Just the other day I noticed a smell. It smelled like break pads burning. I don't notice anything different happening with the breaks. They seem ok. I was informed that a burning clutch smell the same as breaks.

My truck has almost 37k on it right now. The supercharger was installed about 8k ago.

I let my brother-in-law drive the truck Saturday and Sunday I noticed the smell. The clutch feels like it's engaging ok. I did notice what seemed to be a small slip in first, early in the day Saturday.

I try to "ride" the clutch as little as possible when taking off and backing up. I thought riding the clutch is what made the clutch wear faster. The way I drive would more likely wear the U-joints faster. I've neve worn the clutch on any vehicle that I've owned, so I don't think it's my driving.

I guess what I'm looking for is some info and opinions on what this could be and what to check. I would rather not have to do a clutch right now but if theres a problem I have to fix it. I wonder how long I could drive with this smell before something really goes.

Do to budget constraints, I would have to change the clutch myself. Anyone know what kind of a job this might be?

Anyone care to comment on this one?
Thanks!

 

kick his a$$ for trashing your clutch and have him pay for it...results...he's not so loud mouthed at thanksgiving dinner and your sister will never talk to you again

 

wittom

Did you drive the truck right after bonehead dropped it off? A hot clutch will slip, but after it cools down it should grip fine (unless it's complete toast). The smell will not continue...The only downside is obviously some friction material has been burned off, so the clutch will not last as long....Your brother-in-law in two days may have taken 20,000+ miles off the clutch...You ought to thank him......with a foot up his a$$...

I'm of course presuming this problem is the clutch....But if it is, don't worry until it starts slipping again under NORMAL operating conditions....

 

Naw, my brother in law is a good guy. He's not used to driving a stick. They can barily afford to fix their own cars (he supports his wife, my sister, and their four kids), never mind mine. I don't know for sure that he actually caused a problem. I also don't completely discourage getting on it (for the very few who get to drive my truck) a bit, as this truck is a ****** blast to drive!

I ran out to the Home Depot tonight, my excuse, furnace filters (about ready to turn the heat on). It's about ten miles from where I am. When I got there I couldn't smell anything. Also, the truck felt fine. No slipping. Felt like it's grabbing on tight in every gear.

I even showed up some one in a Blazer who, I guess, didn't think I was taking off fast enough from the light. I got on it hard when that Blazers headlights were blinding me in the rear view, and in a matter of a couple seconds he was far behind. I'm pretty sure he tried to keep up, but, well.

So, any way, the truck "feels" fine. When I get home I put the truck in the garage (actually more like a shack) and smelled around. It was there. That smell. When I opened the hood I could smell it better. It was streaming up the fire wall. Yes, it smells like transmission but it sure doesn't feel like it.

I guess I'll have a look in the service manual for some clues. Worst comes to worst I'll have to pay the dealer to diognose. I don't have the toos or the space to do all the stuff I would like. If I have to do a clutch, I'll have to find the space and buy some more tools.

 

Thanks Crash!.

I sit here looking at the pic from the service manual and I can't comprehend what might be going on. I do not have slippage, like I had thought. I did the stall test and without the parking break applied the truck stalled the second it reached the engage point. Also the truck sat at idle for about five minuets yesterday (while I put my passenger side mirror back together. I did the bone head move of catching it as I backed out of the garage) and the clutch smell was there.

I know there is something wrong. I wish I had the space to park it and pull the transmission. For now, I will continue to drive it and hope that I figure out exactly what's going on so I can arrange the space to do the repair. Hopefully nothing breaks in the mean time.

Anyone want to try and explain how the clutch assembly works. The pic I have shows the flywheel, the clutch disk, the clutch pressure plate, the clutch slave cylinder and the transmission imput shaft pilot bearing. I guess the thing I'm trying to figure out is what way the slave cylinder pushed on the pressure plate and clutch disk to disengage it from the imput shaft. If I'm getting the smell while in neutral, what would be causing it? The disk against the pressure plate?

Oh well. I'll figure it out eventually.

Thanks!

 

wittom,

The slave cylinder is now usually one piece with the throwout bearing. Hydraulic pressure forces the throw-out bearing against the diaphragm spring. This literally looks like a circular box of birth control bills with a slot in the center (the diaphragm spring). The center is where the throw-out bearing hits, the outer ends of this circle are attached to the pressure plate. Thus, when the throw-out bearing hits the inner part, this spring flexs outward pulling the pressure plate away from the clutch disc (imagine a big symbol representing the pressure plate like this "[" .....now imagine a frisbee is attached behind it at those upper corners, if you push the center of the frisbee, it flexs backward, pulling the pressure plate away from the clutch disc). Remember, it is the input shaft that is splined to the clutch disc, and everything else is attached to the flywheel. So when the pressure plate is pulled back, the clutch disc and the input shaft stop turning. The flywheel, the pressure plate assembly, and even the throw-out bearing are all rotating...I don't know if that helps out your picture.....

 

Thanks cpadpl. I can't say I completely understand but your response gets the old rusty gears turning in my head.

Funny thing. The past few times I've driven the truck, no clutch smell. This kind of scares me.

That's one thing with this truck. Things haven't broke. I have a couple noises that I'm keeping an.... ear on. This isn't necessarly a good thing. If it broke I would have to take things apart to fix it. If they don't break, or cause diveability issues, I can't justify taking it apart.

Well, I'll keep the number for road side assistance handy!

 

wittom

Perhaps you could describe exactly what it is doing that makes you feel something is wrong. You just keep smelling the clutch?

 

Exactly what's happening...

A couple weeks ago (maybe a few) I let someone else drive the truck. Truth is, I was in the truck at the time but was impared . I didn't discourage some harder driving.

The next day I drove the truck and could smell something burning, wich I concluded was the clutch. I was having no driveability issues. I would get the smell every time I drove. I only get to drive the truch a few days of the week.

This past weekend I drove the truck and didn't get the smell. I may be getting some new noises from the transmission but I may just be trying to find new noises. Sometimes I listen so intently that I might hear something that's been there all along and didn't notice before.

Maybe it's something to do with the self adjusting. To me, anything out of the ordinary is something wrong.

This truck is far too much fun to baby all the time. It's my truck though, and I know it pretty well, as far as how it likes to be driven. I realize that if your going to play you have to pay. I just like to have an idea of what's happening.

It's driving fine, but with what I've done to the truck I figure I'm at higher risk of failure. Maybe I'm just parinoid!

 

Witom, I dont think the dealer or mechanic will be able to do anything different from what you're doing now. Sometimes that smell will linger for a while too, just be aware of it and mind it like you are doing now.

This migh be of interest.

Good luck.

 

Thanks LE PEW, the link is really cool. It did give me a better idea of "how stuff works"! The rest of you might find some cool stuff on the link to "How Stuff Works".

I don't expect that the dealer could do much for me. They need something to fix, just like I would. I might try to talk to a mechanic, but they're really not all that accessable and I go in in the evenings so the second shift crew is there, who I think is greener than the first shift.

I guess I'm doing the best thing I can at this point. Trying to get educated. With the help of you folks it's happening, slowly but surely. I think when the time actually comes, I'll be ready to tackle changing the clutch.