Smoking front wheel bearing

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TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
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Smoking front wheel bearing

Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

My gf's new Lanos has 800 miles on it, and today when we were driving, something smelled like it was hot or burning. The car also felt like something was slowing it down, as if the breaks were on or something was causing drag. We stopped and I saw smoke coming out of the passanger side front wheel.

The wheel was really hot, and I pulled the hubcap off to see that it was the grease around bearing smoking, and not the breaks.

We let the car sit for about 15 mins and I wanted to take it to a service station because we were away from home & there were no tools in the car.

After driving about 5 minutes on our way to a service station, I stopped to get out and look.

No smoke.

I drove 5 mins more and no smoke.

We headed for home, and the car was driving just fine again; it didn't feel like the breaks were on or the bearing was stuck.

When we got back, everything was back to normal.

Do you suggest we get the bearing checked or replaced?
Or do you think it will be fine because it is driving like nothing ever happened to it?

The car has only 800 miles on it and it is under warrenty, so I think it would be best to have it checked.

Anyone know what may have caused this?
Was it because the car sat at the dealer lot for over a year?
Mfree
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Location: Knoxville, TN
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Post by Mfree »

By all means have it checked... it may be the brake on that side, with a FWD car the pulling effects are minimized.

I have a dodge shadow that I use for a beater while waiting for a new turbo engine that will turn it into an SCCA race car project :) My GF borrowed it one day, and the passenger front brake started to smoke. Car never felt like it was pulling or anything... I figured there must have been a little rust in the brake cylinder bore and the piston got jammed out. It went back to normal and there hasn't been an issue since.

My dodge has 113,000 miles on it, has been rallycrossed, autocrossed, sat for more than 6 months at a shot, and has been out of warranty since... well, 1994.

Your lanos is brand new.... have this checked out under warranty, just in case it damaged anything like the piston or bore, or the pad glazed, disc warped, etc.

If it's the wheel bearing, have it triply checked. MAKE SURE THEY DOCUMENT IT in case it fails down the line.
ETR-SCCA 42HS Daewoo Leganza SE
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
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Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

Yesterday, the car went to the dealer for service (the morning after the problem first happened). They are a service center for Daewoo, Hummer, Pontiac, Jeep, and a couple others. They were booked for almost 2 weeks, so the car got dropped off and is waiting in queue at the service center.

She didn't drive the car much, and the wheel got really hot again, so we took it for service first thing in the morning.
It looks as though it may be a stuck brake caliper heating up the disk, so they will have to check for warping, glazing, etc.

At least she has my Leganza to drive and I have my new Lanos, so we aren't short of cars.
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
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Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

We received a call from the dealer today. Their technician said it was the caliper that was seized. This is, of course, under warrenty, and the new caliper has been ordered and is supposed to be here in 2 days (on Thursday, May 22nd). They said it won't take long to replace the parts once they are on hand and we should have the car back soon.

I just hope the parts get here when they said.
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
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Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

The parts came in on time, just as they said. The replaced the caliper, rotor and pads. They said it was still sticking, so today they ordered a new master cyllinder.
I am thinking if they are replacing that, then something in the master cyllinder was not allowing the break fluid to return to the resivour (spelling?). Anyway, they did overnight shipping on it, just as they had with the other parts, and it should be in on Monday so we should have the car back by Tue or Wed, after they have checked everything out , driven it and are satisfied that they have fixed it.

The Daewoo representative at that dealer is one of the nicest guys you'll meet when it comes to making sure the customer is informed and satisfied with the work they are doing. The prices for out of warrenty work are not bad, either. They have a very well stocked parts department and the items they don't have on hand they can have within a couple days.
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