[QUOTE]Originally posted by BellevueS2k
I drove about 50 miles at 70 mph then a few more miles on residential streets before parking it in my driveway with the parking brakes on. There was no hard braking at any time.

 

Wait a minute...your question is confusing. Did you drive it with the parking brake on, or just park it and apply the brake?

 

Yep, I'd agree that if the parking brake was applied only on parking the car in the driveway, the problem isn't the brakes but the clutch (maybe too much slipping - high revs with little motion).

The reverse gear ratio is 2.800:1 compared to 1st gear's 3.133:1 - not a big enough difference to explain why use of reverse could explain a smoked clutch. For someone who's a newbie witth manual transmissions, maybe...