Burnt clutch

[SallySpeed3]

Ok, so took my car with my wife and neices to an apple farm to go apple picking. What a bad idea!! The place is designed so that you drive around instead of walking and park where you want to pick. There were sooo many people there so I was using the clutch alot, and to add to that it was all uphill. Started to smell something really bad that I'm pretty sure was my clutch getting too hot. Once we left I could still smell it but it wasn't as strong and I think it was just residual from before. By the time we got home the smell was pretty much gone. Should I be worried? This is the only time it's happened.

 

[Darth Vader]

Well, obviously you took some life out of the clutch disc but, as long as it isn't slipping you're fine. I find it difficult to imagine a situation where slipping the clutch is necessary on this car, given its crawler first, high engine torque and relatively light weight.

 

[SallySpeed3]

Yeah shifting definitely feels a little different, but as far as I can tell everything is fine. Thanks

 

[MSMS3]

During the first month I had my car (purchased in spring of '08), cluch feel on this car was still a bit new to me. I was stopped at a traffic light alongside a big rig 18 wheeler making a lot of noise. I couldn't hear my own engine at all. We were on an incline and I was holding the car with the clutch to keep it from rolling backward. When the light turned, I eased it forward and then began to smell the acrid smell of clutch lining. Unmistakable. I was continuing to skip the clutch even after I got moving. I eased the car back to my office, keeping out of the power, trying to let the disc and pressure plate cool down and hoping that I did not lose much disc lining. Drove it easy home that day too.

After that, I've driven the car like I stole it and now have 41,000 miles on it with no indication of a problem with the clutch. I've launched the SOB hard many, many times and tracked it some with no apparent problems from that early clutch screw up.

Yeah, you probably lost some lining. Is engagement rough? Does it slip? Can you hammer it once rolling and not sense that the clutch is slipping under heavy load? If the answers to these questions are "no" then you're probably still o.k. but with a little less clutch life.

 

[SallySpeed3]

Its funny you ask those questions cause on my home from work i was trying to do some of those things to see how it was feeling but because of the rain if I floored it I would immediately start spinning the tires. From what I can tell tho it's not slipping. I will report back after I can really drive it.

 

[SallySpeed3]

Well I was finally able to floor it today because the roads are dry for the time being and the clutch seems fine. Surprisingly, shifting in general seems much smoother and accurate. But maybe it's just in my head.

 

[lyonsroar]

This is my first manual car and lets just say I'm learning, albeit slowly.

I have heard that the MS3 has a special clutch that can take a lot of abuse. Any truth to that?

What does burning clutch smell like exactly? I don't think I've done anything bad enough to smell it, but there is a steel plant several blocks from my house so I always smell that smell and think it's my clutch. Probably a little paranoid...(freak)

 

[SallySpeed3]

Don't know about the speed having a special clutch or not. But people tend to post when theres a problem, and clutch threads don't tend to be a hot subject. As far as the smell, it's like burning......something. Can't quite explain it but it's definitely distinctive. You'll know it when it happens cause of the conditions you're driving in. If you're in stop and go traffic for an hour going up hill and then start to smell burning, bingo, clutch obviously.

 

[lyonsroar]

Don't know about the speed having a special clutch or not. But people tend to post when theres a problem, and clutch threads don't tend to be a hot subject. As far as the smell, it's like burning......something. Can't quite explain it but it's definitely distinctive. You'll know it when it happens cause of the conditions you're driving in. If you're in stop and go traffic for an hour going up hill and then start to smell burning, bingo, clutch obviously.

Hmmmm.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the clutch is made of a special material that is more durable. I could just be BS'ing though...

 

[Darth Vader]

Well, of course it's made of something more durable than the stock 3 clutch but, it isn't something from Planet Krypton or anything, it's just bigger and thicker, mainly.

I swear MSMS3 and I ar are long lost brothers. I did the same damn thing when I first got the car, trying to reverse up a steep grade. Very stinky. However, 45+ dragstrip passes and me beating the car up daily at far higher than stock power have illuminated nothing in clutch issues.

 

[meicalnissyen]

Don't know about the speed having a special clutch or not. .

there is this special two piece flywheel, but the clutch itself is "normal"

 

[MSMS3]

After thinking I fried the clutch that first month, and later feeling that it still had lots of lining left and no warped pressure plate, I've abused the s*** out of it for over 40,000 miles. I have not counted the number of clutch drop or near clutch drop hard launches I've made on this car, and they have been a LOT, but the clutch seems just as strong as ever.

The smell of burnt clutch disc lining is unmistakable. it is strong. Acrid. Look up the word. It will make your eyes f'in water. You'll know it.

Now, don't go out there and abuse the s*** out of it, especially with slipping it for any length of time against a load, or you'll be into big bucks to remove and replace. But this is a strong clutch/plate combo capable of tracking the car on a regular basis for up to at least 300 whp. Just be sensible. You can burn up any clutch if you don't use common sense.

 

[lyonsroar]

Pshh. I know what acrid means. I didn't score a 36 on my English ACT portion for nothing.

Thanks for the info.

 

[speed3ct]

If you ever had someone slam on their brakes in front of you on the highway so bad that you can smell the brake pads...that is the closest smell that I can compare to a burnt clutch smell.

 

[SallySpeed3]

^+1. Had to slam on my brakes today cause the person in front of me was a moron and I immediately thought the same thing. Smells just like it.