Burnt Plastic Smell?!

[MS6S2K]

New clutch installed by TSB, and not a single smell. It's the way the car should be. PHEW.

 

[Koenig]

good stuff....

 

[Mgkdrgn]

Yep, that would do it!

Just have to wait for it to burn off ... good excuse for a long fast drive. ;-)

ok, so it looks like there's plastic melted on my exhaust pipe. maybe a plastic bag got caught under there and melted to it? it's a clearish yellow color and theres several blobs of it stuck to my exhaust pipe pretty much directly under the center console.

 

[amillman2]

did you have any problems with your car after you smelled the nasty burning smell?? i just experienced that today.. twice.. and this is my first manual.. justbought it and im trying to figure out what that smell was.. from the forums i think its the clutch.. do i have anything to worry about?

 

[Koenig]

did you have any problems with your car after you smelled the nasty burning smell?? i just experienced that today.. twice.. and this is my first manual.. justbought it and im trying to figure out what that smell was.. from the forums i think its the clutch.. do i have anything to worry about?

If it smells like a fishy smell (like the smell you smell from fish starting to rot or from the grocery store fish area) and someone farted at the same time, that's the clutch slipping.

Whatever the material is, it seems that the clutch slipping (not catching in gear) and getting friction causes the wear which brings out that smell.

If you've done it today twice... how long have you had the car for? I would say to try driving a little easier and not ride the clutch, or you may not see the clutch to live very long (like over 15k miles of your driving it).

I know that people i've talked to have said they experience it from either ridding the clutch too much or slipping it (like if you tried to go to the track and launch the car and rode the clutch too much while the RPMS are revving up and you're not moving as fast as you think you should, and then let off the clutch while moving forward, you've been riding the clutch and that smell will fill the cabin).

Happened to me once because I was in 5th when I thought I was in 3rd and downshifted to 4th when I thought it was 2nd and went to rev and go.... didn't go anywhere but got a nice smell.