Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Although conventional maintenance is designed to keep your Ford F 250 running smoothly with time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. In this article we’re going to speak about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Ford F 250 . To help you check that it is nothing serious, first we will outline the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Ford F 250? .

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The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Ford F 250

So we start our content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Ford F 250 . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. In fact, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant breakdown. Below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the main possible source of such an odor. In fact, the objective of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different elements of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not damaged, it also has a second objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, in the long run, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Ford F 250. You risk pre-wearing your gearbox if you don’t take care of it.
  • The accessory belt: Although rarer, it is possible with wear and tear that your belt, which is mainly made of rubber, will degrade and no longer rotate completely on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will create a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Ford F 250.
  • Faulty hose wear: This circumstance occurs especially on Ford F 250 that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car unlike what you might think will trigger the plastic auto parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be affected by this phenomenon. The rubber will disintegrate little by little and with the rise in heat of the fluid that circulates in it, it may possibly melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less general, especially present on Ford F 250’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly rub against one of your wheels and give off that burnt plastic smell. This may also pre-wear out your tyres.

How to find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Ford F 250?

And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Ford F 250 . Now that you know the different possible origins of this smell, we’ll just have to do some checks to get rid of the tracks that don’t concern you and resolve your problem quickly. If your Ford F 250 smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our article on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and check that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to seek advice from our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Ford F 250.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not think twice to change it.
  • Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually check all your hoses to see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
  • Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Ford F 250, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    To find more tips on the Ford F 250, take a look at the Ford F 250 category.