how to tell if clutch is bad

[Mike Stitzer]

I'm wondering if my clutch in my 95 SHO is going south. THe pedal has a gritty feeling that is only felt about the last two inches of travel as you push it to the floor. The shifter feels a little heavier but I never grind it while shifting. Or could this just be a bad cable. The clutch only has about 30,000 miles on it. The previous owner showed me the receipt. I put 16,000 miles on it and now i notice the gritty feeling.

Mike

 

[RStalveyARFF]

what you are feeling is dust or grit on the quill that the TOB travels on. Make sure when you shift you push the pedal down all the way to sweep the grit off with every movement.

 

[SHO bulley]

I just got mine replaced. Its still in the shop. How much reverse grinding do you get? Does it slip at all. Try goin 40, put it in 5th and floor it. If the RPMs go up at all, (more then they're suppose to, which is very little) then its just about gone. If its hard, then its worn.

 

[Mike Stitzer]

It's definitely not slipping. Seems smooth until it gets warm. Doesn't make sense. Maybe it's jsut the fact that the longer I drive the car, using the clutch obviously, it starts feeling rough. Never grind reverse. Of course I always put it in 1st to snyc it then go to reverse. The shifting feels a little notchy, but that might be in my head. Seems to come out of the gear easy and then I feel a clunk as it enters the next gear. Like I said maybe it's just me. But the pedal definitely feels strange.

Mike

 

[jthomas68]

The easiest way to check the clutch is to chirp 2nd gear.If it doesn`t chirp,the clutch is going.That will show up before the actual slipping in gear.What you`re explaining sounds like the TOB.

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Jeremy Thomas
Modified 91+
Pic Of The Week:

 

[Mike Stitzer]

Okay i know it's not slipping. It chirps in second. Actually if I put it in second bring the revs up to 4000 rpm then floor it, it chirps and takes off. TOB hard to replace, or should I just run it until it fails then redo it?

Mike

 

[Jungshoe]

The "gritty feeling" is usually very specific - something is torqueing your clutch disk.

My bet is something is wrong with your transmission mounts. Get them checked.

It might be, as SHO91 said, particulates from the quill shaft getting onto the throw-out bearing and into the housing. The reason I don't think it is this is that if it were, the pedal would fluctuate in stiffness the more your drive it - that is, it might be easy to modulate after you start it, difficult after a few miles, then easy again. The release motion would also be erratic. The variability stems from the surface of the bearing - as it slides over the shaft, its contact point changes continuously, and the feel would be different, as it would not be uniformly covered with dust.

Don't worry, I don't think anything major is wrong with the clutch.

[This message has been edited by Jungshoe (edited 11-06-2001).]