Clutch in/clutch out?

[BluMicaR]

My fiancee swears sI am doing some type of damage by holding my clutch in as I approach a stopping point, intersection, what have you, and that I should just put it into neutral to roll and not hold the clutch down, even if it's in neutral.

What says the communal?

Clutch in to shift, then let 'er out and NEVER hold it in? If so, WHY, mechanically?

Clutch in to coast, pop it into neutral, leave 'er in until you're ready to take off out of first again?

 

[MS3Chik]

im in neutral all the time and still have the clutch in....i dont know why, i just am

 

[jville]

As long as your not reving the motor with the clutch in it will have no ill effects.

 

[ForceFed]

As long as your not reving the motor with the clutch in it will have no ill effects.

Even then it really has no effect.
you're doing nothing wrong or damaging the way you are doing it now.
It may be different than other peoples style..but there is nothing wrong about it.

 

[Sacrilicious]

actually, you are wearing your throwout bearing as soon as you push in your clutch. it does not matter whether you are in gear or not. you start using the throwout bearing as soon as you put pressure on your clutch peddle. your throwout bearing is designed to outlast your clutch and is normally changed with your clutch plate when you do a clutch replacement, but if you ride around all the time with your clutch pushed in for no reason, you will wear this part out before your clutch has worn out, which is not good at all.

here's a link to a more detailed description: http://www.carcare.org/Manual_Transmission/throw-out_bearing.shtml

EDIT: because of the location of this part, it's about as much trouble to change this as it is to change the clutch, so replacing it is usually pretty expensive.

 

[ForceFed]

YOu can argue it all day long..but its normal Driving practice.

 

[Sacrilicious]

it doesn't matter if it's normal driving practice, because this specifically answers BluMicar's original question. he wanted to know if there was any sort of damage done when simply holding the clutch in...this is the answer.

as far as this actually BEING "normal" driving practice goes, i'm willing to bet that the majority of people who have driven manual for a long period of time know it as gospel that one should not hold the clutch in unless actually shifting. this may be my first manual transmission car, but i have done a lot of homework when it comes to learning as much as i can about how it operates and how i should be operating it. my knowledge is far from impressive, but i've tried to cover my back on the normal things that i should care about.

 

[Protege52003]

YOu can argue it all day long..but its normal Driving practice.

i was taught not to drive with the clutch pressed in and never coast. the only time the clutch pedle should be touched is when you are stopped and while changing gears........

my .02

-R

 

[ForceFed]

Well..If you want to settle it all..Read the manual..They designed it...Drive it like they tell you to.
PERIOD...

BUT..You are right..that bearing would be under pressure...But since its a Roller bearing similar to your wheel bearings...Which See a lot more abuse..the Excessive wear it may see will likely not cause it any damage that will cause it to fail any earlier than the clutch would.

Now with that said....Other than a NORMAL wear item..Is he causing Any damage to anything else by driving in this style...?
The answer is No.

A normal Wear item wearing, even if prematurely(unless Highly premature)disn't usually classified as causing damage.

Thats like saying don't hit your brakes..your wearing out the pads...

(bang)

 

[ForceFed]

i was taught not to drive with the clutch pressed in and never coast. the only time the clutch pedle should be touched is when you are stopped and while changing gears........

my .02

-R

When I called it normal..I am referring to it as Normal "Acceptable" pratice...Not what may be Set in stone and written to law.
We do a lot of things that are considered "Normal" acceptable practice even if it isnt the right thing.

 

[Sacrilicious]

you're taking "normal" wear to excess now. if anything, good driving practice encourages you to use engine braking instead of brakes. yes, that's right...DON'T hit your brakes, because you're wearing out the pads. the clutch example is the same principle. why are you stepping on the clutch when you don't need to? we know that stepping on the clutch is wearing a part, so why would you do it just to wait at a stoplight?

i'm not trying to say that you should be paranoid about this and never get on the clutch, but give this thread some time, and i'm sure you will see more and more people chime in who learned manual knowing that they shouldn't be on the clutch unless they mean to shift.

 

[Sacrilicious]

When I called it normal..I am referring to it as Normal "Acceptable" pratice...Not what may be Set in stone and written to law.
We do a lot of things that are considered "Normal" acceptable practice even if it isnt the right thing.

i see where you're going with this, but the whole point of this thread is BluMicar's question of whether this is causing damage. i understand you don't think that "wear" is considered damage, but at this point, what the hell ISN'T considered "wear"? i mean, if you sit around slipping our clutch for 5 secs per shift, isn't that just "wear"? where do we draw the line for "damage"?

in my book, if you're needlessly wearing something out at a faster rate than the part was designed to be worn, then that's enough to reconsider what you're doing.

