wesleeptheylive

Is it true that if you are at a standstill and if you have your foot on the clutch(for example your at a red light and have your foot on the clutch ready to take off)that this will mess up the clutch? Or does is just promote clutch wear? I have the habbit of leaving my car in first at a stop light but how bad is this really for the clutch/drivetrain components?

TheMAN

no

ES2.0GT

I would say no, since your clutch is completely disengaged, it's just like normal use.

But, here's the catch, you don't usually put your foot on the clutch and brake at the same time correct? Usually your right foot is on the gas pedal, so when you roll back, you'll slip the clutch to keep from moving backwards, therefore causing wear on the clutch, whereas if you're out of gear with the brake depressed, you're not wearing anything.

That's my theory

JJB

I asked the same question (basically) a while back... the thread is at:

http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...&threadid=1282

Installshield

You should have the brake and clutch pedals pressed at a stop with a hill. You can let the clutch pedal out until it starts to grab, remove your foot from the brake and feather the gas while letting the clutch pedal out even more to get moving. DO NOT sit there, feathering the gas and holding the clutch for the remainder of the time you are stopped. That will definately cause premature clutch wear and could also glaze the flywheel, because of the intense heat.

ES2.0GT

I don't know if I'm reading wrong, but isn't that what I said? Slipping clutch bad to not roll back = bad?

Installshield

I don't know man....

OK, it will not hurt anything for the clutch pedal to be pressed to the floor. this disengages the clutch, meaning the friction surface of the wheel is basically not touching the flywheel (its more complicated than that, but just try to think of it that way for this) I think that is what you started this thread about, but correct me If I am wrong...

What I meant in my first post was that it is not good to use a clutch to remain stationary on a hill. You can have the car pointed up hill and hold the clutch and gas pedal at certain points to supply enough friction to hold the car stationary (not pulling forward, not rolling backward). It causes extreme heat in the bell housing and can glaze the flywheel surface which results in clutch slip, and deteriorates different parts of the clutch assembly quickly....

Only start to release the clutch pedal when you are ready to start moving. You can hold the clutch pedal to the floor, and put your right foot on the brake. Hopefully all this is obvious and I am just going on about stuff you already know...

JJB

Yes, you are both saying the same (and correct) thing. Holding the car on a hill by using the clutch and not the brake = new clutch components real soon.

That said the real question here is wether holding the clutch in whislt at a stop light is going to damage the clutch. After talking to a lot of people about this (including more than one mechanic at this point) I have found that the reaction is about 50/50. The reason to not do it is that there is additional wear on the thow out bearing when you do hold the pedal in. The question is how much? The few mechanics I have talked to seem to agree that the clutch itself usually will get worn out through regular wear before the bearing, and that if you are in there doing clutch work anyhow (i.e. you have payed to have the thing serviced) you might as well replace the bearing at the same time as it adds very little labor.

This same question was also addressed on the radio show "Click and Clack", in that case the caller was in an argument about which one was right with their spouse and wanted clarification. The brothers recommended that the person continue doing as they saw fit when they were alone, and do the oposite when the spouse was in the car to avoid the annoyance of having to deal with them


In the end I tend to put the car in neutral and release the clutch at what I know are long traffic lights, but for the shorter ones I leave it in gear.

ES2.0GT

I thought we were saying the same thing. Probably since I'm Canadian and we speak a different language up here in the arctic....

midnightblue97

This is MY reason for letting the car idle in neutral at a light with the clutch engaged.
First thing, it keeps the input shaft turning, keeping the the gears lubricated. It might not really be absolutely necessary, but it couldn't hurt. Next, The throwout bearing. They really aren't designed to be working for extended periods of time, and having the clutch disengaged is when they actually turn and it just promotes excessive wear. If they do wear out, its not likely that you'll find just a release bearing, thogh any auto parts store will be happy to sell you the entire clutch just so you can get the release bearing for it.
Take these comments with however many grains of salt you wish but that is MY reasoning behind it.

ES2.0GT

Sounds about right, but I think you got it backwards. Pedal to the ground Disengages the clutch, release the clutch pedal Engages the clutch.

EZ as 123

when you are waiting at a stoplight just put it in Neutral and hold the car by pressing the brake pedal with your right foot, and do the hokey pokey with your left foot....

As stated earlier, there will be no damage by just keeping the clutch pedal FULLY pressed down, but the bearings will wear out earlier in the life of the drivetrain to some extent.

TheMAN

wow, you so do not know how **** works

read this before you say anything else:
http://www.protegeclub.com/forum/sho...582#post109582

midnightblue97

No ****. I believe thats what I said.

midnightblue97

O.k. so most trowout bearings run constantly then. Whoopdee ******* do.
You're probably right but I still stand by my reasoning.