I smell smoke

37chief

Well-known Member
Location
California
Now I see smoke coming up from around my transmission in my 54 chevy flat bed. I stopped, figuring it was a battery cable under the floor shorting out. After looking under the truck I see the transmission brake was the cause of the smoke. I had only driven about 50 yards with the brake on. What a good place for a parking brake right at the end of the transmission where it gets soaked with oil. I released the brake, and was on my way to do a couple discing jobs. Stan
 
i had a 68 ford dump truck with an 1150 cat in it, 4 speed trans. coming down a hill with a load of stone i hit the brakes and blew a line. grabbed the parking brake to get the truck stopped, same deal, band on the end of the trans. filled the cab with smoke right now!! think i had to change my shorts a couple times on that one!!
 
I had the same experience with a 58 Chevy. I had a load of sweet corn and as I was going down a hill a car pulled out in front of me. I hit the brakes hard and avoided the car but didn't realize that I also blew a brake line. At the bottom of the hill was a stop light with a line of cars backed up behind it. When I went to use the brakes again the pedal went to the floor. I pulled on the park brake lever and soon there was so much smoke I couldn't see anything behind me. Foryunatly the light had changed by the time I got to the bottom because I was not going to get stopped in time.
 
I remember my mother and I went on the milk route with Dad when I probably wasn't even 2 years old. The old truck had that drum right on the back of the transmission I guess. I just remember seeing it turning through a crack in the floor mat behind the shift. I put my foot on it. Dad started smelling smoke. It was my shoe on that drum. Heck,I didn't know any better. lol
 
The shoes on the driveline park brake on my 58 GMC grain truck are about toast. The brake is fairly worthless as it is, but I hate to not have those relined. I never park anything and leave it in gear unless I am there with the vehicle - I've had old ignition parts go bad and something spontaneously start cranking. That brake sure doesn't hold much, though. It was quite a stellar idea to begin with.
 
Today my son got a call from one of the drivers who pulls one of his feed trailers. A wiring harness had melted and burned a hole in an air line on the feed trailer. Turns out there was a short in a light that blew a 20 amp fuse. The driver replaced the fuse with a 50 amp fuse! You know the rest of the story! This driver is a very good dependable driver. There was just a lack of experience with electricals.
 
This just happened Sunday. This is the way I heard the story. Last Friday a neighbor was mowing his pasture with his 15 ft. mower pulled by his 1086. Let it set in his pasture that evening. Sunday noon was going home and seen smoke over by his place. Called somebody and was told his 1086 was on fire. Have not heard how the fire started.
 
It's all those tales "Why it's never done THAT before!" that I carry fire extinguisher in every truck/car/tractor/lawn-mower. I hate fire.
 

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