For those of you driving stick: Don’t rest your hand on the stick, it wears out the synchro rings. Also when standing still, don’t keep it in gear with the clutch pushed down, that wears out parts of the clutch assembly. Just put it in neutral and release the clutch.
I don’t know if this is actually true, but my mechanic friends keep banging on about it. In my experience other parts of the car wear out much faster. And most people don’t keep cars around more than 5 years. My own car is 11 years old and we have done SO many repairs on that thing. My girlfriend’s car is over 30 years old tho, we’ve kept that thing in tip top condition. It’s much simpler than my car so repairs are fast and cheap. It’s a Toyota so it should be good for 20 years to come.
Yes, if you ever replace your clutch and forget to put in the clutch bearing, you can hear how much of a difference is made by touching any part of your transmission controls.
Also, be gentle with your clutch pedal. If you break your clutch fork, you’ll possibly be unable to shift at all, or you’ll only be able to engage the clutch by manually lifting the pedal with your foot. If this happens and you have an adjustable clutch, you’ll find yourself shifting by navigating the longest clutch throw known to any consumer vehicle and end up with the world’s beefiest left leg.
Spend some time getting the jist of clutchless shifting and you might be able to continue using your vehicle if the clutch fails (depending on how it fails). Just expect to have to replace your starter if you need to use it to get going from a stop and expect to grind your gears at least a bit.
Yes, but when my old sunfire’s clutch went, it would still start when I pressed the clutch in, even though the pedal didn’t do anything. The master cylinder cracked, so it wouldn’t keep pressure to work against the springs pressing the clutch plates together.
The mechanism for that must have just been checking the position of the clutch pedal. If your car instead has a sensor right at the clutch plates, then it probably won’t work, though you’ll still be able to bump start it, as that bypasses the starter entirely. But you need either a hill (going down the same way you are) or people to give a push.
For those of you driving stick: Don’t rest your hand on the stick, it wears out the synchro rings. Also when standing still, don’t keep it in gear with the clutch pushed down, that wears out parts of the clutch assembly. Just put it in neutral and release the clutch.
I don’t know if this is actually true, but my mechanic friends keep banging on about it. In my experience other parts of the car wear out much faster. And most people don’t keep cars around more than 5 years. My own car is 11 years old and we have done SO many repairs on that thing. My girlfriend’s car is over 30 years old tho, we’ve kept that thing in tip top condition. It’s much simpler than my car so repairs are fast and cheap. It’s a Toyota so it should be good for 20 years to come.
Another great way to preserve the life of your clutch is to walk to the store. _
If you live within walking distance to a store, sure.
Yes, if you ever replace your clutch and forget to put in the clutch bearing, you can hear how much of a difference is made by touching any part of your transmission controls.
Also, be gentle with your clutch pedal. If you break your clutch fork, you’ll possibly be unable to shift at all, or you’ll only be able to engage the clutch by manually lifting the pedal with your foot. If this happens and you have an adjustable clutch, you’ll find yourself shifting by navigating the longest clutch throw known to any consumer vehicle and end up with the world’s beefiest left leg.
Spend some time getting the jist of clutchless shifting and you might be able to continue using your vehicle if the clutch fails (depending on how it fails). Just expect to have to replace your starter if you need to use it to get going from a stop and expect to grind your gears at least a bit.
I thought all modern cars disabled the starter unless the clutch is pressed.
Yes, but when my old sunfire’s clutch went, it would still start when I pressed the clutch in, even though the pedal didn’t do anything. The master cylinder cracked, so it wouldn’t keep pressure to work against the springs pressing the clutch plates together.
The mechanism for that must have just been checking the position of the clutch pedal. If your car instead has a sensor right at the clutch plates, then it probably won’t work, though you’ll still be able to bump start it, as that bypasses the starter entirely. But you need either a hill (going down the same way you are) or people to give a push.
How modern? I could roll start my 2012 WRX.
That’s not using the starter, just need to set the key to on.