1G Burning Rubber Smell

[CrackedDSM]

No idea where to put this, so I figured this was a great spot. As always mods, please move this thread if it's in the wrong section with my apologies!


Anyway:


So, I'm battling a burning/hot rubber-ish smell in the Talon after an extended(20-25 minutes+) drive. There's no smoke anywhere, not inside the car, not outside the car, nowhere. The clutch is not slipping or being overly slipped, there's no belt squeals. There's no catalytic converter in the exhaust, the engine has less than 500 miles on it so it's not carbon buildup, the alternator is brand new as are most of the belts. There's no belt material anywhere that I can find in the timing cover or in the engine bay. So maybe I'm just being overly paranoid...but does anyone else have this same issue? If you drive your car after like 25+ minutes and pull into a spot...are there any smells you can smell? I swear it smells like there should be smoke coming from somewhere, but there isn't.


My best guess is maybe brake pads or just the clutch itself breaking in? It passes the 7krpm clutch-in rev test and clutch itself has less than 300 miles on it(new clutch, PP, throwout bearing, and flywheel, all less than 300 miles). The brakes are all new-ish as well...I can't find any evidence of a brake caliper dragging either, however I'm not gonna rule that out as a possibility. Any ideas of where I can check or what I can do to narrow it down? Or is this normal and I'm just overly paranoid?

 

[DSMPT]

Things came to mind :

- Loose or bad aligned cam gear/timing cover. It would cause accessory belt/timing belt/cam gears rubbed. It melts plastic and makes burnt rubber smell.

- Viscous coupling unit is getting fried for some reason.

- Tire is rubbing with something.

- A new alternator sometimes causes smoke smell. If that's the case, it should disappear shortly.

.I can't find any evidence of a brake caliper dragging either

If it's dragging for long while driving, the brake rotor the one dragged goes to glow red or unusually hot after driving. If the parts around the rotor have grease or oil, it would cause smoke or sometimes it gets on fire.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Things came to mind :

- Loose or bad aligned cam gear/timing cover. It would cause accessory belt/timing belt/cam gears rubbed. It melts plastic and makes burnt rubber smell.

- Viscous coupling unit is getting fried for some reason.

- Tire is rubbing with something.

- A new alternator sometimes causes smoke smell. If that's the case, it should disappear shortly.


If it's dragging for long while driving, the brake rotor the one dragged goes to glow red or unusually hot after driving. If the parts around the rotor have grease or oil, it would cause smoke or sometimes it gets on fire.

I highlighted the two most likely culprits but also underlined the one I think is ultra most likely culprit. The metal plates that the lower timing cover bolts to are bent, and as a result the upper timing cover is cocked a bit. Gonna pull it off when I have free time and see if I see any new marks.