I work from home, so I don't drive it too much, but a while back, I was getting a burning smell after driving for about 20 minutes. I thought it was friction around the clutch plates. It shifts fine, however there is some play in the clutch pedal, and the pin on the clutch master cylinder is falling out occasionally. I can pop it back in the floorboard and it works again. I can take it on short jaunts, but I wouldn't drive it more than ten miles from home with the way it's acting.

I'm going to put it in the shop, but I wonder if these are separate issues manifesting at the same time, or does one affect the other?

 

How many miles on that clutch? Does the clutch ever slip, revs rise but speed not so much?

Excessive pin clearance doesn't sound good but it may also be a symptom of the mechanism no longer able to self-adjust with wear on the plate.

 

That sounds plausible. Thanks.

 

Hmmm - if the clutch doesn't slip then it doesn't explain the burning smell, only slippage will cause that, not normal usage at all.

The pin clearance is still an issue though.

 

136000 miles it is a wonder there is any clutch friction material left most are gone by 60 -70000 miles

 

I marvel at that myself. The mechanic who inspects it annually is amazed.

 

It passed inspection. The burning was from leaking oil. I'm going to put Liqui Moly on the next change and see what happens. I have a new clutch master cylinder that I'm going to swap in shortly, but the pin is held in by a zip tie at the moment, with no more falling out.

 

The pin that falls out, how long is it?

 

Here's the new one that I put in, next to the one that failed yesterday. Hurray, Ford Motor Co, for crummy design and cheap materials. Yes, that's plastic.