The M5 needs a new clutch, as it's starting to slip - not that bad yet but it is noticable. After 125000 miles, it probably needs a flywheel as well. I'm not in a position to find the 350 quid + labour for a few months.
Question is, apart from driveability suffering, can I do any permanent damage by continuing to use the worn clutch? Can anything go pop and make me wish I'd done it sooner and put it on the credit card?
If the clutch is hydrualic you could knacker up the cylinder , wreck the thrust bearing or just get yourself stranded and need a tow to the garage .
As the clutch slips it will generate vast amounts of heat its got to go somewhere .
As the clutch wont fully disengage the gearbox you could cause wear to some of its components
I don't see why the cylinder should suffer just because the clutch is slipping. Neither do I think the thrust bearing should necessarily suffer.
Yes, but only if you let it slip. Use the throttle delicately and make sure you change down sooner than you might normally have done, to nurse the thing. Slippage will be less in lower gears.
Once it slips and gets hot it will slip more easily. So if this becomes a problem on a journey, stop and let it cool down.
No, no. The problem is that the clutch is, if anything, disengaging too soon, or, to put it another way, not engaging enough. Have you had anything to do with clutches?
BTW, Steve, is the adjustment correct? If it's not, this might be why you are getting clutch slip. There should be free play on the pedal before it starts to disengage the clutch. If there isn't any you are likely to seriously damage it.
Rob Graham
Now would be a very good time to practice your clutchless gearchanges to avoid any further wear. Better for smooth driving as well.
Drive it gently, again better for smooth driving, it won't slip soi much, and your fuel economy will shoot up (for an M5).
You can enjoy it properly again when you can afford to get it fixed!
IME of worn clutches you can carry on driving it, until it gets to the point where the slipping clutch makes it undrivable. If you take it very easy, and back off at the merest hint of slip, and don't slip the clutch when changing gear, it 'could' last for months. And when you're starting from a standstill, keep the revs down, and fully release the clutch as soon as possible. I've done that for a couple of weeks. I wouldn't be very happy at the prospect of months. Maybe better to bite the bullet and get it done sooner rather than later. Mike.
Both can be damaged by the exess heat generated , the sealing rings in the cylinder will perish and the grease in the thrust bearing will eventually either melt or be burnt off
But the op points out that the clutch has already started to slip
Yes iin the past , it was not unusual for a failing clutch to jamb a car in one particular gear or cause the gears to crash
Im not the op
I've never yet found a new flywheel necessary on any clutches I've changed. But then, I'm not a professional motor mechanic and not doing this every day.
Rob Graham
Unlike the car. Pretty soon the clutch will slip to the point of not driving, it's a process which can only get worse. Quickly.
????? I think you're confusing slipping and dragging.
Steve
Flywheels can warp if subject to rapid heating and cooling , they can sometimes have stress cracks in them too ,or the teeth can be worn .
If they are just warped slightly they can have the high spots skimmed off
The descion is often down to probablity of possible failure as apposed to the replacement cost whilst the gearbox is off and clutch being replaced or it failing in the future .
It is quite rare for a flywheel to fail these days its more often the case that they have broken or worn teeth
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember TD saying something like:
Drive it gently to keep the slip absent and it'll last for thousands of miles yet. I've done this in the past with some s**te old motors and it did work fine. Of course, it depends on your daily drive - a lot of stop/start won't do it any favours.
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