Diagnose by Smell ?

[Drfracture]

My 91 NSX emits the smell of burnt rubber after short spirited drives...
The smell tends not to be noticeable after long drives....
Of note, the car also has recently had a SOS clutch put in by PO... could that be where the smell is coming from? do new clutches smell a bit? or more worrysome - do the timing belts smell when theyre on their way out?
I have not had the TB/WP done since ive owned it, but also havent driven it much.
Its not the most descriptive post, but whats on the diagnostic short list given the above situation?

 

[nsxtasy]

It's common for clutches to smell. They smell when they're new, but they especially smell if and when you slip them. Either one or both may be going on, based on your description. If you've been using the new clutch for a while (or for one or two spirited drivers) and it's still smelling, my guess is that you're slipping the clutch. Try doing a better job of matching revs when upshifting and downshifting. (If you don't understand what matching revs is, then that is almost certainly part of your problem. Not trying to offend here, we all learned about it at one time.)

 

[Drfracture]

certainly rev-matching...also being a tight/heavy pedal I tend to baby it into the driveway/parking spots on a half clutch....could be the culprit.

so long as its not the belt?

 

[nsxtasy]

certainly rev-matching...also being a tight/heavy pedal I tend to baby it into the driveway/parking spots on a half clutch....could be the culprit.

Sounds likely. I've had the same thing, creating a noticeable smell trying to back it into my garage where there's limited room and it's a slight upgrade. Sometimes there's no alternative to a slight slippage.

The clutch material is a rather distinctive smell. Sort of similar to brake pads when they get really hot.

so long as its not the belt?

No, the timing belt won't smell. When it goes, it doesn't smell - it just goes. About the only thing you can smell at that point is the thousands of dollars it will take you to fix it, burning up in your wallet in an instant.

 

[LJSB]

Check your shorts?:biggrin:

 

[R13]

Please check your crank/balancer pulley to make sure the rubber damper hasn't detached from the back and started rubbing on the lover timing cover. That would usually also cause a noise that you might hear at idle, but wouldn't hear over the engine while driving.