Is my clutch knackered?

Pull the handbrake on hard and see if you can get it to slip in 1st gear. That's the usual test. Alternatively full throttle in a high gear up a hill at medium revs.

If it's only just started doing it then it'll be fine for a few hundred miles with gentle use. Keep off the throttle and change down a gear if necessary to climb hills.

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish, unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

Didn't want to do the handbrake stall-test in case it's a bit too marginal and I end up with no car for a couple of weeks (the Golf is still off the road until I sort out the carb problems).

I have a fair climb up the A5 just outside Milton Keynes every morning, and haven't noticed any slippage if I floor it at around 4k rpm in top (so far).

Cheers - only 9 days to go (25 miles / day) plus 20 miles to my mechanic..... fortunately, the clutch is cheaper than I thought for it :-)

Check the pedal's got some free play in it, the clutch may just need adjusting.

A5 just outside MK, fair climb? I'm b*gg*ered if I can think where that might be. Take it down to Bow Brickhill would be my suggestion, it's about the only place for miles with semi-serious contours.

Heading out of MK towards Dunstable on the A5 the road climbs relatively steeply - not very steep, but it's a fair old drag - my old CG125 _really_ struggled up there.

;-)

It's hydraulic - and there's a bit of play in the top end of the travel.

Jesus!! 4K in top? That equates to 100mph in my car!! (2.0 Mondeo)

Al.

Can't remember where the redline is on mine (about 6250rpm), but Alfas tend to rev a fair bit higher than your average family saloon, so that equates to something like 85-90mph in mine. It's only just coming 'on cam' at 4k......

At about 30 in top, declutch and rev the engine to about 3000 rpm. Simultaneously drop the clutch and floor the throttle. The engine should come down to the road speed. If it speeds up release the throttle immediately before the smoke gnerator starts working. ;-)

Surely better in a high gear?

Hmmmm...... is there _any_ way to determine a clutch that's on it's way out without using a 'self distruct' technique?

I _really_ need it to last me the next 2 weeks - don't fancy commuting on the bike with the mornings as cold as they are at the moment :-(

Assuming you've tried all the tests others have suggested (and it sounds as if you have) - then what you describe sounds like changing-up on full throttle/high revs all the time - now don't take this the wrong way but

Think very carefully about when/how it happens and ask yourself, seruisly, "Am I being a bit clumsy here" .....

Cheers

I daren't try most of the tests, because, as I have said, I could do with a working car for a couple of weeks......

I don't really think it's my 'clumsiness' as I have only recently noticed this happening - although, it has to be said, gear changes on a RWD car with a rear-mounted gearbox are a little odd compared with a FWD car....... but I've managed to get them pretty smooth, even taking into account the knackered synchro on 2nd and the sloppy cable change ;-)

Interesting point - is the handbrake test supposed to be "passed" if the engine/clutch provides enough torque to the wheels to overcome the h/brake ? If you use a higher gear you require more torque - but, is it the case that a "good" clutch will fail this test and that is why they choose 1st. Trouble is, its a brutal test and wont help a tired clutch :-(

I think I prefer the "getting it to slip from static grip" approach - ie. max engine torque in high gear - and then immediately back off when it slips :-)

Do you think clutch manufacturers publish any figures on clutch capabilities ? I guess the only easy figure to quote is the torque figure at which it loses grip and starts to slip ( at some temp/humidity etc etc :-)

Do you match engine rpm to g/box input shaft speed when changing gear (up and down ) or do you slip the clutch a little ? In other words, can you achieve smooth changes even if you let the clutch out very quickly - indeed, it can be done clutchless. If the answer is yes, then I think that neglecting starts from rest, you are being pretty easy on the clutch. If not, and you make gear changes where there is a large differential speed between the engine and g/box input shaft, then you will pay the price of clutch wear.

Incidentally, if the clutch is ( as I suspect ) bolted to the flywheel, then I would imagine the added inertia of the propshaft must give the syncro a really hard time on that car. On the plus side - does it mean that the clutch is easier to get at on the rwd/rear g/box Alfas ?

Steve

I don't tend to hold onto the clutch during gear-changes - use the quickest 'dip' I can get away with - apart from 1st-2nd and 3rd-2nd due to the synchro.....

Not tried clutchless in this car - given that it already has a knackered synchro on 2nd, I don't really want to push it too hard.

The clutch is, ISTR, on the end of the prop-shaft.... but, yes, it's pretty easy to get to.

Sorry, I dont think I explained myself too well - I only meant the letting it up phase. I was trying to find out if you slip it during gear changes - this can cause a lot of wear, the classic example being drivers who change down at high engine speed and slip the clutch to avoid rear-end lock-up rather than blip the throttle to match rpm.

Overall it sounds like the clutch is getting weak - if it has more than 50k miles on it I would probably either nurse it for a bit or change the whole clutch. Nursing means :

- limit torque through it - eg. use lower gears for hills

- minimum slipping - eg. no fast pull-offs, no slipping it during up or down shifts

Good luck,

Steve

Oh, right, I _always_ blip to match revs on the downchange.

I can't find any documentation relating to a clutch change, so I reckon it's done 110k miles on the original clutch now. Well overdue a change, I'd have thought.

I'll get it done ASAP - but, I've 10 days of commuting to go before then