4Avant02]

I had a similar issue and had to replace a few of the crankcase breather tubes/parts that had failed. This caused the leak and odor of oil/rubber.

[akarol]

How much did you spend to fix it?

[A4Avant02]

I replaced each of the rubber hoses/fittings that lead out from the top of the oil filter housing, since all were failing. Some of these are not cheap. I think I spent about $100 for everything I needed. These are the hoses close to the block located under the intake manifold and can be a real bitch to get to when you dont remove the manifold.