Hello everyone. I'm brand new to the forum, and I've got a very strange problem. Any time I drive my car for more than about 20 minutes, it stinks like burned clutch. When I take long trips (not much shifting involved) it smells really bad. Brakes are fine, no slippage with the clutch (I've tried). When I drive across town (even when I drive hard) I don't really smell anything abnormal. I'm missing the main heat shield on the exhaust manifold, which may be heating stuff up in the front. I wouldn't think that this would cause such a stink though. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

are you sure you don't have a brake sticking?? my dodge truck has a sticky front brake (brakes still work though) and it smokes and stinks like crazy when I'm done driving.

 

hello Guide,,,,,,,,,,first off WELCOME to out little corner on the net..

i would chk as suggested by MBO . that brakes are not henging up , real easy to do, raise car ans spin the wheel, or put car in neatral and try to roll it , if it roll real easy than brakes are not hanging up,,,,,,,also i would chk under the hood , make sure it is not the a/c compressor hanging , or a belt making that burnt smell..

 

Hey again. Thanks for the suggestions. I might check my brakes again just to be sure. They've been sqeaking on me in the rear. The front pads appear to be brand new (I've only owned the car for about 4 months), which may mean they still need some adjustment. I had a sticky caliper on my 89 civic last year that caused uneven pad wear and warped the rotor quite noticably, but i never smelled anything like this. Is it the asbestos in that causes that funky smell? Thanks again.

 

only one thing smells like clutch and thats a clutch. so if you know what clutch smells like, then thats your problem. if your not sure what clutch smells like, then it could be something else.

 

Newer brake pads don't have asbestos in them for one... but anyway, Some people have mistaken the smell of burning brake fluid for a clutch like smell... I would also check all your fluid levels and make sure that nothing is low or leaking....

 

I jacked up the front again and spun the wheels by hand. There seemed to be an ever-so-slight amount of drag on each. I've sniffed around the wheels before and the smell never seems to be originating from there. It seems strongest right in front of the windshield. As far as leaks, my distributor is leaking oil (which I will replace as soon as I have the money), and my steering rack is leaky. Just did the master cylinder a few months ago-no noticeable leakage there.

 

my guess would be that it's a burning fluid... the next time you smell it stop the car and pop the hood and look for smoke and sniff around... it may be in there...

 

just wondering... is the distributor leaking oil from inside the cap, or from where it joins the cylinder header??

 

did you replace it with a cheap brake master ?? ( autozone> checker etc etc )/////////

on a few ocasions ihave seen non factory brake master cylinders, lock up the wheels once car has been driven for a few miles....

if you are driving the car and the smell starts. pull over, put car in neutral and try to roll it ( push it ) see how easy it is to roll...or ( careful when you do this ) feel the wheel see if they are excessively hot ,,