My 2006 CS with 62k miles is running fine. This week on a typical drive I noticed a terrible smell of burning rubber coming from the rear. A local mechanic in Brooklyn took it looking for an oil leak but found no issue with oil (is bough my oil level was low). He said it’s time for a new clutch and maybe a flywheel. Quoted me 5500. I think that’s super high. I have a few questions:

1/ if I am not noticing any slippage or problems driving , is it possible the smell is not the clutch? Could it be related to the low oil?

2/ can I continue driving the car with this smell? The smell is quite bad and lingers for a while even after parked for a bit.

3/ can anyone recommend a much more inexpensive shop near Brooklyn NY to handle this issue?

all and any advice would be appreciated!

 

Find a hill you can run in 4th gear at about 2,000 rpm and try to gently accelerate while going up that hill. Pay attention to whether the RPMs are increasing without the speed increasing. If so, that's the clutch slipping and afterwards you should get that smell. But a clutch smells different than rubber - hard to describe unless you've smelled it before.

If it's really rubber you smell, could be a pulley on the serpentine belt run that's freezing up and causing the belt to slide on it. Remove the airbox, remove the serpentine belt and spin and wiggle all the pulleys looking for the culprit that has side to side play, doesn't spin smoothly, or makes noise.

This wouldn't have anything to do with your oil being low though, but burning oil also doesn't smell like burning rubber.

 

Thank you. Maybe it’s not exactly a rubber smell. More like freshly laid asphalt. It’s definitely a strong foul smell that lingers.

So I would only feel the clutch slipping in fourth gear? Will a bad clutch generate the smell if I drive in 1-3rd gear only? Just trying to deduce the cause and if I really need to replace the clutch or not.

 

That description sounds like it might be clutch. Clutch smells more like brakes that have been used very hard more than rubber. It's also possible you have a sticking brake caliper or parking brake assembly and that it's brakes and not clutch. You can sniff each wheel after a drive to see if one is stinkier than the others. If a parking brake problem, that's on the rear wheels.

Yes, a clutch can slip in any gear. The test I gave you applies a lot of torque which will make it more likely to slip and be detectable. When you're driving hard in lower gears at higher RPMs it's more difficult to detect the slippage because the tech needle is moving so fast anyway.

 

Got it. Thank you. Will check those tips. If it is the clutch, is it bad to continue driving the car in the interim u til I figure out where to replace?

What should it really cost to fix in nyc? $5500 sounded really high to me.

 

Was that the quote from a dealer? If so, probably not that far off. I'd try to find a good independent mechanic that has done that job before. I'd think $3,500-$4,000 is in ballpark for someone doing the work for you.

​The risk of continuing to drive it is that it will get bad enough where it strands you and the hotter you get that flywheel surface means it may get beyond where it can be resurfaced and has to be replaced. If the shop was already quoting you for replacement, then that doesn't matter.

 

Porsche OE parts are 1500+ alone if the flywheel is replaced. I just did mine at 66k and there was no way I was putting that thing back in after paying all that money. Labor is about to 2k. On my project I went motor out after a secondary air pump went. With everything that needed to be done it made more sense to drop it and deal with everything.

While the transmission is out you should be replacing the RMS and maybe looking at the IMS. I pulled the seal on mine while it was all apart to keep it lubricated better. Of course my front drive shaft knuckle was shot also. Once they get in there be prepared to have more items pop up to replace.

 

It sounds like your clutch is going out which is possible at that mileage you have. I’d not let the local mechanic do the job, but instead would have an Independent shop that specializes in Porsches do the job. Here’s an example of the trusted shops that Porsche Club of America works with in the link below (I live in NJ) You can also check the Metro NY PCA website for their recommended shops. Good luck.

https://nnjr-pca.com/supporters/

 

Hey folks. So I took the car to another Indy for a full inspection. The report came back as follows:

At times of service - Chekced for leaks - No external leaks found anywhere. Found exhaust stud broken on drivers side. Found coolant hose with saturated coolant crust around it. Found all brake rotors rusted and pitted. Let vehicle idle - noticed very faint clutch smell while under vehicle. Clutch smell got a bit more obvious when on topside of engine.


The Indy confirmed that the clutch engages and drives perfectly. So it’s a tough call whether to replace the clutch. I’m not even certain the smell will go away if we replace.

Could the smell be related to the coolant hoses or the brakes?

 

Coolant doesn't smell like brakes or clutch, so no, can't see how the coolant crust could be related. Brakes and clutch smell similar but unless a caliper is hanging and dragging the pads, they wouldn't really smell like clutch either and that would be easy to determine after a drive, just by shooting all the rotors with an IR temp gun to see which one is much hotter than the others.