Millsy088

Hi there, so i did a thing yesterday, it was super wet and i was in a desolate area with no one else to be found, so i thought it would be the perfect time to try a burnout, knowing that my car is super underpowered. i put the handbrake on then revved it up to 6k and then released the clutch, didnt dump but also didnt slip too much, and after it was in gear (1st) i bounced it off the limiter for about 5 seconds with the speedo at 30mph at a standstill, then did a peel off. there wasnt too much smoke because it was so wet, and the car drove fine afterwards. this morning when i got in to go to work i noticed that the bite point was right up at the very top of the clutch pedal throw and that when changing gears it would occasionally slip and rev the engine before fully engaging, even though i let off the clutch fully. now i am completely aware that doing a burnout is a stupid idea that is gonna put wear and tear on my car but i chose to do it anyway, and i know that my clutch is pretty gone after it, my question is, from what ive said, did i smoke my clutch by doing a burnout wrong or just because it was the original clutch with 112,000 miles on it? thanks.

BrotatoChip

You sure the clutch pedal is fully released? Clutch fluid level good? I would expect the original clutch to last longer than that if driven properly.

Millsy088

yeah if we are talking about the actual burnout, I removed the clutch fully, quite quickly without making the car lurch forward, I haven't cheched the clutch fluid, theres no record in the maintainence booklet of it ever gettting new clutch fluid , as I got it second hand at 175,000kms~ 110,000miles. I've got an actual video of the burnout if I can post it here. It isn't much but might give insight into what I did. Also I thought clutches last anywhere for 60,000 miles to like 150,000miles iso it could have easy already been due for one, who knows?

Millsy088

Update:
Today I checked the clutch fluid and it looks terrible. Like chocolate milk or muddy water. Went through a full 500ml bottle of dot 4 and the fluid is still coming out dirty. Could this have caused any damage? I'm extremely disappointed as I had a family friend mechanic check the car before I bought and this looks like it's never been changed. See image below.

Millsy088

this is the fluid that i bled out, so it must have been even worse before it was mixed with the new fluid (i also put 150ml fresh fluid in the bottle before i started the bleed to stop air from being sucked up)

Colin42

Just looks like old clutch fluid, keep bleeding. Mechanic is only going to check that the clutch works, 95% aren't going to check the fluid

Millsy088

Alright I'll keep bleeding it, but in context to my brake fluid that needed changing that was much much cleaner with no particles in it. Is that just how old clutch fluid looks? And in my service book it hasn't been recorded that it has ever been changed, is it okay since the clutch works? (Or used to work before hahaha)

FRSam

Clutch fluid is one of those things that people will never replace. They won't replace it unless it becomes a problem, which is rarely is.

Millsy088

​​​​​​Interesting, is it a good idea to change when I change my brake fluid or is that just unnecessary? Because I can't imagine that fluid doing the clutch any favours

Millsy088

And it also seems pretty clear that the clutch fluid was still doing it's job, as after a test drive there is no improvement