Left Front Smoking !

Its the hose more than likely Harry...

Paul,

Its a FWD car - There is no wheel bearing to clean & repack. One piece hub assembly.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~296,998 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

Update,

R & R'd the LF caliper. Slides were still sliding freely, so I re-greased them. No wear on the pads, nor was one pad heavily worn down to indicate a stuck caliper. NAPA Caliper was new in Sept.

Up on jack stands , with the caliper & rotor off, I run the car in drive. No noises coming from the wheel bearing hub area.

When it was smoking it didn't smell like brake pad odor, more like petroleum grease burning, leading me to think it was the wheel bearing hub.

After reassembly braking seems normal. I didn't take it for to long a drive, Mother wanted her car put back together. Finally put all her chrome trim back on the quarter panels. Weather here was decent for a change.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~297,024 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

After posting this update I did some searching on the web on colapsed brake hoses.

Came across somehing that discussed pistons not retracting due to restrictions within the hoses. As I read it I think that that may be my problem afterall. I've been heraing a creaking noise after parking the car & turning the key off. The creak goes on for about 5-8 seconds. Sounds like somebody leaning back on an old wooden chair. I bet it was the caliper retracting that's been making the noise I've been hearing.

My mechanic said to drive it and see if it gets hot again, if it does crack the bleeder screw loose & see if fluid shoots out, this would indicate pressure behind the piston.

Will play around with it tomorrow.

And as you may have guessed, these are the original brake hoses were talking about.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~297,024 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan

Depends on whether it's DOT 3 or DOT 4...it's labeled on every bottle.

The fluid won't boil unless it's contaminated in which case it should have been flushed anyway. Harry takes good care of that car, so the fluid should have been flushed within the last couple years. GW

You need to jack up the wheel first. If it immediately spins free, after cracking the bleeder, the hose is to blame. If it still won't spin, the caliper is stuck.

Who's doing your brake inspections, HF? 13 year old hoses should have shown signs of rubber fatigue already, especially with that Chicagoland weather. You should look very closely at hoses while you bend them, and look for any cracks, including dry-rot, once a year, or when inspecting pads. GW

GW,

I'm the front brake mechanic here. Phillip does the back brakes - as I don't have the removale tools for the back. If they were the same as my

78 Olds then I could tackle it.

Anyway, since new, about every other oil change I've sprayed the non aresol WD-40 on the hoses, CV Boots, vacuum hoses, exhaust O Ring hangers, anything rubber. The B hoses have maybe three cracks shownig in the rubber.

Bled about a quart & a half through the system after I got back from Florida in September.

I just hope I don't twist the end of the line in half where the hose connects, you know - 14 years old, quite rusty. Will soak the connection points with Liquid wrench first.

Using Prestone Brake FLuid, Dots 3.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~297,024 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan