dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

Alright, so I'm still trying to learn to drive stick. Today I went out and the streets were slick due to the rainfall. Well, I was driving around and kept having difficulty shifting into first from a dead stop. I tried to not give it to much gas, and stalled out a few times. I tried giving it a bit most gas and peeled out a couple of times. Then I tried taking off in 2nd gear to not peel out, instead. Then I stopped somewhere and noticed smoked pouring out from in front of the hood by the right light. I stopped and opened the hood and heard a weird noise like rubber rubbing or something. So, I turned the car off to let it cool. The smoke was coming from the front of the engine on the bottom and smelled like burnt rubber. Someone stopped and asked me what had happened and I explained and they said I may have burned the clutch. They took a look at it and said that's what it smelled like. So, I let it cool down for a bit and then started it up again. Again it started smoking. So I decided, I'm about 10 miles from my house. Maybe the clutch is stuck on the flywheel or something. I'm going to get going and see if it disengages. I got on my way and the smoke stopped pouring out. But I did keep stalling out when putting it into 1st from a dead stop. But, I don't know, it might have been because I was more nervous or something. Tomorrow I will start it up and see if it's driving alright. Also, I was trying to use the clutch as little as possible on the way home, so whenever I shifted I would try to get in and out of the clutch as quickly as I could.

So, what do you guys think? I have a stage 2 clutch which the previous owner said was put in. Are those less forgiving to novice shifters? Could I have burned it already?

Also, when the skip shift light comes on, am I supposed to shift from 1-4? Because I was just shifting 1-2 2-3 3-4 no matter what. Well, thanks.

X-ray

iTrader: (6)

You can't burn a clutch that easily. You can really only burn a clutch when you're beating the hell out of it. I learned stick on my Z28 and the clutch was fine, and still looked good when it was taken out to put the Spec in.

If you're having trouble shifting there might be a problem with the clutch hydraulics. However, if it's only first gear then that might be a transmission problem unrelated to the hydraulics and the smoke.

The fact that it started smoking again after it sat there and cooled off would say to me that it isn't the clutch. Clutches don't smoke when you're just sitting there idling. Maybe it's a belt? I'm really not sure, but it's not your driving. Something is wrong with the car, not caused by you.

And if you can shift into whatever gear you want when the skip shift light is on, that means the previous owner disabled it. No reason to shift from 1 to 4 then, unless you want to. I never do.

dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the input. I might have unintentionally beat the tranny/clutch today. I mean I did do a couple of burnouts unintentionally by over gassing the N-1st so it wouldn't stall out on me. And by burnouts I mean, felt the tires slipping and started veering a bit for about 10-20 feet. But, I will certainly try to be more careful from now on. If the problem continues I'll have a shop check it out. Definitely scared the heck out of me. But 1-2 2-3 3-4 etc. are smooth as heck. Only ones that are giving me problems is N-1 and N-R from a dead stop. Well, thanks again.

dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

Could it have been clutch fluid boiling which I saw? It was a constant white/gray puff of smoke coming from the front bottom near the belt. Or could I somehow have messed up the belt causing increased friction and belt burning. Which should be like tires burning (white smoke and burnt rubber smell). But wouldn't it have just snapped instead? And I seriously doubt it had anything to do with the engine, since the temp gauge was marking about 180 and it sounded perfectly. Honestly at first I thought it might be the headlight motor frying, since I had just turned them off about 1 minute ago to save battery in case I stalled out again and needed to start up.

So, should I replace the belts, try to be more careful when shifting, try to stay off the clutch, and just keep an eye on things? What do you guys think?

dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

I let the engine cool down for like 15 minutes and the smoke stopped puffing out. Then I started it up and it started up again. So I stopped it for a few minutes and it stopped again. Then I started it, shifted, and drove off and I didn't see it anymore. Even when I stopped at a light. And the smoked started after I stopped at a stop sign. Shifting into N.

dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

After watching this video, I don't think it was my clutch that was burnt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4N48eQ2E_g
Here you can see the smoke coming out from under/behind the engine and under the car. In my situation, it was coming from the front of the engine near the bottom, and while idling in neutral. But the engine sounded fine, except for the chirping sound, and ran perfect after I took off. Also, the temp was marking 180 degrees and this was after driving it around for a while. So could it be a belt or a bearing in the pulleys? I think I'll start by replacing the belts. Are there any real good belts for these cars? Gatorbacks are well known as good quality belts in Crown Vics. Are they also good for these rides?

squee

iTrader: (16)

My advice, you shouldn't have bought a M6 if you can't drive a manual...
Second, I can't think of ANYTHING that would cause smoke while the clutch is disengaged but not when it is...How much smoke are we talking about?

99T/A_Marine

iTrader: (1)

Seriously dude? The guy is trying to learn and you are going to bash him? He's asking for help and you're being a *****. Everyone has got to start somewhere so lay off.

dodge69874

iTrader: (2)

Definitely not the clutch. I've been shifting smoothly today and it started doing it again. It's one of the pulleys. Must be a bad bearing. I guess the smoke trail just wasn't as visible or something when I started driving again. Moving topic over to LT1 since we've established that it's not the clutch or tranny. Thanks.

And I get the whole, "Oh great. This dumb kid's going to screw up a nice Trans Am" sentiment. So, whatever. But, I know for sure it wasn't the clutch and I am getting the hang of it. So, But hey, I've got nothing against you squee.

And 99T/A_Marine, thanks for the support bro.