95 Corolla 1.8 oil usage

I agree with your guess as to the cause. A look at the fouled spark plug would confirm this.

It seems like 75,000 miles is kind of early to wear out a clutch unless you do a lot of stop-and-go driving and slip it a lot when starting and/or like to downshift a lot. If you have only replaced the front brake pads once, then I recommend that you use the brakes to slow down the car instead of downshifting. Brake pad replacement is a lot less expensive than clutch and synchro ring and hub replacement.

As far as driving it, you might want to try one a top end cleaner available at some auto parts stores the next time ytou change your oil to see if it alleviates the problem. If not, then just keep driving it.

It is a lot of clutch wear. My daughter never ran it out of oil, so who's to complain. This is my putt-putt go-to-work car now, after daughter got a new Xa Scion. Hate to teach kids to drive on an auto trans even if it costs a clutch.

Cleaner, you think? The oil never gets too dirty, and it seems a shame to recycle it at 3000 miles. Sure worth trying though. Thanks

Say no more - young drivers tend to be tough on clutches, whether they drive very conservatively or aggressiveley.

Most of those engine cleaners are added to the oil just prior to changing it. Add it to the engine, run for a few minutes, and then drain. Some service facilities offer something called Motor Vac that i've heard good things about. I have no idea what the cost is, the engine cleaners that you add before changing the oil is somewhere around $3.00.