Hi, just some questions... okay the xB is my first car with a stick that gets driven frequently. my friend taught how to drive manual on his mustang gt (which is a nicer tranny to work with btw) anyways other than driving a stick i haven't really checked out the inner workings. so...

occastionally when i drive (city traffic) i can smell a faint smell (like the brake smell) through the air vents, first of all is this most likely the clutch, and what exactly causes a burnt clutch? (i.e. not fully releasing the clutch when only needing to move forward a small amount, or just dropping/ releasing too quickly)

detailed responses appreciated.

thank you.

 

your riding the clutch..roll in nuetral to your atops be alert to to not keeping your foot on the clutch too long

 

Like Sciond said you are probably riding the clutch. There is also a small chance your clutch is bad.

Your clutch is slipping for some reason. What you are smelling is the clutch plate overheating and burning up. This is from the clutch plate rubbing against the flywheel and heating up.

 

i don't rest my foot on the pedal (and i sit at the light in neutral), but can releasing slowly do the same (i.e. to smooth out the shift from 1 -> 2 when it's stubborn)?

 

Burnt clutch can be caused by either riding it, slipping it and taking to long to let it out, and by continuous launches (correct or not). Riding it, you just don't release the pedal all the way or your foot rests on it a little bit. Slipping is basically just taking forever to let the clutch out... you can let it out to slow, just as you can do so too quickly. Launching... self explanatory :D

 

causes are of a burnt clutch... bad driving technique.

basically, people need to learn the car. every car is different when it comes to a manual tranny. mustangs might be better to you, but it's it a ford If you find yourself with the clutch 1/2 way engaged and your over reving the engine then you will end up with a burnt clutch. another thing is bad driving in stop and go traffic up hills. people get scared they are going to roll back.