Burnt smell from rear end

[Dan_M]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

Sounds like your e-brake is dragging. Will give that kind of smell. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are releasing it, but you may have a problem with the cables or the adjustment that is causing it to drag. The other possibility is that you have a seized rear brake caliper which is causing your brakes to get hot, causing your smell. When the caliper seizes the other side that is still working is the one that will get hot because it is doing all the braking. Would be aggravated when you tow.

Yea we always use the parking brake and release it. Habit from years of driving manuals.

We checked the cables and they look like they are doing that they are supposed to do. I may lift up the truck tomorrow to check.

If the parking brake was stuck then the smell would happen all the time, not only while towing.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Dan_M

Thanks for the replies.

Nah, never dropped the spare. I can check pressure and fill it up without dropping so never had a need to do so.

I'll take the trailer out again tomorrow and check the temps of the differential pinion.

It's the darnest thing tho. The truck doesn't have that much miles on it. We did take it on long trips before (Georgia to Canada) pulling the camper without any smells/issues. Brought it to the dealer for oil change (it's free so might as well) and now the thing smells.

Thanks again.

Could it be the trailer and not the truck ???
Brakes on the trailer ???
GOOD LUCK !!!

[Dan_M]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

Could it be the trailer and not the truck ???
Brakes on the trailer ???
GOOD LUCK !!!

Thanks!

That is what I thought at first. Checked the trailer, no problem there. Bearings were packed back in January and we did about a 1000 miles since without issues. Checked the trailer hubs with a IR thermometer during my test run and temps are nominals, all wheels are +/-2 degrees.

[santarich]

Sorry but I had to laugh at you topic title!!!

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by santarich

Sorry but I had to laugh at you topic title!!!

That is another place to look hey ???

[Dan_M]

My wife does make some banging but dangerous Belizean Habanero sauce. She hasn't in a while though.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Dan_M

My wife does make some banging but dangerous Belizean Habanero sauce. She hasn't in a while though.

Sounds like a Front Door & Back Door Burner !!!

[GearHd6]

Originally Posted by keegantimber

I wouldnt think this would happen with a 2500....but here is a thought to consider....When I was towing with a 1500 I was getting a nasty gear oil smell from the rear differential. I believe I was darn near boiling the rear diff fluid....the fumes were coming out the diff vent. I noticed excess moisture around the vent nipple located at the end of the hose tied to the frame. I have since upgraded to a 2500...lol. If this is the case you might want to consider a performance finned differential cover which may assist in keeping the temperature down.

I had that exact issue with a Ram 1500. We had it rebuilt multiple times trying to fix it and finally gave up and bought a 2500.

[onetonford]

You said you had oil change is it possible that they didn't seat the dipstick all the way down? I know they had some issues with them years ago when I had a GM truck they sent a new dipstick to replace original because it would push up and leak intermittently.

[Dan_M]

Thank all for the replies.
Checked everything we could and we couldn't find any possible issue. We went on with the trip.

We made it to natural bridge VA on our way to Connecticut without problems. The smell went away. More likely oil from road or somewhere on the exhaust.

We've been monitoring temperature closely and nothing is out the norm.

Again, thank you.

[Wilco]

I am glad you did not find any problem. I was reading this with interest since I have the 2015 version of your truck.

[LandPirate]

This more than likely going to be the result of a leak at one of the hubs. Could just be loose or it could be a bad seal. Differential oil will be most obvious on the inside of the rear tires/wheels or disc brake. The smell is from oil on one of the rear disc rotors.

I replaced the right side seal on my '07 GMC 2500HD at about 50,000 miles. It had been leaking for a while prior, but like you, I was not able to isolate the source. Eventually, the leak became so bad that the inside of my right rear tire was fairly covered and even had diff fluid seeping out of my center hub cap.

Good news is that it's pretty easy fix. I was out of warranty and did it myself in about 2 hours.