Brake Smell: ceramic vs semi metallic

[2TimingTom]

Do ceramic brakes smell any different when hot than semi metallic?

For the last couple times I've driven my Explorer, it has a funny smell coming from what I believe is the front left wheel well. I can't quite put my finger on what the smell is though.

The outside surface of the brake rotor is not smooth.

I'm thinking the caliper might be sticking a little, causing the brakes to get hot and smell. I have ceramic pads on and I'm not sure if they smell like semi metallic pads when they get hot.

When I get home tonight, I'll put the truck up in the air and see if I can detect the brakes dragging any. I'll take off the caliper and lube the slider pins.

Any other ideas?

 

[SoNic67]

Touch the wheel after driving. If is hot, you got dragging pads. That will sometimes overheat also the wheel bearing grease and that will "leak out" and burn/smell.

 

[koda2000]

are you getting your pads from autozone?

 

[2TimingTom]

are you getting your pads from autozone?

Yep. I got the Gold C-max ceramics a little over a year ago.

 

[koda2000]

i used to work at autozone and for some reason the ilse where all the brake pads/shoes were had this awful smell. i've had duralast pads that smelled bad when hot, but not the gold. still, could be your pads.
ceramic pads work better and last longer than the semi mets and they don't blacken your wheels, however they are harder on your rotors. to me the ceramics are worth it to stop better and i hate dirty wheels.

 

[2TimingTom]

I seem to have diagnosed a bad left CV axle. See thread HERE.

Whether or not the smell is related or not is yet to be determined. I'm thinking my CV is in pretty bad shape. I'm going to be replacing it tonight.

 

[yavapaires]

Touch the wheel after driving. If is hot, you got dragging pads. That will sometimes overheat also the wheel bearing grease and that will "leak out" and burn/smell.

If the wheel bearing grease gets hot enough to leak out, you got more problems than smelly pads!

 

[2TimingTom]

Well, turns out the CVs were actually fine. At full droop, the CVs will bind. But if I jacked up the upright just a little, the CV would spin freely.

BUT: the smell. I came to the conclusion that it was a hot brake smell. I rode the brakes for the better part of a mile and jumped out and the smell was strong.

The fix: I took off both front calipers and regreased the slider pins. I also used an old brake pad and a C-clamp to push the caliper pistons back in a little. The smell is gone now. If it returns, I'll probably replace the calipers.