Clutch Burn Smell but No Slipping

[RyCliff]

Hi John, updated the original post now to include the website address. They're not cheap at nearly £10 each but quite a few similar spec springs.

Unfortunately not too easy to get the car on jacks. I'll go out for another drive at the next opportunity and see if the problem continues. Was almost a good excuse for a lightened flywheel too! 

[Paul N]

After your drive, carefully touch each wheel to see if 1 is warmer than the rest, indicating a binding brake, but be careful not to burn yourself 

[RyCliff]

Finally got round to a 15 minute drive out. Mostly around town so never really broke 50mph for more than a few seconds.

Feeling all of the discs, there's not one that stood out as being hotter to the touch than the others. Rears felt slightly warmer than the fronts but both the same temperature, so could need a bit of adjustment on the handbrake. It's already absolutely useless the way it's set now though! I've only ever found one adjuster so I assume this does both sides. 

[SM25T]

Yes. One adjuster does both sides. You should release lever fully and slacken adjuster off fully, then remove pads and wind both pistons fully clockwise.... Pushing and turning each piston to return them home. Ensure cross in piston is at 12 - 3 - 6 - 9 o'clock so the pads fit correctly. Refit pads and then press the brake pedal hard a few times to activate self adjusters in each piston. Only then adjust the handbrake.

[Wrightpayne]

Was the smell still there on your test run?

[RyCliff]

Nope didn't notice the same clutch burn smell over the usual smells (no cat on the exhaust system I think causes the usual ones) 

[timb2117]

Also for some reason the rears do more work than fronts, so always seem warmer on a "normal" set up.

[SM25T]

#32 ... the rears don't get much airflow to cool them.

[RyCliff]

This might explain the warmer feeling of the rears. No harm in me resetting the handbrake adjustment but this doesn't sound like the source of the smell. Although warmer than the fronts I could still physically touch all discs through the wheels. 

I do wonder if the car is able to set off in 3rd gear is a sign either my clutch isn't fully engaging or the friction plate is worn. 

[SM25T]

I think once a clutch has been slipped seriously, it smells bad whenever it gets hot ?

[RyCliff]

I've gone through the handbrake reset procedure this morning. No signs of overheating on the pads, they still look like new after 3 years or so!

The clutch pedal has what looks like the original spring so I'll look at swapping that out for one that matches JVs blog post. 

I did a bit of looking around and spotted the other end of the clutch cable has an adjustment and lock nut on it with a rubber cover over the casing the cable enters. Took the cover off but wasn't able to see much, though I do have a little bit of oil in the bottom of there. Not a pool of it but it looks sticky so not sure if this is potentially a cause of the smell. 

[Tom_Arundel]

Don`t know about anyone else but I drilled a small hole at the bottom of the bell housing to check for/drain any oil.

[7 wonders of the world]

there's a small recess machined in the bellhousing face where it mates to the bottom of the engine for this purpose, My K bellhousing and both my Raceline Duratec ones have had this, similar to the one below - may not be on current CC versions though...?