Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

W58 questions.....
1) How can you tell how much stock clutch you have left?
2) I'm starting to notice a burning smell if I drive aggressively or get stuck in stop and go traffic on a super steep hill. I know you get a burning smell if you make your clutch work hard but mine seems to have gotten worse burning smell over time of ownership. Does this sound normal?

Ps: 69K on car

Thanks

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Anyone?......... ;-)

CatManD3W

iTrader: (18)

Typical in traffic....you are using too much of the clutch to help the car move...

The burning smell is the clutch slipping which can be expected when it starts to get really hot....best to let it cool down some....i.e dont rip on it hard....

When the clutch is completely gone you will know it......the clutch pedal will stay pushed in the whole way and will not release....I have had this happen on a car in the past....at the point the car will not move anymore and will have to get it towed home or to a shop

Take it easy on it man...if it constantly starts slipping more than often you are probably getting close to the friction pads being gone

HiPSI

iTrader: (2)

On a boosted car the way you could always tell is in the higher gears, you'd go WOT and your RPM's would shoot up but the car would go no where! It'd drive to and from places fine and even in lower gears it might not slip but the higher load on 3rd and above would usually toast it.

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

It seems to "Go" all of the time as expected, just stink a bit. I have not noticed "slipping" as described yet. It engages near the top when releasing the clutch, is that a clue of how much clutch is left?
I have a long drive coming up this week. NYC to VA, Id love to have a clue of whats left as a tow from VA would hurt badly.

CatManD3W

iTrader: (18)

Its pretty much impossible to tell how much is left without physically looking at it.....just take it easy on it and you should be fine

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

there are some oldschool tests for how much the clutch is slipping but some of them can be dangerous so I won't state them here.

the smell from having to slip it yourself in traffic or a hill or towing something is not a sign the clutch is going that would happen on a newer clutch even, but it is a sign you are using it and adding wear to it. so once it starts to do that give it some extra time to cool off, either take a break or try and slip it less by letting it into gear faster, it wont be smooth but it will reduce the amount of wear you add when the clutch is that hot.

you can usually feel the "bite" starting to go when you are trying to go from a stop quickly in 1st, but even after releasing the pedal it wants to slip for a second or more till it catches up with the motor, then the clutch is struggling and its just about to start slipping on you more and more.

an oem clutch should last over 100k, unless you strap a turbo to it then it will be toast in a few days.

MaxFlii

I have the same exact issue going on. My car has 96k miles.
I'd have to dig up the record but the previous owner had documentation of the clutch being replaced within the year before I bought it. (May 2015)

I have not yet noticed any loss of power.

I do get stuck on steep hills waiting to get on base... Which is unavoidable. But I'm sure that takes a toll on it.

Are there any other possible issues related to clutch that could be a smaller task/ price to fix? Some guy said possibly the slave cylinder?

It's sitting for the weekend, waiting for me to get a sense of direction.