Okay, the latest update.

The dealership tested the vehicle and indicated that they could smell the clutch when accelerating hard. However, they believe it was just leftover residue from the previous clutch. They could find no indication of slippage between clutch and flywheel.

They asked that I continue to monitor the situation and bring it back if it doesn't fade away after a few hundred miles. I'll give it a try, but two issues I can see coming up.

First, it'll probably take me a couple of months to rack up 500 miles given my current work schedule. Second why would I smell residue from the older clutch? I don't really understand it.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Peter

 

Drive the 500 miles in the next week...

 

If they replaced the clutch, pressure-plate, and flywheel... there would be no old residue left. Sounds suspicious. Here's another, scarey thought. Could they have installed the wrong pressure plate? One that doesn't have enough clamping pressure? Are there any other pressure plates of the right size, but wrong clamping pressure?
While I don't doubt some of the other posts, I personally never heard of a clutch requiring any sort of "break-in" period. New cars certainly don't smell of burning clutch. I think they did something wrong. Maybe they handled the clutch disc or other parts with really greasy hands.

 

Well, here are the parts that they installed according to the work order:

993-116-911-01 Clutch Repair Kit
964-114-012-02 Flywheel Assembly
999-110-017-01 Cheese Head Screw
999-113-426-41 Rubber Oil Seal
999-510-015-02 Socket Screw

I've got an early 95 993.

Thanks,
Peter

 

Tamiya,

Not sure about your situation, but when my clutch was replaced there was no break in period and no clutch smell from day 1.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Skip

 

Peter,

The dealership's assessment makes no sense to me. They could find no evidence that the clutch was slipping, except, of course, for the small detail of the burning clutch odor. I always thought that if something was burning and smelling like clutch or brakes, then that means that two surfaces are rubbing together to create heat.

I upgraded the clutch on my Rabbit GTi many years ago and never had a break-in period and never smelled anything strange. It's the only clutch I've ever replaced, so my experience is limited.

 

As an update, I finally got a chance to drive the car again this morning. Still stinky when accelerating up a hill. However, have only managed another 10 miles so far.

Perhaps the smell is not the clutch?

What does a Porsche clutch smell like? I only have a 1.8T VW GTI and Subaru STI to compare it to. Both of those cars are very offensive in the smell. The Porsche doesn't smell anything like them.

Is that an accurate statement?

Thanks,
Peter

 

TamiyaGuy, for goodness sake read your posts! Take the aircleaner out of your car and look at it. Smell it (you wanted to know what it smells like). If your clutch is slipping you will see clutch dust on it. This is how the dealer makes an initial inspection for excessive clutch slipping. Geeeees!!!

 

You should be getting no 'smells' when going up a hill. The dealer admitted it was a clutch smell. The parts you purchased were a complete dual mass flywheel, and the clutch kit includes the pressure plate, clutch disc, and new throwout bearing. There is nothing leftover from your previous clutch to make a smell during these conditions.

Go out to the highway, put it in 4th gear at around 2300 RPMs and accelerate fully. Do you smell anything?? Try 5th gear at the same RPM levels and check back with us. You should not get any smells, and you should see that the RPMs are accelerating at the same level as the car. If the tach is moving up and then maybe stops or goes down a little, you have an issue. You could also feel like maybe your tires are spinning..

Good luck.

 

Hi guys,

Sorry for the long period of time before the updates. However, as I might have mentioned, it's been difficult to find time to get out and drive the car.

First, it appears the smell has indeed dissappeared. However, since this is only very recently, I will need to hold off on saying that the problem is gone. But hard acceleration does not produce the telltale smells. And even hard uphill runs produces no such issues.

It's been approx. 350 miles since changing the clutch. This seems to be inline with other comments about how long the smell lasts. However, it's very strange to have to deal with this.

Now to answer some questions:

L23FPorsche - There was never any debris or noticable odor to the air filters. It wasn't come through the vent systems. I could smell the odor even with the vents and fans completely closed.

Problem with the smell - Here's the thing. It really did not smell like a burning clutch. I've done burnouts in the other cars (VW 1.8 GTI and a Subaru STI) and the smell is the same in both those cars. Very offensive and easily detectable as a clutch.

However, the smell in the 993 was something like exhaust fumes. In fact, I originally brought the car in for servicing because I thought the heat exchangers were killing me with exhaust fumes! It was the dealer's opinion that it was a slipping clutch.

That's why I was curious as to whether anyone had any comparisons of smells. It truly did not smell like clutch (or taste like chicken... okay sad joke). Maybe it's the material used by Porsche, I don't know.

Thanks,
Peter