clutch problems last week :*(

[SilverRedLine04]

hey everyone!

i have an 04 RL cars been running strong with no problems. the other day i thought the clutch felt a little soft. itd also engaging super high. I was talking to my one manager at work and i mentioned to him i think this car isnt going to be one of the rare cars that the clutch can last 100k plus. he said "yeah, i thought it felt a little high last week"

i let him drive it.

so anyway last week i went to put the car in 5th at a low speed and i kinda babyed it in nice and slow and what do i hear! grind!!! it did it about 3 times that day and than like once the day after that.

i heard that if you drive a car super nice for awhile you can wear off alittle of the burn if your clutch is dammaged.

i dont hard core launch this car ever, a little stop and go hear and there and i like to redline 1st now and again.

so after about 3 days of babying it its starting to feel better and no more grinding 5th. im puzzled about this, i only have 13,700 miles on this car, think i should take it in to the dealer???

keith-

[SilverRedLine04]

i used to take nice long drives with my car now im so worriod about my clutch im constantly being super nice to it. WTF could all this be in my head?

any comments would be aweasome

keith-

[Freakazoid]

it very well could all be in your head.
when you start to get paranoid you start to subconsciously do things differently. i.e. you could be expecting a problem, and subconsciously 'forcing' a problem to exist. The grind could easily have you been doing something 'stupid' when engaging the clutch, not engaging it fully, etc etc.

I wouldn' tworry about it unless it becomes a continual or repeatable instance

[SilverRedLine04]

what are the symptoms for when its about to fail?

bad slippage then failure?

see my dad had my car for one day and he jokingly screwed with my and said my clutch went out.

HAHA not..

anyways the next day my manager said it was a bit high, then i stated to notrice it, intersting this all may be in my head.

grr

[SilverRedLine04]

during the grind, i was fully on the clutch, only thing i did differnt is i didnt throw it into 5th i placed it in super slow.

i hope my cars fine

keith-

[SilverRedLine04]

i used to drive it care free now im worrying, think i should baby it or drive it like normal?

and if it does go out then deal with it.

keith-

[Freakazoid]

drive it normally, i wouldn't worry about what you can't control at this point

slippage is pretty much the only way to tell if the clutch is going out, but there are other things that could get misaligned, worn out unevenly, etc, etc.

I actually had something similar happen with the clutch of my old (RIP) car, I KNOW I had grinding going into 3rd gear one day, couldn't even get it INTO 3rd. Went into super paranoid mode, thinking something was wrong, testing everythig, no problems, lasted another 20k miles, no more problems.
Start worrying when it's repeatable or happens continually. Drive normally though.

And to test for slippage, pick a gear (preferrably relatively high rpms), pick a speed, and go uphill, watch the rpms. If the rpms start to shoot up randomly even though you're not speeding up, your clutch is starting to slip.

You will also be able to tell at higher rpms (though the problem with the RL is wheelhop could also mislead you), if your tires are planted and not hopping, and you shift at high rpms, and the rpms shoot abnormally high for a second and then 'grab' lower, your clutch is starting to slip.

That's my telltale stuff at least

[Watts-Up]

When it does start slipping, it will still run for a long time, and won't leave you stranded, so no worries there. It will also slip alot more if you shift early. Let the rpm's build up and it won't slip hardly at all, even if it slips bad when you 1st shift. Drive in a lower gear and avoid 5th at lower speeds, and it won't break loose as easily.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Watts-Up

When it does start slipping, it will still run for a long time, and won't leave you stranded, so no worries there. It will also slip alot more if you shift early. Let the rpm's build up and it won't slip hardly at all, even if it slips bad when you 1st shift. Drive in a lower gear and avoid 5th at lower speeds, and it won't break loose as easily.

yup, slipping clutches can still last a while.


it's nice when you have a car like a RL, gives you enough time to buy a stage 2

[SilverRedLine04]

its been driving perfect, ive been babying it like crazy but its grabbing and all seems good, only thing is the pedel feels high but i think its my dumb manager putting that in my head.

thanks guys

keith-