HELP! Got new clutch installed and SMELLS! also a clutch technique ive never heard!

[QSDA]

got a new clutch installed at PepBoys for around $400 and it smelled so bad. so after 3,4 days. took it back, by the way my car is a 96 civic, and they changed it for free but they told me i had to take it easy for about 500 miles. so, when i drove my car carefully to home with the 2nd new clutch it still smelled. i dont know what to do.

when they tell u to take it easy what do they mean? dont slam on the clutch too much or too hard or dont hit the gas too much or??? im confused please help. how do you supposed handle new clutches? i've been driving 5 speed about 5yrs.

couple days ago, a friend of my dad told me that car "masters" dont use their clutches most of the time, just use it in the 1st gear and from then on u can disengage and engage to the next gear without using your clutch. so i tried that and it actually works - i was really surprised by the way - but is thst bad or good? personally ive never heard about this before.

Please help me out here guys. what should i do and is that technique real or the guy who told me that is crazy?

[air_mikey]

first, taking it easy means to not step on it. your not suppose to use the full potential of the engine (floor it) until the clutch breaks in. around 800-1000 kms.

second, i cant see how switching gears without clutching could be good for your car. maybe thats why it smells.

[QSDA]

ok so release the clutch as soon as i get the gear in to it?

oh about that not using clutch, it was smelling way before ive even heard about it so i dont think thats the cause but may be contributing.

[air_mikey]

just drive normally. dont floor it or anything like that. shift between 3-4K rpms

[sxtasy]

Smoothly engage and disengage the clutch. Do it a little slower than you normally would. If you've been driving 5 speed for 5 years you should know how to go easy on the clutch

[Matthew]

What really matters on a clutch break in is the number of engage/disengage cycles. You definitely need to drive a few hundred kms of city driving before using the clutch aggressively, like wide open throttle runs, or especially a mid to high rpm side step (like a drag launch).

As far as shifting with the motor (without the clutch) is concerned, I would not recommend this in a light duty car application. Vehicles with lots of inertia and heavy rotating assemblies are better for this because the relative speed of the output shaft on the transmission and input shaft (or flywheel) changes more slowly when the gears are disengaged. A typical highway tractor application does not use the clutch except to get the vehicle started. On the other hand, a loaded highway tractor weighs over 80000 lbs whereas your car probably only weighs about 2500 lbs. Your car was designed to use the clutch on every shift, and you should probably operate it that way to avoid gear clash.

-Matthew

[KoukiS14]

I shift without using the clutch, up and down. Takes a bit of practice. I only do this when farting around town. Never have and never will attempt this during aggresive driving.

[Sai]

Shifting without the clutch is just for shits and giggles(matching RPM speed with the right gear) :P or a non syncro tranny

Driving for 5 years and still need advice on how to drive? jesus lol! what more like 5 months

[GTS Jeff]

clutchless shifting is not good for the tranny cuz every now and then u will mess up the revmatching and grind the shit out of the tranny. and grinding is no good.

but when your clutch is F'ed, u sorta have to do clutchless shifting, right will?

[three.eighteen.]

just let the clutch out gently, wouldnt hurt to push it all the way to the floor too, just in case

[4wheeldrift]

Also, the clutches sometimes have agents on them to keep them ok in storage, and it can take a little for those chemicals to wear off which can result in the smell. If it hasn't gone away after a few hundred kilometers, then I'd be worried.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by NismoS14
I shift without using the clutch, up and down. Takes a bit of practice. I only do this when farting around town. Never have and never will attempt this during aggresive driving.

i did this for a week when i was to poor to replace the clutch on my old integra

[T5_X]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
clutchless shifting is not good for the tranny cuz every now and then u will mess up the revmatching and grind the shit out of the tranny. and grinding is no good.

but when your clutch is F'ed, u sorta have to do clutchless shifting, right will?

LOL, I murder throw out bearings