Looking for Good Tips from Pro's

BlkGrandAm · Post by **BlkGrandAm** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:57 am

What is the best way to try an fiqure out if the clutch on a car is good or not reason i ask is because i'm looking to buy a manual car privately i can drive manual but i'm not a pro who has been driving them every day for the last year or so please list some good tips

Thank you

Post by **jomotopia** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:30 am

get on a hwy on ramp and put it in 3rd at low revs, like lugging range. after the clutch is fully engaged in 3rd, floor it. if the revs shoot up and you go nowhere, the clutch is on its way out. if the engine struggles and you gradually accelerate in proportion to the revs rising, the clutch is fine.

Sypher · Post by **Sypher** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:41 pm

Or put it in 5th gear, rev it to about 2krpm and dropt eh clutch. It should stall rigth away

eaglecatcher · Post by **eaglecatcher** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:43 pm

what good does that do?

Audiphile · Post by **Audiphile** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:16 am

Here's another way to test the car to see how the clutch is doing: at full stop, put it into 1st gear and get the car rolling. If you notice that the clutch doesn't grab right away, it might be what's called a slipping clutch. Basically it's having trouble grabbing into gear. That's a sign that the clutch needs to be replaced.

Definitely if you are testing out the car, get someone who knows more about stick to go with you if you can. Otherwise definitely put the car through several paces to determine how the clutch is.

Actually if the clutch is good, shouldn't it grab in 5th? Stalling like that won't prove anything.

GSR · Post by **GSR** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:37 am

Determining if a clutch is bad can be done in two easy ways. put the E brake on. shift to 3rd. slowly bring the rpms up to 2000 and keep it steady. now release the clutch slowly, before you let the clutch up all the way you should have stalled. If the clutch made it all the way up and didn't stall you need to look for another car.

Or andother way would be to take it for a short ride forward a couple feet. Over and over again. you can do it right in the dealer lot. Then try to move the car up, stop, move it a little and stop. You should be able to do this with barely and gas, and the clutch should not have to come up all the way. If you see that you have to add lots of gas while holding the clutch at its friction point well first gears about to go for that car. But if you can travel forwards and back with the clutch alone, no gas. The clutch is perfect.

Dont forget to listen to noises when you clutch in and shift to first. There should be no types of whining sound. That would be your throw bearing.

Make sure the belts are tight. Get a complete tune up and tranny oil draine. They must drain, drive for a while, fill it back up, then repeat the whole precces. Unitl it is drained twice with new fluid. So you end up paying for six quarts of tranny fluid. two quarts for each drain, 2 drains = 4 quarts,,final fill up will cost another two quarts. Tell them specifcially to do it like this. Drain, fill, drive,drain fill drive,drain fill thats it.

BlkGrandAm · Post by **BlkGrandAm** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:12 am

jomotopia wrote:get on a hwy on ramp and put it in 3rd at low revs, like lugging range. after the clutch is fully engaged in 3rd, floor it. if the revs shoot up and you go nowhere, the clutch is on its way out. if the engine struggles and you gradually accelerate in proportion to the revs rising, the clutch is fine.

Well rather than a hwy ramp i could just do it on a side road travelling very slowly in 3rd and floor it and your saying that if the RPM's just start rising quickly and the car in going no where its toast but if the car is struggling to get up to speed it ok

Post by **jomotopia** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:26 am

BlkGrandAm wrote:
jomotopia wrote:get on a hwy on ramp and put it in 3rd at low revs, like lugging range. after the clutch is fully engaged in 3rd, floor it. if the revs shoot up and you go nowhere, the clutch is on its way out. if the engine struggles and you gradually accelerate in proportion to the revs rising, the clutch is fine.
Well rather than a hwy ramp i could just do it on a side road travelling very slowly in 3rd and floor it and your saying that if the RPM's just start rising quickly and the car in going no where its toast but if the car is struggling to get up to speed it ok

correct. i just say on a hwy on ramp so that you don't have to worry about stopping in the middle of your test for whatever reason.

Sypher · Post by **Sypher** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:59 pm

eaglecatcher wrote:what good does that do?

Well, if the car is still on, the clutch is going. 2000rpm is not sufficient for 5th gear to get the car moving, hence it will stall if your clutch is grabby

BikGrandAm wrote:Well rather than a hwy ramp i could just do it on a side road travelling very slowly in 3rd and floor it and your saying that if the RPM's just start rising quickly and the car in going no where its toast but if the car is struggling to get up to speed it ok

Actually, side streets arent really a good choice becuase if you do it on a highway onramp, yu can test throughout the whole rpm range, With the side streets, you cant because you dont have enough room or speed limit restrictions. Remember, jsut because it doesnt slip at low RPMs doesnt mean it wont at high RPMs

screenname · Post by **screenname** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:21 pm

Just dump the clutch in first gear to check to see if the clutch is on its way out. If it stalls right away, good. If it struggles a bit or doesn't stall, bad. It's as simple as that.

Grimey · Post by **Grimey** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:40 pm

Depending on the car, dumping in first might not always stall. Freeway method is preferable.

screenname · Post by **screenname** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:44 pm

Use second or third gear, then. Most cars will stall if you pop the clutch in first, including Corvettes. You should be able to decide which gear you're going to use to perform the test.

Dusty · Post by **Dusty** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:33 pm

dump it in first, if it leaps forward and dies good, if it leaps and keeps going, bad, or a big V8. ive poped a clutch a few times in my stang....and blew it once. btw, poping the clutch in a diesel dumptruck....bad idea. guy blew the motor on our mack last year doing that!

BlkGrandAm · Post by **BlkGrandAm** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:01 am

I've also heard that you could check the clutch by the amount of pedal travel they say if it catches as soon as you start letting of out the clutch it is good but if it catches almost near the end of travel that is bad some how i do not think this is the best way to test because i heard from others that even brand new cars somtimes do not catch until it is almost out

Whats your opinion

Post by **jomotopia** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:50 am

BlkGrandAm wrote:I've also heard that you could check the clutch by the amount of pedal travel they say if it catches as soon as you start letting of out the clutch it is good but if it catches almost near the end of travel that is bad some how i do not think this is the best way to test because i heard from others that even brand new cars somtimes do not catch until it is almost out

Whats your opinion

it depends on the car. some clutches grab low, some high, some in the middle. to use this as an indicator for clutch wear it's more important how high it engages compared to where it used to engage on the same car. if it grabs low, then suddenly starts grabbing high, the clutch has probably glazed or worn. but i think most cars these days have auto adjusting clutches to keep the engagement point at the same place through the whole life of the clutch.