What does a burning clutch smell like?

So, Elizabeth was driving her 51 Chevy with a 60 235 and 54 3-speed trans today and whenever she'd go up a hill (not much in IL, maybe 20-30% grade), she'd lose power and only be able to maintain a speed of about 45mph and she'd smell a burning smell. I did notice some oil on the exhaust pipes near the trans/flywheel/bellhousing, but on the way home I smelled the smell , too (I was following behind) and it didn't smell like oil... but definitely burning. After we got off the highway, and on to locals, she said she couldn't get it above 25mph. Are all these signs pointing towards a fried clutch?

 

Seems like a clutch to me....

 

Yep.. It smells like overheated brakes, if you know what that smells like.

 

smells like ***!!

 

Kinda like when you light up a smoke in a little wind and it singes your eyebrows off.

 

along with the smell you've seemed to describe the "lack" of power, what you didnt mention was the RPM Vs. Speed if your R's are going up and your speed aint, mixed with letting the smoke out the the clutch pack, you gotta toasty clutch.

The good news?

itsa easy fix with the manual trans, heck if you didnt change the floor pop the trans tunnel cover off and you can do 95% of the clutch change from the top.

I used to have a 50 chev that would eat the front bearing of the trans (twas when I was a kid and I for the life of me couldnt figure out why) I used to pick up the 3 speeds from bone yards and swaps for $5 to $10 a pop, change the gear oil in em and throw one in the trunk, I could change a trans on the side of the road in 20 minutes....damn I love old simple ****! Now days I'd deffinatly figure out what the root of the problem was instead of changing a trans on the side of the road every two months....but those are the stories that the grandkids will get told...

 

im baffeled on how this is done... anyone got pictures?

 

on that car there "should" be a trans tunnel access plate held on by a but load of body screws, you pop that cover off (under the carpet....I didnt have carpet maybe thats why it was so easy ) and you can work from the top. Sorry no pics, sold the car years ago... heck even with the cover off you could get to all of the bellhousing bolts except the top two...you could get the top two from the engine compartment from the top...the tail mount was just a matter of reaching around and getting the socket on...thats why I was saying, if you didnt change the floor that screw on cover will still be there...hence a easy access point to make ones life much easier...

 

Elizabeth just walked in and wanted me to go on record saying that she diagnosed it as the clutch first. The tunnel cover is still there... unfortunately, she glued the carpet to it. We'll see how easy it is now... but thanks for the tip. That makes it sound a little easier. So, did you unbolt the rear end and slide it back to get the torque tube out, drop the trans, clutch, etc?

 

maybe your emergency brake is stuck on?

 

I had that recently happen in my daily. It, to me, smells a little like......Hmmmm....can't really point my finger on it? KNUX!

 

It smells like $$$$$

 

emergency brake or clutch plates...had both problems on my truck and wife's car before and they smell kinda' like burning wet leaves and old tires...the speed vs. rpm thing will help diagnose for sure, but my money is on the ******.

 

burnt pancakes

 

Smells like the north end of a southbound jack***.

 

or burnt popcorn... either way it ****s.

 

once you know the smell, it's one you'll never forget. smells kind of like burning hair.

 

Smells like Bad News travelin' fast !!!!!!!!

 

i would say it smells like burnt public hair if you know what i mean.....

 

My public hair is receding.

 

Burning clutch smells like burned peanuts taste.

 

it's sounding like the clutch... or rather smelling like it. The emergency brake cable isn't connected to the handle, so I doubt it got accidentally engaged.

Yes, RPMs go up, but speed does not

 

I never had to mess with the rear end to change my ****** (that sounds just wrong) I dont remember exactly how the closed drive shaft came out the tail but it was easy...all I remember is four bolts holding the driveline on...

 

Have you ever followed a Semi-truck down a long grade? That smell is their brakes. Clutch smells the same

 

Sounds like a clutch to me as well. Does the clutch dis-engage???

 

the same smell you get behind a big rig truck riding the brakes down hill. burned asbestos.

 

Yes the clutch engages and disengages.

I pulled the flywheel cover off last night for a lil' looksee. Definitely the clutch. There were stringy bits of the clutch squeezing out the sides of the pressure plate!!

 

You might want to consider a new throw out bearing while you are in there.

 

Use your minds eye. Big hole in the floor with a transmission in it. Disconnect linkage etc. from there.

You can even wrap ropes or straps around it to lower it to the ground from there.

 

Probably a worn pilot shaft bushing in the end of the crank.

I hate to admit it but we used to go to the wrecking yard and throw transmissions over the fence because we didn't have the $5 or $10 to buy one...they were just laying all over on the ground, we didn't even have to take them off.

And yes I'll tell my grandkids about it as something they should not do.