Signs of Clutch going Bye Bye?

[VROOMCP]

How can you tell if your clutch is ready for retirement? I think I'll have to replace mine soon.

Thanks,

VROOOM3

[LateApex]

One way to test it is to do a simple acceleration run. Some people suggest you apply full throttle in 3rd gear from 1k-->5k while heading up an incline (like a hill). If the motor revs but your car's acceleration doesn't match the motor's then your clutch is on its way out.

Another way is to do a standing start. (make sure you turn off ACS) If you can't get a scratch (brief break in traction) in the 1 to 2 upshift, and your car doesn't surge forward immediately but rather bogs a little then weakly accelerates through 2nd, that's another sign.

I nursed a slipping clutch for more than a year in my old '95 M3. As long as I didn't ask it to do something unreasonable, it was fine.


-Apex

[VROOMCP]

LateApex,

I'll try those tests later today. Meanwhile, thanks for the response!


VROOOM3

[MDR]

I first noticed that my clutch was slipping after having driven up Hawthorne Blvd from Torrance to Palos Verdes. This is almost a straight climb, about 3 miles in length, up about 1800'. After doing one of these, I noticed a "burning" odor, similar to that of brakes being cooked. This only occured when going up this hill.

A few months later, I noticed that when accelerating from 3000rpm- 6000rpm in 2nd gear, that the motor would rev faster than the car would accelerate. Definite clutch slipping and time to replace.

MDR

[jorgeuva]

The hill test is great, and you might want to try this as well:

Get going about 30 mph and put it in fifth gear. Step on the gas and watch the tach. If the engine bogs, it's a good thing, but if the needle surges, it most likely indicates that the clutch is slipping.

[98M3Brian]

I was told by Orr Automotive that if the clutch slips too much, the flywheel will become heat checked. You then have to resurface it with no guarantees, or buy a new one!

[edboc]

I tried testing my clutch in August/September, and someone on here told me to do this:
Floor Clutch Pedal
Go into second gear
Hit the gas, and let go of clutch pedal
The car should stall immediately. If not, then it's slipping.
I don't know if this test is accurate at all.

[///M3ryder NY]

Originally posted by edboc
I tried testing my clutch in August/September, and someone on here told me to do this:
Floor Clutch Pedal
Go into second gear
Hit the gas, and let go of clutch pedal
The car should stall immediately. If not, then it's slipping.
I don't know if this test is accurate at all.

I have NEVER heard such a thing....sounds odd... The hill test or something similar is the way to go. When a clutches starts slipping you notice it in the higher gears first, then later on, as it worsens, the lower gears....

Similar to a hill test, simply traveling in 5th gear on the highway at a lower rate of speed than usual.....floor it....it the car doesn't accelerate proportionate to the RPMs rising, you know there is slippage...