Smell burnt around front right wheel

[cloudsearch]

Hi guys,
I just noticed this a couple of times: when I arrive at parking lot, there is a strange smell like burnt of some rubber (?) coming from front of car. I checkd under the hood and there seems to be nothing wrong (fluid level etc) and I think the smell comes from front right. Other than that I do not notice anything unusual while driving.
Can anyone have similar experiences tell me what can be wrong? Thanks.

[95PimpingCamry]

Check for oil leaks. If you leak any oil onto the exhaust pipe it will burn and smell like burnt rubber. Check your valve cover gasket for leaks and look at your flex pipe area to see if any oil has leaked on there.

[cloudsearch]

Originally Posted by 95PimpingCamry

Check for oil leaks. If you leak any oil onto the exhaust pipe it will burn and smell like burnt rubber. Check your valve cover gasket for leaks and look at your flex pipe area to see if any oil has leaked on there.

Thanks. Do you mean engine oil leak? I will check that soon.
I searched something online and some people say it can indicate brake overheating, and the smell indeed seems to come out near the front wheel region. How possible is that?

[95PimpingCamry]

I do mean engine oil. It's possible that it's the brakes, but unless you drive like a maniac and slam on your brakes all the time, they shouldn't overheat. The reason that I say oil is that (assuming you have the 4 cyl 5S-FE motor) it is notorious for leaky valve cover gaskets. I personally had this problem where my valve cover was leaking out the back and was dripping onto the flex pipe and burning.

[eurohazard]

Check the pulleys and belts. A pulley might be freezing up and the belt could be the burning rubber smell.

[cloudsearch]

Originally Posted by 95PimpingCamry

I do mean engine oil. It's possible that it's the brakes, but unless you drive like a maniac and slam on your brakes all the time, they shouldn't overheat. The reason that I say oil is that (assuming you have the 4 cyl 5S-FE motor) it is notorious for leaky valve cover gaskets. I personally had this problem where my valve cover was leaking out the back and was dripping onto the flex pipe and burning.

I appreciate your advice a lot. Just where are those valve cover gaskets and flex pipe region I should check? Sorry I am new to the mechanic work and could not find their locations from the manual.

[95PimpingCamry]

The valve cover is the very top of the engine. If you have the 4 cyl. it will be the part that the spark plug wires go to and it will say "16 VALVE". The valve cover gasket is the gasket between the valve cover and the rest of the engine. The flex pipe is part of the exhaust pipe. If you get under the car and look at the exhaust pipe the flex pipe is the part that looks like braided steel and is flexible.

Also look at the pulleys and belts as eurohazard stated.

P.S. If you intend to get into fixing your own car I recommend picking up a Haynes manual for your car at any auto parts store for about $17. They are very helpful.

[cloudsearch]

Thank you. In fact, I am just reading one at hand =)