Another problem I would be grateful for some help with. My 4.0 manual has never really had a what I would call a smooth clutch but my mate swears it's fine. The car had been stood for a number of years before I got it and upon arrival barely drove. After changing the fluid and bleeding it up the pedal was a lot better but still a bit stiff for me. This would be all well and good but after a little manouvering and a light workout the clutch seems to smell like brakes do when they've got too hot. Tonight from cold I ran the car till warm and had a sniff from front to back of engine bay. Even though the clutch had not been used there was a whiff of the smell described above from the rear of the engine around the bell housing area. Are there any thoughts on this ,i.e. Will it free up? Could it be something else or am I looking at a new clutch? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Had you been pushing HARD up through some really steep mountain pass country, then a burnt smelling clutch could be feasible . . . but sitting in your driveway, in neutral, then no matter how hot your engine gets, it isn't ever going to be the clutch that is the culprit.

Other more likely candidates could include overfilling the engine oil, or the normal heatsoaking of new engine paint or gaskets. Have you done any such recent work?

Best wishes,

Ken

 

No i havent done anything like that. Any other ideas? I wondered if it was because it had not been used for so long.smell seems to get stronger as the clutch is used .

 

You got me thinking .ive had the crossnember off and all that area and the crossmember has been freshly painted with epoxy mastic. @@!!!!

 

Well done Watson. Not saying "Eureka" but sounds more likely than clutch. Keep in mind that, even here, personal workshop experience of the clutch fitted manuals is likely to be thin on ground (opinions may abound) simply because they were so few.

But, of one thing we can be sure . . . clutch can't slip. grab or burn unless it is being worked. Sitting in neutral is no work at all. OTOH, causes given are known (as is any work on exhaust system, which I overlooked). You seem to have identified most likely culprit. Keep an eye (sorry . . nose) on it, but some good hot runs in the country will soon knock back the fumes.

Best wishes,

Ken