Is it supposed to smell burned clutch when I do the following SEPARATELY:

1. Rev my 996 on FIRST GEAR with the Clutch floored OR
2. WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING ON 2ND GEAR, go on 4,000 or so RPMs on second gear THEN SHIFT TO THIRD GEAR.

My 996 gives me the burnt clutch smell when I do those and I get mixed responses if it's normal or not. I have a Supra as well and it doesn't give me that smell when I do the same thing.

Is this something different on the 996 that you have to treat the clutch differently? The clutch was already replaced twice in this car within 2 years and I don't want to end up doing it the third time.

Hopefully I get inputs in here for other Porsche owners. Thank you.

 

Don't want to give bad news but when it started happening to me I ended up replacing the clutch rather soon afterwards. If it's the same thing that happened to me it will start slipping in 2nd soon.

How many miles did you put on your car since the last clutch replacement? Are you using a stock clutch or a sports/racing one?

 

I hope this is not the case. I only have 8,000 miles on this new clutch and I don't race my Porsche or drive it hard often. Yes, my 2nd gear is slipping one in a while. Why would this wear of quickly? I really hope this is not the case.

 

You should NEVER have a burnt clutch smell. That plus slipping means bad clutch. What brand did you have installed?

 

It is a brand new OEM Porsche Clutch Kit. Now this is what I've been told and I can't verify it myself coz clutches are well hid in our car. I just went with what the shop said. The shop is a reputable company here in Irvine and have great Yelp reviews. So I don't think they will risk that reputation for a simple clutch replacement.

Do you have any idea how I would visually check to verify that the clutch is really replaced? Thank you.

 

To add, I only have this new clutch for 6,000 or so miles. I rarely drive my car and RARELY drive it hard. When I say hard, it's just me going from 0 to 40 in a couple of seconds.

 

Am I reading that you are at a stand-still, in second gear, reving up and dumping the clutch at 4000rpm?

That is pretty hard abuse of the clutch. A 911 isn't a very good drag racing car. It is not designed for smoke-shows.

If I miss-read your question, I apologize.

 

Let me clarify my question. ==>Is it supposed to smell burned clutch when I do the following SEPARATELY:
1. Rev my 996 on FIRST GEAR with the Clutch floored. OR
2. WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING ON 2ND GEAR, go on 4,000 or so RPMs on second gear THEN SHIFT TO THIRD GEAR.

Let me edit my initial message so it won't generate confusion.

Having those clarifications, am I supposed to smell burned clutch? Thanks.

 

Sorry - I did miss-read your initial question.
No, you shouldn't smell burning clutch shifting from 2nd to 3rd at almost any rpm. Or by just taking the car to red-line in any gear.
That sounds like it might be slipping - somthing seems wrong.

 

No worries. My inquiry is not that clear anyways. Your message made me realize that. Now that it is clear I hope I'll receive other feedbacks about this.

What would be other symptoms of slipping clutch? Do you know of a cause? I only had this Porsche clutch for not more than 8,000 miles. I don't race nor send my car to concours.

 

The classic sign of a slipping clutch is the engine revs not matching the speed of the car. Basically, the engine revs up without the car gaining speed accordingly.

Take it back to the shop and ask them to check it out. If they say, "no worries," take it to another shop for another opinion.

 

I feel a little better I guess because I don't have that issue. My engine revs are matching the speed of my car. Yes! No slipping clutch! Do you have any other idea why this is happening?

I'm planning to bring it to the shop maybe next week but information from the folks here in 6speed is great and unbiased input. Thank you.

 

You described 2 different clutch problems. The first one, with the car stopped and the clutch fully pressed to the floor and giving it some revs, sounds like your clutch hydraulics are not holding anymore. That will let the clutch slightly engage while the pedal is depressed and thus the clutch makes contact and heats up when you don't expect it. If you leave the car on level ground and try to do this without any brakes applied the car should start to roll forward even with the clutch pedal fully depressed. This can wear out a clutch at an accelerated rate and may cause your second issue. The other option here is that you do not have the clutch pedal fully depressed. A simply worn out clutch will not just start to smell with the pedal depressed. The second problem you describe sounds like you have a clutch that is close to the end of its life or you just don't know how to shift and end up with a really prolonged slip time while shifting.

 

Thank you for your detailed response. I'm intrested on the test you suggested. If I understand this correcty, have my car in first gear, press the clutch all the way and step on the gas. On levelled
ground my car should start rolling if my hydraulics is messed
up?

On driving style, i doubt that it's the case because I have two othe stick shifts which I drive more often. I didn't these issue on those. This is why Im wondering if there's anything specuial with Porsche cluthes that I nees
to be awaere of.

 

Yeah I did break it in for 500 miles. I tried so HARD though...

I haven't tried your suggestion but I will. Will keep this thread posted.