GOKEN9

Was out for a short run yesterday night and did 3 or 4 hard braking before the corners, when car stopped at the traffic light, a lot of smoke came out from the rear wheel or rear underneath, was worrying something might go wrong so I pulled over and check, but no more smoke coming out.

Was it because of the Endless brake pad? or brake fluid leaking through calibers? Brake fluid level still looking good. I believe it has nothing to do with tranny/diff oils.

What could possibly be causing the smoke coming out from the rear wheel after hard braking? Or it is normal?

Thanks.

binarysleep

While smoking is not normal, under hard braking your front pads get much hotter than the rear; So the front should smoke before the rears.

What did it smell like?

Friction material (pads) and brake fluid have very distinct (and different) smells. For that matter, it could have been rubber or plastic as well (if it was rubbing); again a whole different smell.

Take your rear wheels off and inspect your pads and calipers. If the smoke was from brake fluid, you might have broken/worn a seal on the caliper piston. Moving it back and forth might reveal fluid if it's bad.

MondoBongo

iTrader: (10)

i have seen pads smoke (and even catch fire once) while on the track, but that was after EXCESSIVE brake usage. i would be a bit concerned if it was only after 3 or 4 hard uses.

how long were you on the brakes for? did you notice any fade? is it possible that a brake line or strut/shock has a small leak in it and was dripping any kind of oil on to the hot rotor? what color was the smoke?

and lastly, exactly how much smoke are we talking here?

i have also seen it happen before where after a hard bought of acceleration some oil gets burned and kicks some white smoke out of the tail pipe.

does everything seem to be operating normally now? pedal feel, stopping distance etc?

i would get under and take a close look at the caliper just to verify that there is nothing leaking from it anywhere.

GOKEN9

Thanks for the replies.

Binarysleep, exactly what I was thinking, the front should smoke before the rear. It was like I have just done a burn out But all the smokes went away after a short 1 minute drive and pulled over and check, nothing wrong, no smoke no smell. Brake luid is still looking good.

MondoBongo, the brake is still working good. The color of the smoke is white.

I have taken off all 4 wheels and checked, no sign of oil/fluids leaking.

Maybe its the rear caliper piston failure? Is it an easy fix?

Also, the paint on the brembo calipers are peeling off.

MondoBongo

iTrader: (10)

if it is white smoke i would be leaning towards burning oil.

i remember specifically once at the autocross watching one of my buddies run, and as he was coming off course his evo started belching more smoke than the car from Spy Hunter (if you remember that video game )

i have heard that this is not entirely uncommon in turbo cars. occasionally under hard use some oil will get forced up in to the head and spit out into the exhaust causing it to plume white smoke like crazy. i can't vouch for the accuracy of that statement, but my friend has never seen the smoke again from his car, and the vehicle doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear.

check your oil level, see if you're lower than you should be, or would expect to be. it could be something like. also maybe take a look around your engine bay, make sure nothing is leaking from your oil plug, and also check your dipstick to make sure it is seated properly. sometimes they will work loose a bit too and spew some oil around.

good luck man! let us know if you find any other clues or figure out what it is.

binarysleep

I have never rebuilt a caliper but this place sells new seals and dust boots. It might be worth ordering them anyway, as discolored/peeling calipers is a sign that the seals may have been exposed to excessive heat and are beginning to fail.

When you took the wheels off, did you remove the calipers, or at least the pads? You can usually push the piston back and forth a little. This might reveal fluid.

Jeff_Jeske

iTrader: (66)

Go do 3-4 hard stops on a back road and see if it smokes again. If it does immediately get out and find the source.

Odds are it was your brakes. Maybe you had some gunk on them that simply burned off when it got hot. If it doesn't happen again .... no worries.

Skylineracer

iTrader: (21)

awesome game, sux for ur buddy what happened?

On Topic : only other thing i can think of is something getting caught in there.

MondoBongo

iTrader: (10)

nothing ever came of it actually. which was really fortunate, because it looked bad. my first thought was a blown head gasket, but thankfully it never presented itself again.

i hope you find the source of your smoking. it is also possible that some piece of something or other got caught in between the dust shield and the rotor, and once the brakes heated up caught fire.

Mr. Evo IX

iTrader: (5)

Ive run into this on cars that have never actually had their pads bedded in properly. If it continues you've probably got a problem, but if it just does it once then it was probably just the pads.

GOKEN9

Thanks.

I'll go do some super hard braking tonight and see will the rear brake smokes again.

4Trouble

Is yours RS?

Mine is and lacks ABS, and when I brake to a point where the wheels lock, it will produce smoke from the tires.

GOKEN9

Mine is JDM Spec GSR.