How many miles do you get out of a clutch?

[Ken McGuire]

When I had a 1967 Ford Cortina GT (many years ago) the clutch didn't last long by today's standards and had to be replaced at about 40-50,000 miles. I would have to put that down to the car itself, but more importantly my ambitions to be from time-to-time either a Formula I star or Drag Race superstar all at the same time on the street. Later with more advanced, modern cars and more experience behind the wheel, I've never replaced a clutch.

[MrObsessive]

I have an '04 Saturn Ion Coupe that just turned over 125,000 miles and is still on the original clutch. One thing I learned years ago, is to not leave the clutch pedal depressed down to the floor when sitting at a stoplight or sign.........this can wear out the bearing. I also learned to let the car coast to a stop and let the brakes do the slowing down. Much cheaper to replace brake pads, than to replace a clutch.

Some folks have the bad habit of letting their foot rest on the clutch between gear changes............bad news! You're also wearing out the clutch/bearing doing this as well. I also got into the habit quite a few years ago of taking my foot completely off the clutch pedal between gear changes.

My car's clutch still engages with the pedal barely off the floor, so it still has lots of life left in her.

[Harry P.]

I never understood why some people downshift to slow down a car. There's a reason that a car has a braking system, and the clutch isn't a part of it!

[Kit Basher]

I never understood why some people downshift to slow down a car. There's a reason that a car has a braking system, and the clutch isn't a part of it!

I was taught to do it to save the brakes. Then it was pointed out to me that brakes are cheaper than clutches. Now I drive like Mr. Obsessive.

Edit: Downshifting is necessary when driving a truck like the one in my avatar.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Kit Basher

[Dragline]

My Grandfathers 1964 Pontiac tempest still has its original clutch. So about that long.

Bob

[Harry P.]

I was taught to do it to save the brakes. Then it was pointed out to me that brakes are cheaper than clutches. Now I drive like Mr. Obsessive.

Edit: Downshifting is necessary when driving a truck like the one in my avatar.

"Saving" the brakes by putting unnecessary stress/strain/wear on the whole drivetrain? I can't imagine why anyone would teach that.

Downshifting may be normal when driving a truck, but completely useless driving a car. I've been driving manual trans cars since 1984... I have never had to replace a clutch. Probably because I have never used downshifting to slow the car.

[rmvw guy]

I never understood why some people downshift to slow down a car. There's a reason that a car has a braking system, and the clutch isn't a part of it!

It always made the glass packs sound good when I was a teenager. Also shifting down will slow down a vehicle some and if the brakes are bad, well you need a brake shop. I was tough on clutches when I was a teen. My 2000 Beetle has 132,000 miles on the clutch so far. Hate to think of pulling the engine or what ever they do now days. We could change one in a couple of hours back in the old days.

[JM485]

When i got my 86 toyota pickup, one of the first things my dad told me was to not strain the drivetrain. That meant not to ever use the engine to slow the truck since it is a lot easier to replace pads than a drive train part. It could be that you have a small rear main seal leak that is contaminating your clutch's friction surface. Since it is a dry system, unlike a lot of motorcycles, this could be causing your slip. It could also be that there was a bit of contamination when your friend replced it, if he did not bother to clean it.

[Prostreet]

MY DD 94 subaru legacy original clutch 108000

[Casey]

Some folks have the bad habit of letting their foot rest on the clutch between gear changes............bad news! You're also wearing out the clutch/bearing doing this as well. I also got into the habit quite a few years ago of taking my foot completely off the clutch pedal between gear changes.

It depends upon the clutch linkage, the "slack" in the linkage/cable, and the ratio between the clutch fork and clutch pedal linkage. Almost every street driven vehicle has a certain amount of "dead" movement between the position when the pedal is at rest and when the clutch disc starts to grab on the flywheel, so simply resting your foot on the clutch pedal isn't going to hurt anything, unless the clutch disc has already fully engaged with the flywheel. Sometimes most of the "slack" can be adjusted out, and sometimes not.

I've replaced and removed ten clutches/pressure plates/throwout bearings in my life, and never have I seen a frozen or failed throwout bearing, but I agree that there are steps you can take to reduce premature wear. Pilot bearings/bushings are another wear item, but hearing of them fail is rare in my experience, especially for a street driven vehicle which sees no hard (towing, drag racing, clutch dumps, etc.) usage.

A complete clutch setup (clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing) isn't all that expensive to be honest, at least for the more common applications, and a set of premium ceramic brake pads can run you over $100 if you're not choosy, so brakes may or not be much cheaper.

It could also be that there was a bit of contamination when your friend replced it, if he did not bother to clean it.

Or the flywheel was not machined/trued when the new clutch (and pressure plate?) was installed. I have heard of people cheaping out and replacing only the clutch disc itself, leaving the worn pressure plate in the vehicle. A few greasy finger prints on the disc facing are never a good thing, either.

