Evening again

I have just been and picked up my ST MK2 after having an RS clutch installed due to the dreamscience remap slipping the clutch. Pretty much stalled it pulling away from the garage but managed to save it! Gave the car a bit of a thrashing to see how it coped and it did really well. No slip now and lots of power to the ground which is great. However just as I was getting out I noticed a bit of smoke dancing in the street light so I popped the bonnet to find that there was a dark smelly smoke gently rising from the new clutch area. There were no unusual noises whilst driving, no performance issues... Just this slow emitting smoke. The clutch flywheel kit was from a 16,000 mile RS so it's not a new clutch that needs wearing in. Could the smoke just be excess grease that's boiling away on the engine? Could it be that I just drove it too hard and probably not the way it should be driven especially given that I don't know how to use it as I did before? Let me know your thoughts, I hope it's not a permanent problem.

 

Clutch is a bit snappy when the RS is fitted to the ST. I would just watch it for a while. Its not a quick job to drop it out. Did you change the slave cylinder too ? thinking of it leaking on the clutch plate etc

 

Yeah it was definitely snappy, pull it up a bit and all of a sudden it just grabs onto the next gear. I got the sale cylinder thrown in as part of the kit I bought as that's what my mechanic advised. When I say I have the car a thrashing I really did, I haven't been able to gun it in 5th 6th gear for a while due to the slipping. I'll go easy on it on my next trip out and let the engine get warm gently.

 

Keep an eye on the brake fluid level, could be a leaking clutch cylinder?

 

If the under tray is not fitted have a look where the gearbox and the engine join together for signs of fluid.
As mentioned keep am eye on the brake fluid level and a check on the clutch pedal dropping over night although the latter can also point to a problem with the clutch pedal master cylinder/pedal box

 

Day two of new clutch and smoke issue is no more. I did drive it really hard, oops. Oh well live and learn, I'll be sure to treat it nicer from now on. As for the new clutch feel, really snappy and strong! A very nice feel to it and no slip whatsoever. I can now focus on getting an exhaust system and intercooler. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

Another thing to be aware of if you don't already know, is that as well as having a chocolate clutch as standard, the ST also has chocolate drive shafts! So if you are taking full advantage of all that extra torque on a regular basis and especially in the lower gears, be prepared for a possible failure. I've just had one fail myself and I give mine very little abuse!

 

Fortunately for me, I LOVE CHOCOLATE!

 

Not at £1500 a pair from Ford