Burning smell when in reverse gear - soon disappears

[matth76 0]

Hi

Firstly my car runs really smoothly when driving along - (although it has lost 15bhp mysteriously on the dyno but the power graph, although with 15bhp less, was still incredibly smooth - which added to the mystery). I have also noticed on the odd occastion when in reverse gear that I notice a burning smell - its not strong but definitely noticable and soon disappears within a few seconds. I also noticed the burning smell when I accelerated hard the other day (when the car was fully warmed up).

 

The oil temp was at normal operating temp and so was the coolant. In the sunlight I could also see faint smoke coming from the front internal fan air vents and around the bonnet - but soon disappeared within a few seconds.

 

What could cause this? My clutch is relatively new - only fitted early this year so that should be ok - could it simply be gearbox oil? and could it cause a drop in power on a dyno? Like I said it still runs incredibly smooth (both when driving and on the power graph).

 

Thanks for any help on this.

 

Matt

[Mave 0]

Possibly a fuel filter maybe? I'm no Vr expert lol :)

[ZippyVR6 0]

What sort of burning smell? clutch? Electrical? Tyres?

[matth76 0]

Not sure what sort of burning - smelled more like friction or overheating burning but not really sure. Defintely not tyres and I'm not sure what electrical burning would smell like but it wasn't a burning smell associated with plastic. Only happens when in reverse gear which is odd - occasionally when hard accelerating. Could it be the clutch - even when a few months old (with about 10k miles on it)?

 

The first time I smelled the smell was when I was reversing back up a hill and had to do a lot of clutch control and took a couple of minutes, however there was another car nearby being revved (this was all in a garage) so assumed it was a smell coming from the other car. Then recently I noticed the smell again when in reverse gear so now know it was from me. Is there a way I can tell if it is the clutch that is causing this burning smell? Surely a new (standard vag) clutch should last 100k miles or so?? The clutch still has loads of bite on it - its certainly not slipping or anything.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Cheers

[Phil K 0]

I'd be guessing at the clutch but am suprised if it's realtively new :?

 

Clutch smell is a strange rotting burning veg smell IIRC from owning a battered old Ford Sierra with a knackered clutch when I was 18...

 

I don't have a clue if I'm right but it could be worth talking to the people that did the clutch and getting it checked

[matth76 0]

Thanks for your reply. Could a prematurely worn or faulty clutch cause this strange burning smell and also cause a drop in 15-17bhp? My car still runs very smoothly and the power curve is very smooth too.

[dr_mat 0]

The clutch will make a burning smell under those circumstances, particularly if it's new. You're burning off the initial surface of the friction plates, which you don't even come close to doing in normal driving (unless you're into slipping the clutch in third). If you were doing such extreme clutch slipping up a hill forwards you'd have the same result. Don't worry about it.

[matth76 0]

Thanks for your replies guys. Could the burning smell be a slight hose leak leaking some liquid onto something hot in the engine bay causing the smoke and smell? You can't see any smoke normally - only saw it for the first time in bright sunlight. And the smoke only appears for a few seconds.

 

Strange that it only happens occasionally in reverse gear. Doesn't always happen when reversing - maybe one time out of four when reversing. I did get the strange smell once, as already said, when I accelerated hard a couple of weeks back.

 

Not sure if it could be linked to the power drop though. And the power graph is still smooth.

 

By the way the rr sessions were on the same dyno.

 

Thanks for any help guys.

 

Cheers

[matth76 0]

Any ideas guys? Thanks for any help.

[matth76 0]

Ok had car checked over, no oil leaks, no problem with clutch at all, no oil being burnt in exhaust fumes and car drives very smoothly. However there is the occasional "oil burning smell" as though a very small amount is hitting something hot like the manifold. Any idea where a potential leak could be? Whereever it is it is only very very small as the smell only very occasionally happens.

 

Thanks for any help.

[dr_mat 0]

You're sure the smell isn't coming from the 1975 ford fiesta 1.1 in front?

It's easy to make that mistake ..

[matth76 0]

lol could be Dr mat.

 

Phirm did a great job Sat. Thoroughly cleaned my throttle body out and calibrated many other sensors, including lamda. Car now pulls and feels far stronger. Car has at least another 5 bhp just for doing that. Tim said it felt much stronger too. I also used Stealth's injector cleaner a while ago straight after the rr session and it made a bit of a difference after a full tank of using that. Very happy with me car now! Must have at least 195-200bhp now Not quite 207bhp but what the hell - drives and pulls like a dream now.