Clutch Damage — What Causes Clutch Damage and How to Repair It

One of the most important and complex elements in any car is its clutch. Every stop, every start as well as every gear shift means that the clutch has to be engaged. The friction generated between the pressure plate, the flywheel, and the clutch disc causes heat generation and wearing issues as well.

What Can Cause Damage to Your Clutch?

There are numerous bad behaviors that can easily destroy your clutch much sooner than expected. A damaged clutch can lead to slower acceleration and poor fuel efficiency. Below we have compiled five practices that can affect your clutch and must be avoided by all means, and how can you get a Clutch Repair Barnet.

Slipping your clutch

Often when people drive a manual vehicle, they do not fully release their clutch pedal. The combination between the half-engaged accelerator and the clutch will cause the engine to rise rapidly but might not transmit all its power to the gearbox. The outcome? The clutch will slip, triggering overheating and serious damage to your clutch while also making it unusable much early than you would expect.

Riding your Clutch

This also occurs when drivers do not completely let go of the clutch. However, it is quite different compare to slipping. When your vehicle is moving but has already past the point when its clutch is no longer required yet you keep pressing it, that is what experts call riding your clutch. Throughout this, your clutch pedal is not completely engaged, leading to premature tear and wear.

Using the Clutch to Rest Your Foot

Most manual vehicles do not feature dead pedals. On these types of vehicles, drivers tend to rest their feet on top of the clutch. That is why you need to be extra careful and avoid pushing the clutch with your foot in any way.

Releasing Your Clutch Pedal Prematurely

When you release the clutch pedal too soon, you can cause your car to jerk while also putting unnecessary pressure on the transmission and the engine. This can lead to overheating and deterioration of the clutch.

Clutch Balancing

Clutch balancing usually occurs while you need to climb a hill or any inclined road. Some drivers use the accelerator and the clutch to hold their vehicles on inclined streets instead of just applying the brakes. This can cause your clutch to overheat quickly and sometimes even fail instantly. Also, this can reduce the life expectancy of your clutch considerably. Basically, your clutch has to transfer enough energy to the gearbox to keep your vehicle from moving backwards.

Clutch diagnosis

If you want to learn how to detect a fault or damage on your clutch, simply pay more attention. Most clutch damage and wear can be easily identified through daily visual inspections. Nevertheless, faults that are linked to the car’s electronic or mechanical systems must be taken care of at a specialized repair shop.

Though, whether the faults and injury are within your clutch or on the mechanical system, it is always better to change your whole clutch kit whenever you suspect that something is off. By replacing your clutch kit, you will not only enhance the way your vehicle navigates but you will end up saving some money and fuel in the long term.

As you can see, the clutch system might look simple and not so important, however, it is an essential part of your vehicle. Clutch failure will leave you stranded in the middle of the road, that is why a self-diagnosis will always pay off.