Labor is where the real expense is when changing a clutch setup, especially compared to changing brake pads/shoes, so if you're not into DIY, use the brakes. If you like DIY and trying to get that snap ring in an A-833 compressed enough to the get mainshaft and gear cluster free from the tailhousing, by all means, downshift to slow down.

[mikemodeler]

If you want to truly be smart about your vehicle and it's components (this coming from a NAPA employee!), let off the gas and let the vehicle slow itself down without using the brakes or clutch. After 25 years I have given up trying to get the wife understand this but I still drill it into the heads of my teenagers as there is some hope for them.

I drive many highway miles- 160,000 over the last 5 years- and my Toyota Camry has 5 mm left on the original rear brake pads and 3 mm left on the front brake pads. I use the engine to slow the car whenever possible, probably why the brake pads are in the shape they are.

In all of my driving over the years, I have done very few brake jobs on my vehicles and never replaced a clutch in the truck I had as my first vehicle and put 110,000 hard miles on that baby!

[Sam I Am]

I have never needed a clutch in any car ..

Ditto, no matter what the car/truck, and it did not matter how whoever had it before me drove it. I have never had to replace the clutch while I owned it. Must not be just me either, my father-in-law drives truck, In 30+ years and four different trucks, the shop never replaced a clutch in any of his. They all had 300,000+ on them

[charlie8575]

I've never had to replace a clutch....then again, I can't drive stick.

Charlie Larkin

[Skip]

I do mostly highway / freeway driving with about 30% around town or stop and go. Always been pretty easy on clutches even in Hot Rods and Muscle cars. You don't have to dump the clutch to make a car go fast. Just makes heat cracks on the flywheel, spins the clutch and tires, both will get you in trouble one way or another!

I knew an old Porsche / VW mechanic who was a speed demon on the Auto-X circuits, he never speed shifted ever, he used turn in some pretty fast and impressive times too. I asked him about it once, his reply was something like, "You have to shift like Lawrence Welk! You know ah one and a-two shift". It took a second or three to figure out what he was saying, off gas, clutch in, count one, then two, (pause) move the gearshift up to the next gear, slowly let out clutch, on gas and go until the gear is used up then repeat... I tried it on my old daily driver VW and it smoothed things right out from when I was trying to manhandle / speed shift it even with a weak second gear syncro. Been driving that way clutch since, it's noticably added to clutch life. My German and English cars have all appreciated this too with their fiddly at times transmissions.

1993 Toyota 4WD Pickup 118,000 original clutch, rear brakes replaced front pads at 90K just to be sure, it's never been babied and hauld some heavy loads.

2001 VW New Beetle (Turbo 4cyl) 92,000 original clutch getting ready for front pads, rears are like 60% still.

1989 Honda CRX had 60K on it when I bought it replaced the clutch at 230K only because the rear main seal leaked oil on it.

1988 Honda Accord original clutch in it when it was sold at 290K.

1971 Mini Cooper replaced clutch at rebuild 50K ago, lots of spirited driving and a few Auto-X laps, no signs of letting up!

Edited to correct spelling, typing error there are probably others!

Edited February 1, 2013 by Skip

[oldcarfan]

I currently have 233,000 on my Focus.

[Rob Hall]

Depends on the car and how it was driven.. my '86 Mustang LX still had the original clutch when it was totaled w/ 75k miles, my '88 Bronco II still had the original clutch at 92k when I traded it, but I did replace the clutch in my '87 Mustang GT at about 60k miles. My '96 BMW M3 still had the original when I sold it w/ 75k miles.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Rob Hall

[Ace-Garageguy]

I never understood why some people downshift to slow down a car. There's a reason that a car has a braking system, and the clutch isn't a part of it!

Maybe a little automotive history will help. When the majority of cars still had drum brakes, they couldn't dissipate heat as quickly as vented discs can, and were prone to 'brake-fade' as the linings lost effectiveness with increased temperatures. After several stops, or on a long downhill grade, you could find yourself with a lot of pedal pressure, but no stopping. Downshifting was encouraged to lessen the strain on the brakes in situations like these (referred to as 'engine-braking', and taking advantage of the engine's tendency to resist rotating when the throttle is closed, due to compression). Yes, it's more wear on the drivetrain, but money spent on premature repairs may be preferable to hospitalization or death (and the inevitably-associated pain) when the brakes simply fail to stop the vehicle. Same reason heavy trucks were required to 'use low gear' on many downgrades, probably why downshifting is still encouraged. Early cars with automatic gearboxes also recommended using S or L range on long downgrades for the same reason.

