Had one of those scary moments owners of old trucks sometimes have :)
For those of you who don't know me, I own a 2001 Dodge Dakota SLT 4x4, v8, 4.7l. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm trying to learn, not to do stuff myself, but so I can talk to my trusty mechanic intelligently :)
It's a soggy day. Truck's been behaving fine. This happened so fast I may not have the details exactly right but here's what I remember:
Most of the way home - 20 or so minutes into my commute. I'm on the highway, slowed down at the light - but not stopped, then speeded up. Something wasn't right! Engine sounded "wrong" - revving too high? Truck felt... like it was going over small pea gravel? Odd, anyway. I thought maybe I'd shifted into the wrong gear at first, and downshifted to 4th, still felt weird, but as I slowed it seemed better. Then I smelled something burning! Oil? Brakes? Not sure. So far maybe 10, 15 seconds had passed. Pulled over, put it in park, left engine running.
Hmm. No red lights on dash. All gauges within limits. Popped the hood, engine sounded fine. Still smelled something, but that quickly faded. Nothing seemed to be dripping anywhere.
So I got into the truck, pulled back into traffic and... perfectly normal. No problems at all. Checked for codes, got p done and nothing else (whew!)
So what the hell happened? I'm inclined to think the brakes locked (I don't remember feeling it pull one way or the other - could it have been rear brakes?). Earlier this year I'd had two incidents where the brake stuck when I tried to move out from park, but the front brake pads and rotors were replaced in July; they looked over the system really well then. I don't think they found anything else except the worn pads and rusty rotors, and I haven't had any issues since then.
Was this just "one of those things" that happen to older vehicles or do I have a problem?
jmc