I think the clutch went out

[l_eclipse_l]

Hey guys. Recently bought a '92 SL with about 88,000 miles on it. Kept in very good condition. The previous owner was an older guy and used it as a 2nd car.

To preface my question, I just wanted to make you aware that it was on the original clutch.

Today I was driving and went to pass somebody, so I dropped it down to 4th and the rpm's went up to like 6k before I even got to give it much gas. I was pretty astonished by this but quickly passed the guy and shifted just before it hit 6.5-7k. I set the cruise and went another 2-3 miles. Now I am not used to how this car handles cruise control yet, so I thought it was odd that in 5th gear with the cruise set at 62 on a straight road that the rpm's jumped around a lot. At times I noticed it go above 3k-3.5k for a short burst when there was no change in elevation and it should not have been required, but didn't think much of it. I was coming to a stop sign, pushed the clutch all the way in, and coasted to the stop with minimal breaking. I did not fully stop as I saw there was no traffic around, so I rolled through at about 5 mph and dropped it down into 2nd and slowly engaged the clutch. The clutch never fully engaged. At the point where I expected it to grab, it did not and after fully releasing the pedal there was virtually no grab. I freaked out and pushed the clutch in and shifted into 1st, with the same results.

There was no grinding when shifting. It shifts into gears just fine, but when trying to engage the clutch in any gear it never grabs, including reverse. I pulled onto a side road and turned it off. I popped the hood and noticed there was some gray smoke coming from a breather tube located where the transmission and engine mate (I think).

This is not a picture of my engine bay, but I circled the general area of where the breather tube is located and the smoke was coming out.



My initial reaction is that I fried the clutch somehow. I also know that I did not shift it into 2nd, I am positive it was 4th gear. Any ideas? I have only driven a handful of manual cars, so my experience with them is limited but I do know how to drive them properly, incase you were wondering. It will be getting towed to a friend's shop who has over 20 years working on transmissions, but I kinda wanted some reaction from people who know these cars well...

[l_eclipse_l]

Nobody has any ideas huh? My mechanic won't get a chance to work on it until next week at the earliest, he is pretty backed up.

I tried it again today, and there was still literally nothing when engaging the clutch. In 1st gear after fully engaging the clutch, if I give it enough gas to get up to 4-4.5k rpm the car acts like it wants to move and slowly starts lurching forward but it feels like there is so little resistance on the motor that I can't get going at all. Any input is appreciated.

[2old]

It's probably the clutch.

[RaeRae1]

It sounds like clutch to me. Probably the plate. The smoke was probably because you were burning the crap out of what was left of the plate by trying to get it to move.