I can smell my clutch?

My 21' pro 6mt has 10k miles. Purchased at 4k and it seemed pretty babied at that time.
Recently did an offroad trip and did a little clutch fry in 4H trying to complete an obstacle that i should have just done with more power, instead i almost stalled and clutch pumped to keep revs up.
Should have been in 4L, oh well. I had a pretty strong clutch/brake fry smell for a while. It was gone by the time i got home.

Truck drives and feels fine / the same ableit my first spongy "accumulator".
Yesterday while driving it up onto a set of 16" tall service ramps, just that little bit of throttle and clutch slip to get onto the ramp brought the smell back. So im scratching my head.

MT driver all my life, 9 cars and 14 motorcycles. Never had to change an oem clutch due to wear or failure. Have owned performance clutch/flywheel setups. Id say my MT habits are decent and responsible at very least. I do not heel-toe, clutch drop, or aggressively downshift / engine brake in this truck.

I read that many 3gen owners take out the clutch at 100k+ miles when sensing it slip only to find that it does not look toasted and could probably go another 50k.

So, friends. Whats up with this clutch fry smell? Am i trippin or just granny shiftin?

 

The Taco clutch has carbon fiber friction material. If you slipped it, it can take a little while to clear and transfer new material to the flywheel for the highest bite.

Smoking a modern clutch a time or few is not going to trash it. Riding it, like you learned not to, will cook it over time.


When wheeling, I'm usually dropping into 4Lo around the time that folks with ATs are going into 4Hi. We can easily travel at 35mph in 6th, if need be. Top speed for MTs is whatever you feel like, but 35 to 40 is reasonable.

 

I had my clutch stink for a bit as I was trying to back a small loaded trailer up an inclined driveway into my garage. FYI I am not good at backing up trailers.

The clutch burnt and smelled for a while. I notice it slipping for a few days afterwards. Then it eventually went away and all is good.

2016 MT with 125,000+ miles (never replaced the clutch that I am aware of).

 

This would be another good time to plug the 2LM:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-2wd-low-range-for-the-3rd-gen-tacoma.614743/​

Absolutely killer for low speed maneuvering.

 

I've smoked my clutch in 4hi multiple times trying to get over/through an obstacle. It's very easy. My clutch is still fine. I've not replaced one my whole life. Don't be too lazy to put it in 4lo.