RoTa7

how do you know when you clutch is going? what would you look for thats happening?

geargrabber

mine went out all at once when i was racing stop light to stop light on a Saturday night.


the clutch pedel went all the way to the floor and stayed there, i could not get the transmission to go into any gears.

classicauto

iTrader: (3)

look for shuddering/chattering during engagement, thats a good indicator
also slippage, say your going up a steep hill and you pound the gas, if the motor revs up but the car doesn't go any faster then it grabs it again when you let off, your clutch is going

1SxyRXy

that doesnt sound like a clutch problem geargrabber, more like hydro issues. you know when your clutch is going out when it starts slipping, so get in a high gear crusing around 40sih and floor it, another test is to pull your ebrake up all the way and put your car into 2nd or 1st and see if you can move

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

slippage or noise when the clutch is being applied (scraping or grinding noises).


most of the time the pressure plate springs begin to weaken to where they cannot hold a worn but not worn out clutch disc, the plate slips and wears prematurely until it grinds down to the rivets. it is the equivalent of riding the brakes, your pads won't last very long at that point.

RoTa7

when you say sliping can you go into more detail of what that mean and how to look/feel for that?

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

try shifting into second at lower than normal RPMs and put your foot to the floor after the clutch has fully engaged and see if the RPMs jump up at any time during the acceleration up until you shift into third. it is pretty easy to tell, if the engine races but you aren't moving then something is slipping..

bennettaru

believe me, you'll know if your clutch is slipping, there's no mistaking it for anything else.

bennettaru

When i let mine out it makes a screaching sound if the revs don't match, but it never slips, bloody annoying.

geargrabber

1sxyrxy, it was the clutch disc blown apart, ive already fixed it.

ive never had a clutch on its way out... mine always blow apart and end I up pushing the car to the nearest parking lot. i guess im really hard all the time with my cars.

13bSav

okay, well just a few minutes ago, i was drivin the 7 hard and i shifted a little beyond 7k(S4). and now when i gas it at low rpm's, it drops a slight bit. Is this a sign of my clutch going?

13bSav

^^ RPM's drop like 100-200 rpms before continuing to rise.

BLKTOPTRVL

Stop the car. Put it in first. Engage the emergency break. Slowly start to slip the clutch as if to move out.

If your clutch is near death, you will know instantly. Don't rev it ennough to actually burn the clutch out. Rev it just engough to see if it is slipping.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

if you floor it and dont go anywhere while the RPMS are rising, the clutch is going out (slipping)

RoTa7

when i'm driving and i clutch its kind of hard getting it into gear like from neutral to 1st and 1st to 2nd etc. is that a sign too?

Syonyk

Um...

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

Scoot! Read! Learn!

Difficulty shifting into gear is not likely to be clutch disk related. If the clutch isn't fully disengaging, it could cause that problem, but that's not really the clutch wearing out... possibly bad hydraulics or such.

Also, somewhere in the FSM is a "clutch test" - it goes through checking pretty much everything. I can't find it right now, but a few things are possibly helpful:
Reverse has no synchros. This makes it very useful, because if the input shaft is still rotating, you won't be able to get into reverse (and you can hear/feel it clearly). If you've had the clutch in for a while in neutral, and you can't shift into reverse without grinding, then the clutch isn't fully disengaging.

Also, the best "clutch wear" test I've heard involves being in 3rd or 4th at 4000-5000 RPM (right in the power band - our engines have no torque down low, so testing from an idle will only show if it's *really* worn). Floor it. If the clutch slips, you'll know it. If not, then it's probably not worth replacing yet.

-=Russ=-

LookThatsMe

you should know when its going bad you feel a difference like mentiond b4 it starts slipping, have to press pedal down more to catch gears, just get a ACT 4 Puck or Clutchmaters.

Ronald E. Jacques

I just got a light flywheel and ACT clutch installed, and the old clutch was totally worn, down to the point where the rivets that hold the friction material were shiny on the tops. I mean there was NOTHING left, and it never slipped at all, not a single bit. I can't imagine how the car would still move. So don't rely on slipping to prove your clutch is bad. If something doesn't feel right, check it yourself or get it checked so you DON'T end up stranded and chew up the flywheel or worse.

1SxyRXy

oh u didnt say it blew up, now thats a whole different story

nightmare77

have the car running in neutral,put the parking brake on, put it in 5th gear and release the clutch, if the car stays running your clutch is done, if it dies youve got hope