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Clutch Plate Problems – Troubleshooting What May Be Wrong With Your Clutch System

While many people know how to drive a manual car, surprisingly, most of them don’t understand how a clutch really works. Of course, many people leave that up to the mechanic, but it helps to understand what signs to watch out for and also, how to know when you need a clutch replacement or repair.

Having your vehicle serviced regularly will typically help manual drivers avoid most problems with the clutch. However, knowing how the clutch operates and when to have your vehicle serviced is important, too because it allows you to address the problem right away before the damage becomes more severe and considerably more costly.

How to Know if You Need Clutch Replacement or Repair

  • Clutch Slip: Over time the friction material on your clutch will wear out and when that happens the clutch will start to slip. It should be quite obvious when your car’s clutch is slipping when it shouldn’t be. With the clutch pedal fully out (i.e. not pressed at all), there should be no slip whatsoever. Slip can be identified by an unexpected increase in engine revs without any accompanying acceleration when your car is in gear, the clutch pedal is not pressed and you push the throttle pedal. It will also be obvious when you attempt to accelerate up a steep hill.
  • Clutch Judder: Clutch judder is most noticeable when setting off from a standstill. It manifests itself as a strong vibration rom the engine/transmission when you release the clutch to get the car moving. It is usually something like oil or hydraulic fluid that has somehow found its way on to the surface of the clutch itself and causing it to not grip properly or smoothly when engaging causing the juddering effect as it grips in part, then slips, then grips again and so on. It can also be caused by misalignment of the clutch or the flywheel being slightly warped or just being plain worn out or glazed to the point it’s not getting consistent grip.
  • Broken or stretched clutch cable – The cable needs the right amount of tension to push and pull effectively.
  • Leaky or defective slave and/or master clutch cylinders – Leaks keep the cylinders from building the necessary amount of pressure.
  • Air in the hydraulic line – Air affects the hydraulics by taking up space the fluid needs to build pressure.
  • Misadjusted linkage – When your foot hits the pedal, the linkage transmits the wrong amount of force.

Source credit: https://www.micksgarage.com/blog/clutch-need-replacing

How Long Is A Clutch Supposed To Last?

There are many factors that contribute to how long your clutch is likely to last. Clutches are designed to last anywhere between 70 000km – 150 000km, or maybe even more, but this depends on the quality of your car, how well you maintain it and your driving style. For example, if you do a lot of stop-start city driving, your clutch is likely to wear out sooner as you’ll be shifting between lower gears more frequently.

Need help troubleshooting clutch problems? Click here to get in touch with us today!

 

Source credits: https://www.mrclutchnw.com/blog/how-to-know-when-your-clutch-needs-replacement/

 

Cover Image Credit: IndiaMART

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