When I accelerate hard, even when NOT swapping gears (I.E. not using the clutch and just punching it in 5th) the car seems to let off a strange smell that i can smell in the cabin. At first I thought it was a clutch type smell but am not so sure. Any ideas?

Another one, when I go over a bump and the right front wheel drops down over a bump I get a tiny squeak or it even might be an air noise when the strut drops down like its sucking in air fast.....any ideas? normal?


Many thanks. Peter

 

The acceleration problem may still be the clutch...how many miles do you have on the car? Is it possible that your clutch is getting worn out and slipping when you give it more throttle?

 

I'll be watching this one as well. I get a strange smell inside my car if I get on it hard. Definitely smells like smoke of some sort.

 

I have 20k miles, clutch was changed out as well as the Throw out bearing and collet at about 17k miles, said it was defective and collect was sticking and clutch fried against the plate.

Sounds like me at previous poster have the same problem, what is it with me and this darn MINI

Peter

 

Well, hell's bells. I hope my clutch isn't on the way out. I would only generate some good belly laughs at the dealership if I had the gall to show up and say I want my clutch replaced under warranty.

 

Sounds like you are describing a slipping clutch.

If you are sitting and attempt to accellerate from 2nd or 3rd gear w/o high revs does the engine run on instead of stalling as the clutch engages?

BTW, speed-shifting is very bad for the synchros in the gearbox. Just as it slipped in gear, it will also begin slipping out of gear as they wear. In my youth I would speed shift a VW bug that I had and one day I could not get it into reverse. When they broke down the tranny the synchros were worn well beyond the miles I had on the car. Very expensive fix in a MC I would think.

 

I'll just throw this out here.

That smell is your coolant overflowing the expansion tank and boiling away on the headers. It is normal, from what I gather. Note that if the tank didn't let excess coolant escape, it would explode.

My car has had overflowing coolant since it was new, as best as I can recall. Even when I had a spec stage 2 clutch it did this, so it was not a slipping clutch. Besides, this smells different than a cooked clutch.

Try this out - next time you are driving and smell that smell, pull over, pop the hood and then waft air from near the expansion tank. It will smell just like it. You might even see the coolent boiling off the header and coolent residue on the outside of the tank.

 

it's the sh*t in your pants!

 

cosmoline?

 

Hmm, sounds logical. I haven't looked--doesn't the coolant overflow tibe extend below the headers??

You are correct, a cooked clutch is pretty distinctive--that is why I would have a mechanic take a look.

 

I've noticed something similar lately - it has a slight catalytic converter smell, though not quite as strong. It goes away as quickly as it starts.

It's only happenes in higher RPM ranges, 1st or 2nd gear (manual)

 

 

I think pmustang ment that he is already in 5th and then steps on it. I hope.

 

Yes, I have had the smell most definitely when going 50 or 60 in fifth then giving it some welly without shifting into 6th.

Cheers for the ideas, I like the overflowing tank idea but we are talking about 2-4 miles from work where the car was parked for 8-9 hours. Would it heat up that fast?

I am fearing a slipping clutch, the car seems to grab gears quite abruptly, not going fast, just swapping gears and it jerks into gear. Have to slip the clutch a bit to get it smooth.

Fricken car!!!

Cheers. Peter

 

OK Peter, now I realize that you are from the UK. We are losing something in translation here because you use different terms.

First, it could heat up that fast if you have a bad or sticking thermostat I would think, but I am now tending to think you are talking about a bad clutch.

When you say it grabs gears abruptly and you need to slip the clutch do you mean that when you try to engage the clutch normally that the gear catches sooner than you would expect? Do you mean you have to ride the clutch for an abnormally long time to smooth out the shift?

Finally, the question is are you shifting sometimes without using the clutch? We call that speed-shifting, where you find the sweet spot in the engine rpms and slide it into the next gear without clutching. If so when are you most likely to do at and in what gear?

 

Yep.....thanks.

 

Nope, not speed shifting, the clutch grabs a bit, if I keep the clutch pedal dipped a bit longer than normal I can smooth out the shift.

Your description of the gear catching sooner than you'd expect is just about right.

Sorry about the lingo, I am an american who lives in the UK and goes to the USA quite a bit so I get made fun of (have the pee taken out of me) on both sides of the pond.

cheers. Peter

 

I notice a funny (not burning clutch) smell when under hard acceleration,
when I have a tank of this gas. Round here (CO), stations mix 10% ethanol in.
Used to be only during winter months, but now it's year round.
O.k. 2 cents are in.

 

OK, Gentlemen, let's get this summarized.

You have 3K on a replaced clutch, you are getting a smell in hard accelleration and gears grab unless you are slow in letting the clutch out. Correct?

Now the smell. All of these can get waifted into the cabin (and others jump in if I miss anything).

burning/slipping clutch-- like burning brakes or hot cardboard/newspaper. To get this smell, just depress the clutch half way and go WOT for a few seconds.

Antifreeze-- sweet, sickly smell --just drop a little anitfreeze on a hot surface and you will smell it.

oil--- more burning smell. less sweet--again a few drops on a hot surface will give you the idea (you will also get smoke with this one

gear oil/grease-- more pungent than oil, longer lasting

transmission fluid-- hot burning smell, less oily--again some on a hot surface will give you the idea

catalytic converter--hot, sulfur, metallic or burning smell--sometimes this will come with bad gas or additives

If the clutch is new it is possible that it was not adjusted properly, was damaged when assembled or glazed because of improper break-in.

If only at WOT, I would suspect a glazed clutch or damaged pressure plate--either would give you slipping and grabbing.