I've never had to replace a clutch before, and I don't need to now. But, since I have no experience in this area, I wonder how can you tell when you might be starting to have problems with your clutch? I mean, what are the warning signs? I don't want to drive it into the ground and get stuck somewhere. What is the preventive maintenance?

Thanks....

 

Watch for clutch slippage.

 

Clutch slippage. You will see your rpms going up without the relative increase in speed. Letting it slip by not shifting down will probably make it wear out faster.

 

When you have problems with your clutch, you will know it... generally when your clutch is getting worn you will start to notice it slipping when you're trying to accelerate... and you can get it replaced before it strands you. Preventative maintenance is driving the car properly. A lot of city driving will wear the clutch out faster than a lot of highway driving. On the highway... the clutch should outlast the engine.

 

Supposedly, early symptoms of clutch and pressure plate failure includes the above and the top gears (6th first then 5th) starting to grind a little bit. I'm not sure, but I heard the worn out clutch/pressure plate can cause the synchros to not work properly. Anybody want to verify this?

 

You'll start getting some slip in high gears first... then it creeps to the lower gears. I've never experienced grinding with a slipping clutch.

 

That's just what I was told, which is why now I'm in the market for new clutch and pressure plate. And if I was slipping, I'd know, especially since I drag race (during season) and on the highways, I don't downshift much and I leave it in 6th to pass or speed up.

I wonder if I can order a clutch kit and then not open it until the mechanics in the dealerships confirm I NEED a new clutch/pressure plate. If I don't need it, then I guess I'll return it.

 

Push starting your car will wear out a clutch infinitely faster... as well as fracture (or break the tips) of your flywheel, as well as numerous other bad things to your engine. Also, if the clutch goes to the floor but the gear is still engaged, that's bad. And if there is a burning fiberglass smell every time you turn off the car, that's bad. And if you let the clutch out when the car is running and it dies.. that's bad.

 

I would get it anyways with a light flywheel. It makes an awesome difference and it's on less thing to worry about later.

 

And don't forget to match RPM's when gearing down.

 

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate the knowledge you share.

 

Lately I've been getting a squeak when going into 5th and coming out of 6th. Could that be a sign that i have clutch wear?

 

no

 

If you want to test your clutch for very early signs of slip, here is a good method:

Find a steep hill and start at the bottom. Drive up the hill and place the tranny in the highest gear possible without stalling. Floor the gas. If you see or feel a slip, then you know your clutch life is short. I test this a couple times a year. So far, with 60K miles, everything is fine.

Why does this work and show EARLY signs of slip?

Because you are on a steep hill in a high gear, the force on the clutch is as high as it gets. If your clutch slips in this situation, but not in regular driving, you have an early sign.

Pretty easy test too, unless you live in Kansas (i.e. no hills).

 

Most of the time the when the clutch is near its end of life the pedal effort wll increase. Alot of people dont notice this because they get use to it as the clutch wears.

The big problem with letting a clutch go to long is that as a clutch wears, the pressure it takes to release it increases do the fulcrum point in the PP changing.

When you take more pressure to release the clutch most of the time it will not release the clutch completely. This is one of the main causes of premature syncro wear.
If you dont release the clutch all the way you are making the syncronizers work harder to speed the next gear up to the shaft speed of the trans.

The other way to know has been mentioned. Drive at low rpms in a high gear and stomp it. If it slips you need a new one.


Hope it helps.