Competition driving and spirited on-highway driving make use of downshifting to keep the car's engine on or close-to its torque peak for rapid acceleration out of a turn, and to aid in braking (again, in competition, brake-fade was often a serious problem). A competent driver is capable of matching the engine revs to the drivetrain revs, limiting slippage to almost nothing during downshifting, and contributing little to clutch wear (especially when one considers that parts like brakes and clutches get replaced between competition events). In competition it's often the case that cars are 'danced' through a turn, instantly alternating between braking and accelerating. Leaving the clutch engaged then is only sensible.

Listen to the sounds from in-cockpit in the top of the pile, sequentially-paddle-shifted Formula 1 cars, and it's instantly apparent that the engine's compression is STILL being used as an adjunct to the vehicles brakes for modulating deceleration. Downshifts are virtually instant, but the engine-braking effect is still transmitted through the clutch.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy

[blunc]

about the only time I needed a clutch was to get moving from a dead stop, after that it was all syncros and a good feel for the engine revs, except in my TR4, no syncro in first gear.

[blunc]

I once had to drive a fiat 124 spyder thru two cities with no clutch because the clutch pedal broke from the pivot rod, I only had to start it in gear once on that trip thru city traffic.

[MsDano85gt]

I have a 04' saturn Ion "redline" also referred by many as a Lsj cousin to the cobalt ss

Its a easton supercharged powered 2.0 ecotec with a saab 5 speed tranny -Although I do t know the previous owner(s) of the car think it was only one and their driving habbits the car is now at 99,800 miles I have not replaced any major mechanical components of the clutch-drivetrain however I did have to replace the pedal assembly itself ( who in their right minds uses a plastic pedal assembly for a clutch)?? Long story short I'm sure its the original equipment and its headin for the 100k mark I've been no saint either, hard launches sometimes (love to hear the supercharger) and do ocaationally downshift (always wait till lowest possible rpm's)my exhaust sounds like popcorn when you downshift

[jas1957]

Depends how it is driven, had a '88 Mustang LX 5.0 sold it with 90,000 & the original clutch. Junked a '95 Saturn a year ago, 108,000 & original clutch also. Replacing one is not the easiest job so I tend to baby them. The longer I can get away without replacing one the better. I wouldn't want to even think what a shop would charge to do that job.

[Aaronw]

I have 270,000 miles on my Tacoma, and as far as I know it is the original clutch (bought it used with around 60,000 miles on it). Oh, and I use the engine to slow down, a habit from mountain driving where it is something of a neccessity if you don't want to end up at the bottom of a canyon.

I'm not sure why that is considered bad, it is encouraged in trucks and they even make exhaust brakes so diesel engines can do it.

[diymirage]

i had a real nice 03 VW passat with a 1.8 turbo in it

i had the ECU flashed so the engine would spike at 18 PSI and hold 17 ALL DAY LONG

everytime i hit 3200 RPM it felt liek being rearended by a semi

having said that, the clutch was gone by 100K miles

[Harry P.]

Maybe a little automotive history will help. When the majority of cars still had drum brakes, they couldn't dissipate heat as quickly as vented discs can, and were prone to 'brake-fade' as the linings lost effectiveness with increased temperatures. After several stops, or on a long downhill grade, you could find yourself with a lot of pedal pressure, but no stopping. Downshifting was encouraged to lessen the strain on the brakes in situations like these (referred to as 'engine-braking', and taking advantage of the engine's tendency to resist rotating when the throttle is closed, due to compression). Yes, it's more wear on the drivetrain, but money spent on premature repairs may be preferable to hospitalization or death (and the inevitably-associated pain) when the brakes simply fail to stop the vehicle. Same reason heavy trucks were required to 'use low gear' on many downgrades, probably why downshifting is still encouraged. Early cars with automatic gearboxes also recommended using S or L range on long downgrades for the same reason.

Competition driving and spirited on-highway driving make use of downshifting to keep the car's engine on or close-to its torque peak for rapid acceleration out of a turn, and to aid in braking (again, in competition, brake-fade was often a serious problem). A competent driver is capable of matching the engine revs to the drivetrain revs, limiting slippage to almost nothing during downshifting, and contributing little to clutch wear (especially when one considers that parts like brakes and clutches get replaced between competition events). In competition it's often the case that cars are 'danced' through a turn, instantly alternating between braking and accelerating. Leaving the clutch engaged then is only sensible.

Listen to the sounds from in-cockpit in the top of the pile, sequentially-paddle-shifted Formula 1 cars, and it's instantly apparent that the engine's compression is STILL being used as an adjunct to the vehicles brakes for modulating deceleration. Downshifts are virtually instant, but the engine-braking effect is still transmitted through the clutch.

Not much of that, if anything, translates to everyday driving. Not a whole lotta F1 cars being driven back and forth to work or the mall. Not many "daily drivers" getting a new clutch after every run to the 7-11.

Downshifting to slow a car in real-world, normal driving is pointless and counter-productive. Every car has a braking system, that's what's meant to slow/stop the car.

[Junkman]

Miles????

1320 feet.