 

[ForceFed]

Your brake example only applies to a manual....And to end all Questions..Refer to the manual if you want to be technical.
You WILL NOT wear that part out by driving this way...But OK..This will be the Second time I say this to you...Now read Carefully because I think you missed it the first time around.

I AGREE WITH YOU.....that this will wear the Bearing MORE than not doing it.
But Other than the Wear to that part....Will this Practice Cause any DAMAGE to anything?
The answer is No.

He didn't ask about wear...Wear isnt Damage..Its wear and its normal..Whether it causes something to fail or not..It is considered a wear item that WILL fail at some point.

No Damage will be done Utilizing this driving Practice.

I however Agree about Excessivly wearing ITems is not neccessary..but Riding the bearing at a light..or a stop sign really wont wear it out quicker than its required or expected life.

 

[Ronin1]

I've driven a stick shift for thirty years and I never ride the clutch. If the car isn't in a gear why would you want to hold the clutch in? A better analogy to brakes might be would you ride down the highway with your foot pushing the brakes on slightly? No, so why would you hold the clutch in while not in a gear? Makes no sense.(braindead

Jim

 

[happy and angry]

You can accelerate wear to the point where the distinction between wear and damage is impossible to tell. I've always been taught to stay off the clutch at stop lights and other low speed situations and leave it in neutral if needed, precisely because of what Sacrilicious is talking about. Keep it in gear as much as possible and don't hold the clutch pedal in needlessly, to lengthen the life of your clutch.

 

[ForceFed]

Well..Heres how I drive..When I come to a stop..The lights are pretty quick around here most of the time..I downshift as I am coming to a stop Using the Engine Brake Method usually down into 2nd then I push the Clutch in as I finish coming to a stop...at the same time I shift into first and Remain there while the light changes.
No excessive Shifting movement.

If the light is longer..I do pull the car out of gear,or go from 2nd to N and let the clutsch out.

I don't condone sitting ther for long periods of time with the clutch depressed..But it's really causing no harm.

I am justy answering the OP question.
Whether it Makes sense or not is not at hand here..He's not hurting anything driving the way he is.
Period.

 

[ForceFed]

You can accelerate wear to the point where the distinction between wear and damage is impossible to tell. I've always been taught to stay off the clutch at stop lights and other low speed situations and leave it in neutral if needed, precisely because of what Sacrilicious is talking about. Keep it in gear as much as possible and don't hold the clutch pedal in needlessly, to lengthen the life of your clutch.

Your contradicting yourself...Holding the pedal in Plays NO PART in wearing your clutch..Only the throw out bearing.

And Like I have said...It would take a great deal of time to wear out a Throw out bearing from driving like this.

 

[silverspd3]

I say to each their own. I have been driving manuals as long as I can remember and I tend to leaave the clutch pedal in at stop lights etc for whatever reason and have only had to replace one throw out bearing/ retainer and it was only because the retainer was a pos design and ford had an upgraded part available. I never really hear a lot of people having problems and there are a LOT of crappy drivers out there. I say just drive it. There should not be a real big wear issue with this until way later down the road. With this car, I bet the clutch goes first anyway. Just my opinion.

 

[happy and angry]

Your contradicting yourself...Holding the pedal in Plays NO PART in wearing your clutch..Only the throw out bearing.

And Like I have said...It would take a great deal of time to wear out a Throw out bearing from driving like this.

How am I contradicting myself by considering wear and tear on a component of the clutch to be wear and tear on the clutch, exactly? What the hell are you smoking?

 

[ForceFed]

How am I contradicting myself by considering wear and tear on a component of the clutch to be wear and tear on the clutch, exactly? What the hell are you smoking?

Because in your post you specifically state "don't hold the clutch pedal in needlessly, to lengthen the life of your clutch"
What we are talking about here has Nothing to do with the CLutch Wear.

Holding the pedal in (Depressed) with the car in gear....Or leaving the Pedal out(released) while in "N" produces ZERO wear capability to the CLutch....We are not talking about Clutch wear or a "Clutch" Component.

Yes this item may come in a CLutch "KIT" but it still not really part of a clutch set up.It is included with a "KIT" because the parts tend to Wear together and work better as they wear in. If you put in new components and dont replace these..They can make noise..But thats a totally different subject all together.

I'd say I am not smoking a thing.