Slipping clutch?

Is there any free play? You should be able to press the pedal quite easily about half an inch before it starts to firm up as it moves the clutch withdrawal mechanism. If there's no free play it's like going around with your foot slightly on the pedal.

Rob Graham

I knackered a clutch doing that! My driving instructor had tought me to drive with my foot always resting on the clutch pedal. I passed my test and then started driving my dads car within a couple of months it started slipping.

Good driving instructor! First thing I taught about the clutch was that the your foot was on the pedal in three situations only:- starting, stopping and changing gear. (The bit about manouvering at very low speed came later). For the non technical, describing a couple of pan lids pushed together gives a reasonable idea of what it does. Clutches used to wear in two ways.

1.When the carbon block release bearing wore down to the metal backing- caused by resting the foot on the clutch pedal. That one causes the clearance between the release plate and bearing to widen and produces loads of free play at the pedal.

1. When the clutch is slipped excessively (old lady in supermarket car park-screaming revs and little progress), which causes the friction lining to wear away. As the linings wear down, the release plate rises and closes the gap between the plate and release bearing, so there is no free play at the pedal. Nowadays all release bearings are roller/ball bearing (I think), so the worst that can happen by riding the clutch is that the lubricant burns away and you get that (typical of old Fords) symptom of rattling from the clutch housing which stops when you put your foot on the pedal. However, I heard that those Peugeots whose clutches disintegrated was caused by having hydraulic operation which ensured that the release bearing was always in contact with the plate. When the lubricant burned out the bearing got red hot, then seized - with interesting results. All egg sucking grannies, I apologise. DaveK.

The message from "davek" contains these words:

About the only thing I used to use the dual controls for was to stick my foot under the pedals to lever them upwards to show learners that they didn't need to keep their feet on 'em.

The message from "davek" contains these words:

Did that to an Allegro 1500 once. When I got the bearing out the outer was oval where it'd dropped when soft. I'd had to drive from the middle of the City to Harrow in a Friday afternoon rush hour with no clutch at all.

Maybe a dryed out oil seal which has now let a little through and onto the friction surfaces? Guessing here as I don't know the box / engine config at all!

I drove my carlton for several thosand miles in the condition you describe, until one day it decided it would slip all the time (I guess the last mm of friction material just got used up). It happened on a trip to Norwich and I was too scared to park in the underground carpark in case I couldn't get out! Anyway it managed the 20miles home OK!

Will

Another thing. If you want to nurse a clutch, remember that the higher the gear you are in the more likely it is to slip. So if you are going up a hill and press the accelerator more then you increase the chance of a slip and it would pay to change down. Same goes for hard acceleration - don't do it.

Also, once the clutch has got hot, probably because of slipping, the more it is likely to slip. So you may find you need to stop and let it cool down if it's got to that stage. Sometimes when hot they will hardly transmit any drive at all, but once they've cooled they work again reasonably well.

Rob Graham

Doesnt seemt to be worse, since i learnt to drive and if i have to change up(or is it down?) when going up hills i always blip the throttle, i now go up one hill in 3rd rather than 5th as it would slip etc.

not noticed that, seems ok. I even managed to get the tail out on purpose the other day racing a Evo 7 but i generally take it steady.

me too on this car.

Once had a car that was undrivable at all, this i can drive fine unless i put my fut done in a top gear, say i do that in third, or 2nd, a split second later it catches up and im off like a rocket. reminds me of turbo lag.

put a new clutch in it for christ sake

:O)

will do when i can afford it

"Julian 'Penny for the guy' Hales" wrote in message news:G%lDd.13116$ snipped-for-privacy@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

Shirley you could spend some of the TV money? How's your sister, by the way?

mrcheerful

i got gift vouchers, so now live in a green house

Prolly still as fat and ugly as before.

not sure, we fell out, she was trying to say a CPU was the whole tower and would listen to me when i said it was the proc.

CPU used to refer to the whole lump, so she is correct, but out of date. Some old educational type books refer to the whole base unit as the cpu.

definition from the web: "Central Processing Unit. Refers either to the principle microchip that the computer is built around (such as the Pentium or PowerPC chip) OR the box that houses the main components of the computer. "

So she is right, bless her!

mrcheerful

Is she? for the past 25 years or so i called the CPU the proc as in the central part. I need a new cpu, my AMD700 is too old and it seems everyone knows what im on ebout.

Shes stubborn, she takes after her mother........

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