I was coming off the freeway in my 96 accord lx coupe 5 spd, got to a stoplight, and smelled something nasty. Turns out it was me! I had a whiteish smoke coming from my hood and through my vents. I pulled over, popped the hood, and the smoke was coming up through the void just to the right of the belts. It kind of smelled like burnt rubber...I let the car sit for ten minutes to let it cool down. Turned the car back on, and no smoke! Anyone ever experience this or have any nuggets of wisdom before I drop my beer money on a mechanics opinion?

 

car overheated and it will happen again. u said it came from the drive belts side, well the only thing there that i could think of is a waterpump.

dont drive too far until u figure out this problem

 

Just an update...I went back for the car, and it ran like nothing had happened! At no point did I get a check engine light, or an overheat. The temperature gauge operated as normal. I took it back home, scoured the engine bay for any evidence of what had smoked, and the only thing I could find was a couple specs or rubbery material on the outside of the belts. Is the water pump a tough replacement?

 

It could have been something that got caught in the belts, or the belts themselves. I'd have the timing belt looked at as well. You'll have to remove the valve cover to get a look at it or take it to a mechanic.

If your temp gauge wasn't showing overheating then I doubt that's the problem unless your gauge is malfunctioning. What was the temp when it happened? Let the car idle for a while and see if it does it again. If not, it probably wasn't overheating.