"Burning" Clutch?
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Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 35
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From: Delaware
"Burning" Clutch?
So, I don't feel so stupid asking this, because I've never had to replace a clutch in any of my vehicles, but I'm told it should be distinct so...
What does a burning clutch smell like?
I've heard it smells like fish, burnt toast, burnt pop corn, plastic, burning oil, sweet like burning antifreeze, burning brakes (I've never smelled burning brakes, either) and a bunch of other things.
What I have is, after driving at high speeds (5th gear for 5-10 minutes, 55-70mph), I get this burning plastic/burning electronics smell. The first time it happened was yesterday, and I could smell it 15ft from the vehicle. I thought it was probably the buzzing/burnt out street light I was parked under. Drove home and it was mostly gone.
Today, going to work, the smell came back. It was so strong that I had to get out of the car and walk away. (I still have a headache and it's stuck in my clothes/sinuses three hours later!)
I seriously thought I was about to go up in flames! Then, I thought maybe I hit a plastic bag and checked EVERYWHERE. Nothing. Then I thought maybe it was the heat shield on the exhaust pipe before the cat, but that's metal, right?
When I got it a year ago, I knew that it slipped a little getting into first gear (chug-chug-slip-chug-ahh). That hasn't changed, but now it's slow getting to speed when I get into 5th, so I have to rev it a little higher before I shift.
Clutch/trans/oil/antifreeze levels, color, and odor all check out. (I have a slow antifreeze leak at the waterpump, though).
BTW- it's a 2001 Saturn SC2. This is probably the wrong place to post, but I rarely get bad advice here, and it's the same idea, right?
What does a burning clutch smell like?
I've heard it smells like fish, burnt toast, burnt pop corn, plastic, burning oil, sweet like burning antifreeze, burning brakes (I've never smelled burning brakes, either) and a bunch of other things.
What I have is, after driving at high speeds (5th gear for 5-10 minutes, 55-70mph), I get this burning plastic/burning electronics smell. The first time it happened was yesterday, and I could smell it 15ft from the vehicle. I thought it was probably the buzzing/burnt out street light I was parked under. Drove home and it was mostly gone.
Today, going to work, the smell came back. It was so strong that I had to get out of the car and walk away. (I still have a headache and it's stuck in my clothes/sinuses three hours later!)
I seriously thought I was about to go up in flames! Then, I thought maybe I hit a plastic bag and checked EVERYWHERE. Nothing. Then I thought maybe it was the heat shield on the exhaust pipe before the cat, but that's metal, right?When I got it a year ago, I knew that it slipped a little getting into first gear (chug-chug-slip-chug-ahh). That hasn't changed, but now it's slow getting to speed when I get into 5th, so I have to rev it a little higher before I shift.
Clutch/trans/oil/antifreeze levels, color, and odor all check out. (I have a slow antifreeze leak at the waterpump, though).
BTW- it's a 2001 Saturn SC2. This is probably the wrong place to post, but I rarely get bad advice here, and it's the same idea, right?
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 616
Likes: 1
From: midwest
Does your Saturn by chance have a tachometer? If it does, diagnosing a slipping clutch would be easy. Get into high gear and floor the gas pedal, if the tach goes way up and the speedometer does not, you would know the clutch was slipping.
Without a tach the principle would be the same, if the engine speeds up and the car does not, the clutch is slipping.
Without a tach the principle would be the same, if the engine speeds up and the car does not, the clutch is slipping.
Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Nederland, TX
i would drain the fluid, buy some cheap cheap fluid, sea foam it. full forward a few feet, back up a few feet. Drain again, get some good fluid and put some lucus in there. and see if that doesnt fix your problem
