Burning smell on hill

Technical questions and answers about the Mazda Bongo

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kelv

Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:24 pm

Went up a very steep 1/4 hill over the weekend, with 5 adults in Bongo plus luggage.
Experienced a burning smell ( a bit like burnt clutch) it's an auto :?
On subsequent hills of the same incline, I put it into S2, or used the hold button = no smell.
Car ran fine after all that.

Q what was that smell all about then any ideas anyone ?
Last edited by kelv on Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BongoMTBer

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by BongoMTBer » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:41 pm

Probably transmission fluid. You should inspect it/change it. It may be low which is why it could have got hot in the first place.
kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:54 pm

BongoMTBer wrote:Probably transmission fluid. You should inspect it/change it. It may be low which is why it could have got hot in the first place.
Just checked the auto trans fluid.
It is a nice red colour, and doesn't smell.
Only strange thing is that it is way over the "full" mark.
Bongo parked on level ground, shifter moved through the gate a few times prior to checking.

Any ideas :)
not so old
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Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by not so old » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:58 pm

We also get that smell, from time to time, but the Bongo keeps going for hundreds of miles. Done more than a thousand miles last couple of weeks. I will get the transmission fluid checked though.
Things always get better after they are worse
So it's good to make things worse as soon as possible!
BongoMTBer

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by BongoMTBer » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:04 pm

Kelv, has it recently been running?

Hot oil expands and can be airated causing a higher reading.

As for the smell then I dunno! Sure it wasn't from something/somewhere else other than your Bongo?
BongoMTBer

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by BongoMTBer » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:06 pm

If it were me, I would certainly drain it down so that it is within limits.
kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:07 pm

That's interesting Not so Old.
Mine kept going for hundreds of miles afterards too, no other symptoms.
It was a VERY steep hill, and seemed to be undecided which gear it should go in because I was accelaraing it at the time, almost a kickdown situation.
It was a lot happier when I started using the hold button on steep hills, and no smell then.
Just drove it 175 miles home up the motorway too, no smell then either.
Please let me know what the transmission fluid check reveals when you have it done.
:D
kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:09 pm

[quote="BongoMTBer"]Kelv, has it recently been running?

Hot oil expands and can be airated causing a higher reading.

Last ran at 2pm today.
Smell might have been from car in front I suppose, 8)
There were a lot of crawling cars at the time, someone might have been slippng the clutch a bit too much
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mister munkey
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Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by mister munkey » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:10 pm

Probably unrelated but - A few years back, driving through Dartmoor one dark night, I felt a bit of a thump on the front end of my old Saab.

Nothing seemed amiss in the morning, however a strange smell started to come through the heater a couple of weeks later.

A bit of digging around discovered the slowly cooked semi rotten corpse of most of a rabbit on the rad.

Worth a look perhaps.

:-k
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wonkanoby
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Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by wonkanoby » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:24 pm

dip stick comes to about 1 inch of sump bottom fluid looked clean

in that inch on mine was a mire of grey crud grunge and metal fillings

suggest take it all down and clean it and filter myself
kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:27 pm

mister munkey wrote:Probably unrelated but - A few years back, driving through Dartmoor one dark night, I felt a bit of a thump on the front end of my old Saab.

Nothing seemed amiss in the morning, however a strange smell started to come through the heater a couple of weeks later.

A bit of digging around discovered the slowly cooked semi rotten corpse of most of a rabbit on the rad.

Worth a look perhaps.

:-k
Will check in the morning, next doors cat has been missing for a few weeks :lol:
So you never know.
not so old
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Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by not so old » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:30 pm

mister munkey wrote:Probably unrelated but - A few years back, driving through Dartmoor one dark night, I felt a bit of a thump on the front end of my old Saab.

Nothing seemed amiss in the morning, however a strange smell started to come through the heater a couple of weeks later.

A bit of digging around discovered the slowly cooked semi rotten corpse of most of a rabbit on the rad.

Worth a look perhaps.

:-k

Yuk! 8-[ :shock: I Not gonna look.......... Just in case :( My daughter had a similiar experience. She hadn't used her car for a few weeks as she was ill/hospital and when she took it out first time it was very smelly. Next day was worse, so she took it too the garage. They found a load of baby mice had been born in an area near the rad and poor little beasties had died there. She was quite upset at the thought, but glad the smell had gone.

Cheers Anna
Things always get better after they are worse
So it's good to make things worse as soon as possible!
kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:45 pm

No, it was definitely a buring ruber, or burning clutch type of smell.Pretty sure it's not the cat that has caused it.
Didn't know diesel Bongos had a cat :D (alytic converter )
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Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by jaylee » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:17 pm

Could it be one of the belts slipping?
Cheaper by comparison to a race horse...
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kelv

Re: Burning smell on hill

Post by kelv » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:07 pm

jaylee wrote:Could it be one of the belts slipping?
Could have been I suppose.
They look to be adjusted OK

Is there a reason why a belt should slip only under load ?
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