Have I ruined my clutch?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hello,



I was towing about 2000 pounds up a steep, rutted, unpaved road with my Toyota Tacoma 4 X 4 this afternoon. I had it in high four-wheel drive and first gear. It stopped moving forward and when it came to a stop there was a lot of foul-smelling smoke coming from underneath the cab. I put it in low four-wheel drive and drove home without a problem. Everything seemed to work just fine for the next 15 miles at which time I was home and parked it.



Was that smoke from my clutch? If so, do you think I ruined it, damaged it, or wore it badly? If it wasn’t my clutch, what do you think it might have been?



Thanks,

Jas

2

My guess is the clutch was slipping, and burning. You have shortened its life a bit, but if you’re lucky that’s all.

You probably should have been in low range.

3

Thanks, I guess that’s what it was. Yeah, it did fine after I put it in low 4X4. Now I’m wondering what sort of symptoms of early clutch trouble I may experience after smoking my clutch this way.

4

If the clutch is not slipping under normal use, I don’t think you should worry about it. If it starts slipping, then you will need a new clutch.