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Clutch Failure Symptoms Often Include
Clutch Failure Symptoms Often Include
Clutch Failure Symptoms Often Include
The clutch connects theses two shafts, allowing for either to lock together and spin at the
same speed, or decouple and spin at different speeds. In most vehicles, the clutch sits
between the engine and the main driveshaft, modulating torque and power from the
engine to the wheels. Torque is simply any force applied at a distance. Its measured in foot-
pounds or newton-meters.
You need a clutch in your car because the engine spins all the time, but your car’s wheels
don’t. To stop your car without stopping the engine, you need a way to disengage the
wheels from the engine. Through the friction of the engine’s flywheel and the clutch disc,
you can engage your spinning engine to a sometimes-spinning transmission and visa-versa.
When you aren’t engaging the clutch the clutch’s springs push the pressure plate against
the clutch disc. This presses against the flywheel and locks the engine to the transmission
input shaft, causing both to spin at the same speed.
Keep in mind that if your clutch doesn’t release properly, it will continue to turn the input
shaft. This can cause grinding, and prevent your car from going into gear. Some common
reasons a clutch may stick are:
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.
Mismatched clutch components – Not all aftermarket parts work with your clutch.
CLUTCH FAILURE SYMPTOM 1:
CLUTCH PEDAL MAKES NOISES
WHEN ENGAGING AND
DISENGAGING
If you can hear a noise when you depress the clutch pedal or release it, or both when the
engine is off, its probably a problem with the clutch release mechanism or “clutch fork.”
The clutch fork is a hydraulic or mechanical releasing device that helps engage and
disengage the clutch. You’ll hear noises when lubricant dries out and the mechanism wears
down. A cable, rod or connection may also scrape and cause squeaking or clunking.
This grinding may point to any number of problems with the pressure plate, throw-out
bearing, or release mechanism. On a mechanical release system, the cable may be broken,
frozen, overstretched, or in need of adjustment. On a hydraulic system, grinding may
indicate problems with the clutch master cylinder, which could include low fluid, air in the
system or the internal cylinder mechanism needs replacement. Also examine the clutch
pedal assembly. The pedal may have too much free travel and will need adjustment.