In an automatic, you have a flexplate, not a clutch. I'm not too keen on automatics, and their inner workings. If you're getting that smell, the ~$70 diagnostic fee at a shop is a good investment. If it is transmission related, you'd be better off paying that on your own schedule than when your transmission fails and you have to get it towed. General rule of thumb for automatics as far as fluids go is if you wait too long to change your ATF, youre screwed either way. If you're getting that smell, theres probably a hydraulic issue somewhere, but again, I'm not anywhere close to an expert in the areas of automatic transmissions, so don't take that as an expert opinion, its just an educated guess. I'd be interested to know what the answer is though. Keep us updated?

 

Let us know how it comes out. Another tell-tale factor of the clutch, as far as the smell goes, is if you open your hood after driving and getting the smell in the cabin, it should be amazingly strong under the hood. The only real way to diagnose said problem, with 100% certainty, is to pop the transmission off. It can be done by an amateur - I've done it. But it always helps to have someone whos done it before around. They can be a pain, especially putting it back on, and if you don't exercise every precaution, you will end up with a seal leak. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, it will be worth every penny of labor at a shop since they will slap a warranty on it.

 

Just a thought or two. Try a test run with your cabin vent air set to recirc and see if it smells as strongly. My other suggestion, set the car up in "stink configuration" and run it 'til it smells. Then stop and immediately feel your accessories drive belts to see if they're hot.
Sometimes regular maintenance with the same garage means they systematically forget the same thing every time (in this case, drive belts condition and tension adjustment).
Keep this thread up to date: this is an interesting one. Good sleuthing.

 

"If the cylinder is leaking, youll wanna change it quick, or your clutch will stop grabbing (no hydraulc pressure to hold it against the flywheel)."

I have to take issue with this statement. The clutch hydraulics are used to release the clutch from the pressure plate. The hydraulics have no effect on the contact pressure of the clutch when engaged.

 

Either manual or automatic, here's a cruel test.
With the car warmed up, run at about 30-40 mph in 3rd, (lock your auto transmission so it won't shift), now abruptly floor the gas while watching the speedometer and tach.
If the engine revs. leap up but your speedometer drags its butt, you've got slip in the drive train, and that will give off the hot smell.
For automatics, another clue is the fluid turns prematurely brownish.

 

Have either of you looked at the Serpentine belt to see if it is glazed over from Slipping just a little.
Also check your CV boots to make sure they are not torn and rubbing.

 

Siber Express made a good point. Mazdas with the grooved drive belts really load them up, and once they start to wear, the "dead" rubber fills in the grooves, reducing the load bearing surface area even more, worsening the slip.
When you sense the stink, pull over and compare the temperatures of the outer vs. inner belt surfaces. They should be about the same. A slipping belt will be much hotter on the inside; the driven pulleys will also get pretty hot.
Be careful you don't get burned though.
When retensioning the belts, remember the play is specified with the engine cold.

 

This depends on the issue - if its not putting out enough pressure it wont disengage like you said. If its not pulling back to its normal position properly, it wont engage. It's happened to me. Its the hydraulic pressure that pushes it against, the vacuum that pulls it back - so I apologize for that slight misspeak. However a leaking cylinder can still cause that symptom.

 

Yeah, a badly screwed up piston/cylinder issue can cause problems; the hydraulic pressure clears the plate OK, but on release, dirt, clogged ports,etc. even pedal linkage/ spring/ pivot problems can prevent the piston from returning far enough back to port all the fluid back to the reservoir, so you're left with a half-assed cleared clutch.
I had a weird "won't start" clutch issue with a Corolla.
While I had no problems whatsoever, my much smaller missus couldn't get the thing to start. The problem was thick winter floor carpeting stopped her from putting enough pedal pressure on to operate the clutch disengaged switch.
There are just countless varieties of ****, and given enough time they will all happen !

 

I understand the problem that you are describing. If you extended your slave cylinder to disengage your clutch and it got stuck due to contaminated fluid blocking a port etc., then your slave cylinder wouldn't retract and your clutch wouldn't engage properly. It would be as if you were still holding your clutch pedal down.

Still, when you apply pressure to the cylinder it disengages the clutch. When you remove pressure from the cylinder, then the pressure plate engages the clutch due to spring action. There is no 'vacuum' function related to a hydraulic clutch linkage.

Of course, none of this has anything to to with the smell problem anyway. Seems that someone with a sensitive nose needs to figure out exactly where the smell is coming from.