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Question:
I think my clutch might be going, how can I tell? or Is my
clutched burned out?
Answer:
The
reason why clutches go out in the first place is because of
the friction they constantly have to endure. A clutch is two
plates basically coming together (one a metal flywheel, the
other a sort of rubbery pad that can endure high amounts of
haet.) When you push the clutch in, they separate, and spin
freely of each other, much the same as when you are in neutral.
However the two pieces spin at different speeds. So when you
release the clutch, they have to come together and syncronize,
which is what causes clutches to eventaully wear down (fast
if you drive them hard or you ride them -- As in not release
it all the way before you give it a lot of gas or "hold"
the car on a hill using the clutch insted of the brakes).
When the clutch is released, these two peices come toghether
and syncronize letting the revolutions of the engine reach
the wheels (also why you cant have the car in gear and be
at a stop -- it stalls because the engine is turning trying
to give power to the wheels but if you are at a stop the brakes
are applied and the wheels cant turn, so the engine stalls
out.) So as stated before, clutches have to endure an amount
of friction when they come together.
Friction=heat.
If
your clutch is slipping that means its not catching as fast
as it should, resulting in too much extra friction.
Too
much friction=too much heat
Too much heat=burned out clutch
(And a really smelly clutch at that, when they heat up a lot
they let off a really distinctive smell that you'll never
forget).
So
if your clutch gets too hot from all this friction and slipping,
the rubbery pad starts to melt and glaze over (also leaving
a slippery residue on the metal of the flywheel), making it
so it doesnt catch all together. If this happens, the constant
slippage makes it nearly impossible to drive, because what
happens is you push the gas, the RPMs rev, and the car goes
nowhere.
So
theres a quick clutch lesson, and above all, when it gets
over heated it gives off this GOD AWFUL Smell....and its really
distinct. Once you smell it and identify it as clutch, you'll
never forget it.
If
you want to know if you've roasted and toasted your clutch,
try this (but be prepared to drive directly to where you have
your car serviced, because odds are if your clutch is fried,
you wont be able to drive it much after this):
Put the clutch in and rev the car to about 5 or 6,000 RPMs
or so, then quickly release it (the clutch)...if after that
you smell a really bad smell or your car is difficult to drive
(because the RPMs rev, and the car goes nowhere) then your
clutch is officially fried, and you need to get a new one
and have the one (metal) half of the clutch re-machined because
it will be all glazed over and unable to catch any new parts.
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