burning smell from clutch

[Eric Lee]

I was reverse parking on a slight incline one evening in my 1995 Diablo with a new clutch (had it for about 500 kms) and after I had parked I noticed a slight burning smell in the cabin for a about 2-3 min.
Could I have cooked my clutch?
I mean I was already really gentle on it not reving much in the parking process.
Anyone know ?

[lambo1]

Unless you were riding the clutch it's probably just the new crap burning off of it...hopefully

[Lambo Maniac]

well it might not be..you know it is normal to feel an enormous amount of heat emerging out of a lambos engine while you stand behind it due to its enormoue power, so maybe while you were parking slowly, that heat wave along with some smells (maybe from the engine) had slipped into the cabin..I am giving my opinion..so lets see what others say. You said burning smell..Well it could also come from the gearbox itself (I know some cars headers throw out burning smells from the gearbox opening just due to the headers heat under it).

[allanlambo]

First question is how does the clutch feel now?

[spare_me_a_murci]

don't exclude the possibility of an error from the mecanic who changed the clutch...

[hiphophomer]

Originally Posted by Eric Lee

I was reverse parking on a slight incline one evening in my 1995 Diablo with a new clutch (had it for about 500 kms) and after I had parked I noticed a slight burning smell in the cabin for a about 2-3 min.
Could I have cooked my clutch?
I mean I was already really gentle on it not reving much in the parking process.
Anyone know ?

pm allanlambo and ask him what does he think

[Eric Lee]

The clutch feels fine.
I tried to detect clutch slip but there was none after hard in-gear rolling start. And while on the road there were no smells, so i hope its ok ,
I mean the clutch cost me a fair bit (HK$ 50000 US$ 6400).
I am quite sure its not the hot engine as I kind-of know how it smells like.
Have'nt driven the car for 4 days now as I am a bit busy and the weather is horrible now.
Will try it out tonight perhaps.
By the way does a once of smelly clutch spell problems or not.
As I have spoken to my mechanic who seems to be honest about most jobs i give him (servicing my other cars) tells me that although the revs might not be high , the torque from the massive engine easily eats the clutch.
Is it true?

[Guyanson_Mendiola]

are you sure you didn't wear out clutch on that Diablo.

[Eric Lee]

I hope I haven't worn out the clutch in 500 KMS.
I mean I have been careful not to use it too hard.
I have been using my brakes more to lessen the amount of downshifts
in cornering.
It sounds silly not to drive it to the max and down-shift hard into corners to get the max out of the car but the repair bills are quite frightening.
I only drive it once to twice a week anyway just for a cruise.

[allanlambo]

Eric, if you burn your clutch out in 500kms, its your fault, not the cars. The torque in these cars means nothing. Nitrous comes on very hard and very strong instantly. My stock clutch is perfect.

If you slip the clutch it will smell. Dont slip the clutch and you will be fine. If it feels ok now, you should be ok, if it grabs normally, and no slip.

[Eric Lee]

Thanks guys !
This is a great web-site ! Love it !
I mean its really great to have the chance to talk about our cars and discuss problems.
I mean I trust my mechanic but I need to know more sometimes.
So you think I should be fine with my clutch and haven't done too much damage huh?
As I said i could only smell it then for 2-3 min and through normal driving I could not smell it again and it felt fine.
By the way any tips on how I can drive it better (or correctly).
I mean i usually try to let go of the clutch once the car gets into motion so i am holding at the friction point for maybe 1-2 sec is that right?
And i blip the throttle on down shifts.

[allanlambo]

My Diablo needs hardly any revs to get going off the line, so i never slip the clutch. I always blip the throttle on downshifts, but i do so also on upshifts. If you learn to match revs perfectly, there is no wear on your clutch. When you downshift and engine brake, thats wear and tear on your clutch. Much cheaper to slow down with your brakes.

[Eric Lee]

Thanks for the tip.
I am going to try to use the brakes more often to slow down.
I find blipping the throttle on upshift from 1st to 2nd gear is most usefull,
it makes the car less jerky.
By the way I am thinking about getting some upgrades for my car.
Its funny how you get used to 500 HP after 2 years of owning the car and you want more.
I was first thinking of getting some new exhausts (maybe tubi) but it may not be legal and I won't pass the MOT.
Any suggestion.

[-Davo]

then you 'ride' the clutch, it starts to smell like burning toffee. I did that in my car once, i was trying to GO, but my stupid gear box, i thought it was in 1st, when it was acctually in 3rd haha, and i burnt the clutch, it's ok now.
Dad did the same in his 4x4, we were 4-wheel driving on a mountain, and we hit some serious ground, and getting out he used a lot of clutch, he glazed it and it had to be replaced. If I'm reversing, i use the clutch just enough to get moving, then I put it in fully to avoid riding it, or, whack it into nuetral.

[TTBADBOY]

You are probably smelling the clutch breaking in.I doubt you have burned it up that quickly unless you are a horrible driver.This car doesnt produce THAT much torque.Ive put 6k miles on my car with numerous 5000rpm AWD launches and my clutch hooks so hard it still boggs the motor down.

Joe