Honda Repair: hot smoking left front brake/axle area, axle bearings, smokefest

Question
Hi Steve, this an odd one. Just recently this area has started to stink, literally. Started with a slight smell of burning rubber but now it came home with a smokefest coming from the front left wheel well. And I hadn't gone that far. It drives fine, normal (brakes, tranny, etc)except for this. A fires next I'm sure. I just took off the wheel thinking it was the brake pads worn out or the axle bearings burning out. But strangely, the pads are OK, the caliper isn't seized and it seems normal to drive. I've owned many Hondas in the past and done all of the mechanics myself but this one is strange. Could it be rivets on the pads contacting the rotor, I thought for sure it was metal on metal causing this(how thick are new ones, Ive forgotten). Thanks

Answer
Hmmm...usually metal on metal won't cause any burning. They will just get hot.

I would be checking the calipers to see if the piston boot is contacting the brake pad and burning. I would also be making sure that the brake pads don't have any debris in them causing this burning. I would also check the axle joints to see what condition they are in. The boots too. They could be getting hot.

A great way to check some of these things is to take it for a drive and after you start smelling the burning use a non-contact thermometer to check the temps of everything in that area. This will probably lead you to your problem.

These are the first things I would check.