Let me bring everyone up to speed. I'm in the middle of a 6000 mile road trip in my 2000 v6 4x4 manual tacoma. When I was in Seattle driving the hills the truck created a little bit of smoke and a lot of hot metal smell from the area around the transmission. Everything runs fine. It only happens when I start up a steep hill. What damage have I done? What should I be doing about it now? What should I do when I return home?


nermal

 

How does the tranny fluid look? Red, brown, black? (oh and you posted this twice)

 

You said it was a manual trans, I'd take a look at the clutch assembly. A little bit of slip can equal a bad smell.

Doug

 

The fluid looks fine, I don't think I will be able to crack open the clutch on the road.

Sorry for the double post. I'm working off a weak pirate internet signal. It didn't appear to go through the first time.

nermal

 

Sounds to me like your clutch is dying. How many miles on the truck?

Clutch smell will not go away for a long long time. My dad bought an 06 cummins 6speed, his first manual in, well I dont think he has owned one since before i was born, and one day hunting we stopped to glass and he left the cluch half in and by the time we noticed it was smoking the clutch it was too late.. the truck smelled like clutch for a month or more.

 

It sounds like a clutch to me as well.
Does it slip/smell going up any steep hill or was this just a one time event?

 

It doesn't slip at all. The only times I've experienced this smell is when starting on a steep hill like when I was in Seattle and San Francisco and when I'm doing dumb things like driving over parking curbs. It smells like burning metal, kind of like high school shop class.

 

It may not feel like a slipping clutch, but thats what it is.

 

burned up clutch doesnt smell like metal at all tho. unless you have a stage 3 aftermarket one. and to be honest, i dont know how you wouldnt feel the clutch slipping.

do the rpms jump significalty when you go up a decent grade?

 

A clutch is a distincitive smell, however can smell somewhat like metal. And based on his description its a clutch. It may have fine holding power once engauged and on fwy driving, but as he described the smell is coming on steep hill starts and trying to climb curbs. Both things that take clutch finesse to get moving on. There is nothing else in the transmission or drivetrain that would produce this sort of smell, espically without a metal on metal noise. Everytime you get going in a manual your clutch slips, it has to. On steep hills and climbing curbs it slips more, but may not fell unusual. The clutch may also be fine and its the techinque that is being used, espically if nermal isnt used to driving on steep hills. He got from Seatlle to San Fran so I am guessing that if the clutch is going its just starting to show the signs, certainly not shot enough to slip on the fwy unless towing or driving in 3rd at 5K.

Again, how many miles on the truck?

 

I had the same thing happen to me on a very steep hill 4wheeling. I think that the springs that pull the clutch together just get worn out over time. I am not going to worry about it until the truck doesn't go forward anymore. If it starts to slip in fifth on the freeway it is time to replace it.

 

Another possibility is that the input shaft seal on the transmission was going but most people can tell the difference between burning oil and an overheated metallic smell. It could also be that the pressure plate springs are wearing or binding slightly, but you wouldn't be able to tell without disassembly. I agree, if it wasn't slipping enough to notice, I'd just keep driving it.