My son has a 2000 S10 that runs alright as long as he only drives it about 20 miles one way, the problem seems to occur after he goes on longer trips, closer to a 45 or 60 mile drive, and it seems to happen when he comes to a stop, at a red light, or stop sign, the other day I drove it to my daughters house which is a 45 minute drive, we stopped several times, before I made it to her house, just when I though we were going to make it with no problems, I come to a stop at a red light, when I start to pull off the truck becomes so sluggish, that the truck motor can barely keep running, when I let off of the gas it seemed to pick up power, but every time I pressed the gas it would bog back down, I barely made it across the intersection, trying to get to a parking lot, when the power is just to low to pull any more, so I leave it running, but put it in park, so my wife can get behind the wheel, thinking, that if she presses the gas, while I push it, we can make it to the parking lot, well as soon as I got behind the truck, I tell her to put it in gear, and press the gas, while I push, well the truck takes off and she drives it in the parking lot, I walk on up to were she had parked, there was a burned rubbery, or oil smell coming from the truck, not should which, I’m checking everything out, when I take the power steering cap off, it releases air out of it, like there was press build up in it, after that I crank the truck back up, and drive it to my daughters house, and back home with no more problems, the check engine light came on when this happen, but has now gone back out, now, like nothing is wrong, could any one give me any advice on what could cause this? I have check everything maintenance wise and everything is in good working order it doesn’t run hot, it has the right oil pressure and amount of oil in it, has the right amount of transmission fluid and power steering fluid, I took it to a mechanic, but he said he didn’t find anything wrong with it, and told me to just drive it, till what ever was causing this tore up. Would appreciate any advice, because I’m not one for being broke down in traffic, people are very inconsiderate of some one having car problems.
My first thought is to check for evidence of a brake hanging up, probably on the front. You may have a sticking caliper or collapsed/constricted brake hose. The smell could have been your brakes overheating, which will definitely give off a distinct smell, neither like rubber nor oil burning, but they could be confused if you have never smelled it before. The next time it happens, put a hand near each one of the wheels one at a time, but don’t actually touch them since brakes can become incredibly hot, especially if one of them is dragging. If you have a brake dragging for one reason or another, that wheel will be putting off quite a bit more heat than the others. If you find a problem with a flexible brake hose, it is a good idea to replace all three of them since they are rubber, 13 years old, and imperative to the safe operation of the vehicle.
I’ll second mark9207.
Did you have any brake work done recently? The rear calipers on my 2000 S10 Blazer started to stick after I had the disc brake pads replaced at 80k. The truck was a little sluggish after the pads were replaced. I took the truck back and my trusted mechanic had to replace both calipers.
The rear pads needed replacement again at 120k (worn down to the wear indicator). The mechanic wasn’t sure if the caliper would need replacement or not. Evidently the calipers are a known issue with the Blazer (one of many). This time I got away with just a pad replacement.
Follow mark9207’s suggestion, but be careful, the wheel can get hot enough to burn.
Ed B.
After hearing your response, I remember that the time before this last episodes, that the ABS light came on with the check engine light, and a warning light, but did not come on this time. Thanks for the information, Big T