I know the answer to this question could be wide open. Have an 02 996 was wondering how long the clutch should last. It has 32,000 miles and it smells like burnt clutch when I get out of it. Clutch works fine? NO leaks on the garage floor... Do I need to save up for a $1500 clutch job

 

I have the same smell on my 02 as do many other 996 owners. If you're ever on rennlist, take a look on my thread there...I have the same username. There's 2 pages of replies where everyone says they have the same "burning" smell when they step out of the car. Do still watch your fluid levels and I assume you're not smelling coolant as coolant is has that sweet smell...

 

Thanks..Started to think I had blown a clutch..Reminds me of the old air cold days when you turn the heater on. No telling what you smell. Will look up your thread..

 

The burning smell is most likely something called cosomoline (think that's how it's spelled). It's worse when the car is new, but it's basically wax that the engine is packed in and will take forever to totally burn off. Also porsche tires are very soft and tend to smell like burning rubber, especially the rears which are near the exhaust and seem to stay warm because of it....

 

I thought I was burning the clutch as well. I just assumed maybe I was taking too long (2-3 seconds at 1K RPM) to get a smooth engagement out of 1st gear. Almost all the people I talked to disagreed that I was driving it wrong and thought it was probably something else...

 

I smell burning rubber when I exit the car sometimes too. I thought it was alignment, but I still smell it after getting an alignment. I'm not worried about it anymore. As for the clutch smell, I used to smell it before I changed my clutch (at 37,000). I knew I had a worn clutch because speed shifts from 1st to 2nd would slip. After getting the new clutch, no more smell, and speed shifts from 1st to 2nd result in a chirp of the tires instead of slipping.