I just bought a 93 2.3 5-speed with 60,000 on it. Almost every time I launch, I notice a very strong, bitter smell for a few seconds. I'm guessing burnt clutch, but I've never burned the clutch in any of the manuals I've had before, so I'm not sure. I spend less than a second letting out the clutch pedal when doing this and generally have it under 1000 RPM. It shouldn't be burning that fast should it? The sweet spot between killing it and seemingly burning the clutch is incredibly small, making for a frustrating drive.

I've noticed a few drops of clear fluid dripping off the rear of the bell housing, smells like the "burning clutch" smell when I launch, but more subtle. Looks like brake fluid I guess, but neither reservoir has noticeably gone down. Clutch pedal has minimal play and is firm.

Clutch doesn't slip when driving. RPM stay steady when I get on it.

Also, tach shows idle at about 500, is that too low?

Any Ideas?

 

Clutch disc is probably contaminated, thats what you smell, it has absorbed something and that something has a low vapor temp, so when clutch disc heats up during start off you smell it.

Could be Slave was leaking and person you bought it from changed it but left pressure plate and clutch disc as is.
The drip is the last remaining clutch fluid(brake fluid) left in the bell housing.

That's assuming clutch reservoir doesn't start to get lower, which would mean a current slave leak.

Only fix is to put in a new clutch.