I have a manual tC..with a cold air injen intake..and a skunk2 catback exhaust..the problem is that when im driving in 4th or 5th gear and push the pedal to the floor..my rpm goes higher than it normally ever did..and then i start to get this smell as if my clutch or something is burning..and i smell this from the inside..i popped open my hood when i got home and it still smelt like something was burning..if anyone knows what this might be..please PM me or reply back..thanks!

 

Yes. That would be your clutch. Why it would be doing this I don't know. How do you drive?

 

Sounds like you need a clutch. Your mods have nothing to do with it. If the car doesnt have around 100,000 miles or so on it, then you may want to look at your driving habits since it would be going prematurely.

 

hmmm..ic..is it too late to fix those habits 2stop the clutch from going out? or you think its gonna go out soon? there's only 14,000 miles on it..which is pretty weird..

 

14k miles .... hmmm

1) Is this your first manual transmission car?

2) Are you the first and only owner?

3) When you're in gear, RPM and MPH are directly related. 1mph = xxxx rpm, depending on gear. Does it feel like this connection is severed?

4) Has there been any transmission work done on the car?



--- Just have to ask the questions, and make no assumptions.

 

when im about to start driving i'm already off the clutch at about 1000rpm..when im about to stop at a light i put it in neutral..but when im still going over 20mph..duz that have anythn 2do with it? i do drive fast to lol but i dnt think that would cause this problem

 

so you car is having a rough idle?

 

Ok, we need to become a LOT more clear about what's going on, if we're going to be able to help you.


When you push the gas with the clutch fully engaged (foot off the pedal), does it slip?

or.

When you disengage the clutch (push the left pedal all the way down), does the RPM increase unexpectedly ?

---

 

yeah this is my 1st manual transmission car..but i knew how to drive stick b4 i even got it.

im the 1st and only owner

i'd switch gears at about every 3000rpm..and when i reach 5th gear it runs fine..but when i try and go for it while im in 5th..this is when the rpm just goes almost all the way up and when i let it calm down it'd run back down to a normal rpm..but if i did it again..it wuld be the same thing all over again

no transmission work has been done to it at all

 

So... you're fully engaged in 5th, cruising along on the interstate.... and you decide to pass a slow-moving truck. Rather than go to 4th, you decide to give it a little gas, and attempt to just slowly accelerate past him. When you try to do it, the clutch seems to dis-engage itself, and your rpms fly up without the car actually accelerating.

If this describes you... then you either have a clutch issue, or a gear-popout issue. Both of which, are rare for a 14k mile car. You need to take it to the dealership for warranty work.

If it only happens in 5th, then you probably have a transmission issue that's beyond basic repair. Clutch issues happen under hard acceleration in all gears, particularly in the lower ones.

 

Sorry..this just freaks me out because i've never had the problem till just a couple weeks ago..

it doesnt slip at all..the clutch still feels like normal..when i'm driving at about 40mph in 5th gear..and if i all of a sudden just press all the way down on the gas..the rpm increases more than it normally ever did..it never just slowly increases

 

take it to the dealer man. that is bizarre.

 

Well it'd accelerate..but reaaally slow..but yeah..the example you've given sounds exactly how whats been goin on

 

I'm sorry that we're having communication issues as well... I'm getting tripped up on the statement "RPM increases more than it ever did..."

If the car revs up very quickly, but does not accelerate with the revs, then it's the clutch or a gear issue.

If the car revs up quickly, AND accelerates more quickly, then it's a consequence of adding power... that's what going faster is all about.

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If it seems like there's a problem in any way, take it to the dealer. You're still well under warranty, and it certainly cannot be attributed to a simple cold air intake and exhaust.

 

yeah i plan on it..but im afraid it wont be warrantied because of the mods i've done to my car probably "voided my warranty" as they say (which my mods hav absolutely nothin 2do with the problem)

 

Got ya.

Now, just to be sure...

If you floored it to accelerate, and the Revs shot up INDEPENDENTLY of gaining speed, then it's certainly a clutch or transmission issue.

If you floored it, and it began to accelerate, but then "hit a brick wall"... where its floored, but revs weren't climbing, and car is not accelerating, just making a lot of noise and going nowhere... then it's a computer/fuel issue.


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I got the second scenario when my A/F sensor popped out... and a second time when the temps dropped 45 degrees overnight, the ECU was confused and took a minute to sort itself out.

Bad gas, or water in the gas tank, can do this as well.

 

hmm..but the smell of something burning of course just doesnt seem right..for awhile i thought that havin a little bit of power was causin it..but then just a couple days ago i really smelt the burnin so it got me thinkn that it wasnt the exhaust nd cold air intake..thanks alot though man..cuz i dont know TOO much about this stuff lol

 

It's all gravy.

The burning smell greatly reinforces the clutch being the culprit, but I just want to ask all the questions and be sure.

There's most likely a warranty-worthy issue with the car, so bring it on in.

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As far as driving to not injure the clutch:

1- Don't do burnouts, or attempt them.
2- Don't ride the clutch in a semi-engaged state for long. Minimize the time you're on power and clutch simultaneously.
3- When starting from a stop, use the least amount of revs that you're comfortable with.... 1200 or so.
4- Learn to "rev-match" when downshifting... this'll save both your clutch, and your synchros.
5- Don't let people learn to drive a stick on your car.

etc. etc.

 

Well i live in alaska..haha sometimes itd start to warm but then overnight it'd drop down to about 10-15 degrees..does letting my car run while its this cold for over 10 min or so cause this also?

 

Cool..i'll keep these in mind!!