stinky clutch

[jordan 572]

I believe my clutch is going as my car smells horrible. This is not driver error as something has gone wrong with my car. It has been good for all 2100 miles on it then today I got in it and started driving. When the pedal is 3/4 of the way out of first gear it feels like someone is tapping out on the clutch pedel,the car starts to vibrate slightly and the shifter shakes a tiny bit. I know I am not burning it as I can do it using no gas at all it it smells even worse. Anyone else have this problem? What was the solution? Please post!!

[Eric Baker]

Don't hold it partially engaged? If you're slipping it extensively, that's your smell/problem. You want to slip the clutch as little as possible, or risk overheating and doing permanent damage.

[retrorsss]

This does not sound good, I do not dare diagnose without more info, however if it smells that bad then either you are riding the clutch badly or something is not functioning correctly. I gather by the mileage that it is not operator error so I would make a stop a the nearest dealer asap.

[jordan 572]

Originally Posted by retrorsss

This does not sound good, I do not dare diagnose without more info, however if it smells that bad then either you are riding the clutch badly or something is not functioning correctly. I gather by the mileage that it is not operator error so I would make a stop a the nearest dealer asap.

yea and i have only got better at driveing since i got it. When i first got it I would just barely burn the clutch and get a wiff but now before this started i never got any clutch smell and could drive pretty smooth, i drove it like normal today and while driving it could smell it in the car then i noticed the shaking and the strong stench when I got out. the only way I can get it not to vibrate is speed shift. There has to be something wrong with the smell it is releasing. It smells so much stronger than when I use to just barely burn the clutch. It smells like brakes but i know it isnt because the car cost like normal when i push the clutch in.

[Huck1974]

Stock clutch sucks. Good time to upgrade. Just a Saturday in the garage and your all good.

[jordan 572]

Originally Posted by Huck1974

Stock clutch sucks. Good time to upgrade. Just a Saturday in the garage and your all good.

I am really think of putting in a new clutch. What are people replacing? What company are you using?

[Huck1974]

Originally Posted by jordan 572

I am really think of putting in a new clutch. What are people replacing? What company are you using?

Have not managed to kill mine yet. I have tried, but I'm not as good as you at killing it. Call Adam at ADM performance. He is the man. My cam he sent is awesome. He helped me with my tuning. I'm buying all of my turbo parts from him. He is on it.

[GQ4Life]

I just had to replace mine. Bad clutch slip at the track..
I went with ZR1 from Jannetty racing. And I am really happy with this clutch. Just finished breaking it in yesterday.

If you have no plans on mods then stay stock and try and make dealer replace before 12K miles or a year.
If you have plans for mods call Jannetty Racing 203-753-7223

[CUPRA]

My clutch has been fine for the 2500 miles I've had it, but mine too was stinky on Thursday this week for no real explicable reason. I've driven stick for 20 years now and not had a problem like this. It made a smell on Friday as well one time, and it's been fine since.

Wondering what's going on with it.

[jordan 572]

Originally Posted by CUPRA

My clutch has been fine for the 2500 miles I've had it, but mine too was stinky on Thursday this week for no real explicable reason. I've driven stick for 20 years now and not had a problem like this. It made a smell on Friday as well one time, and it's been fine since.

Wondering what's going on with it.

you feel any vibration?

[cab2g]

ok guys, my clutch is doing the stinky thing too sometimes! When I first got the car it happened a little, but I blame that on it being a brand new car and I wasn't used to where the friction point was. I didn't have ANY clutch smell for a long time, but then just before 2k miles my car started stinking something terrible every so often when shifting.

[ITMerc]

Sounds like pressure plate problems causing your clutch to slip. Take it to the dealership IMMEDIATELY. A fair# of folks have had issues with pressure plate bolts coming loose which is what it sounds like with you. If the bolts came out unevenly the pressure plate would make uneven contact with the clutch plate which would cause the tapping feel you reported AND that kind of contact would cause the clutch to slip excessively during engagement... hence the smell.

Based on what I've read they should give you no flak on replacing your pressure plate AND clutch under warranty since your problem should be easy to recreate/demonstrate to the tech...

Originally Posted by jordan 572

I believe my clutch is going as my car smells horrible. This is not driver error as something has gone wrong with my car. It has been good for all 2100 miles on it then today I got in it and started driving. When the pedal is 3/4 of the way out of first gear it feels like someone is tapping out on the clutch pedel,the car starts to vibrate slightly and the shifter shakes a tiny bit. I know I am not burning it as I can do it using no gas at all it it smells even worse. Anyone else have this problem? What was the solution? Please post!!