Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-09-2009, 04:37 PM
 
Location: North Pole Alaska
886 posts, read 5,697,698 times
Reputation: 844

Advertisements

Time for a new clutch. 10 years is a long time to get out of one.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-28-2009, 08:31 AM
 
Location: US
1,193 posts, read 3,983,439 times
Reputation: 832
Well I finally got around to parting with some cash and had it fixed. Had the clutch replaced and it is rolling along hopefully for another 100k miles!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 12:13 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,921,773 times
Reputation: 4078
How much did you end up paying? I don't think $600 is out of the question since I had a clutch replaced on my 1995 300ZX for $400 in labor (I bought a heavy duty aftermarket clutch for about $300) and it is a difficult car to work on. I actually had a few shops turn me down because they didn't want to touch that car before going to one that my friend recommended.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 01:04 PM
 
Location: NOCO
532 posts, read 1,563,101 times
Reputation: 237
Whats the average lifespan of a clutch? I hear people say I'm lucky I have about 115,000 on mine w/o any problems. Just curious.

Yea, in some ways it sucks having a car you love.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 01:25 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
5,994 posts, read 19,921,773 times
Reputation: 4078
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ticky909 View Post
Whats the average lifespan of a clutch? I hear people say I'm lucky I have about 115,000 on mine w/o any problems. Just curious.

Yea, in some ways it sucks having a car you love.
It really depends on how you drive. A normal non abusive driver can get 120k+ on a factory clutch. My first car probably got 60k on a clutch with a good number of burn outs and hilly San Francisco driving while learning to drive a manual. If you live in a flat area you'll get more life out of your clutch.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 06:02 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,120 posts, read 56,786,488 times
Reputation: 18411
Default Take care of your clutch, and it will take care of you...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ticky909 View Post
Whats the average lifespan of a clutch? I hear people say I'm lucky I have about 115,000 on mine w/o any problems. Just curious.

Yea, in some ways it sucks having a car you love.
Like Egg said, it depends on how you use the car, and where, also your own skill. I cultivate the habit of getting the clutch engaged with minimal slipping, live in a rural area, not that many hills. I have gone way over 100K on the clutch in the Scirocco and have hardly had to adjust it.

If you live in a hilly city like San Fran or Seattle, you won't get as many miles simply because you have to slip the clutch more on uphill starts, and you do more stops and starts per mile.

Proper use of the handbrake on a hill when you need it to avoid rolling back is important, shift into neutral rather than just hold the clutch down at red lights, and NEVER do that retarded stunt of holding the car on a hill by slipping the clutch (you can see these morons rolling backwards and forwards, calling attention to the fact that they are drivnig a stickshift...Yeah, I see what you have and you are doing it WRONG...)

If you think stalling your engine on a takeoff is an unpardonable sin, you won't get as much clutch life as you should.

Needless to say, never loan anything with a cutting edge or an engine to anybody...

Automatics have clutches too, wet clutches that are controlled by hydraulic or electrohydraulic "brains". These wear out as well, not as quickly as a poorly treated clutch but they do eventually go, and when they do, it's a lot more work than putting a clutch in a stickshift.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 07:15 PM
 
Location: US
1,193 posts, read 3,983,439 times
Reputation: 832
Quote:
Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG View Post
How much did you end up paying? I don't think $600 is out of the question since I had a clutch replaced on my 1995 300ZX for $400 in labor (I bought a heavy duty aftermarket clutch for about $300) and it is a difficult car to work on. I actually had a few shops turn me down because they didn't want to touch that car before going to one that my friend recommended.
Clutch was 170something (bought it myself) and the labor was 550$. I think I lucked out and found a decent honest mechanic. He was a pretty informative guy. He showed me the old clutch plate and it looked pretty brutal even by my eyes. (Much like my brake pads I replaced, no mechanic needed thankfully.) I didn't realize a clutch pedal was NOT supposed to be that stiff. My left leg muscles are probably twice the size of my right..I just assumed that was how that particular clutch was. Now I am practically learning how to drive a different car.
I live in pretty flat territory so if the new clutch is of any quality it will probably outlive the car.

The sad part is I've realized I have little to no reason to continue full coverage on it. By foregoing the full coverage payments I can save up for expenses like this and inevitably a new car. Out of all the rolling junk on the highways now adays I see so few celicas. I guess the older american iron is just easier to work on by the average joe...cheaper, too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2009, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Michigan--good on the rocks
2,544 posts, read 4,266,759 times
Reputation: 1958
Remember that mechanic, if you feel he treated you fairly. Reward him with all your future business, at least the things you don't/can't do yourself. Be a part of the "word of mouth" network, as well. The good ones need all the help they can get.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2009, 03:15 PM
 
Location: US
1,193 posts, read 3,983,439 times
Reputation: 832
Well I spoke too soon. I got it back from the shop and the A/C isn't working now. I turn it on and hear the A/C run up for about 3 seconds and then goes back to idle while blasting hot air. I thought maybe the freon got released somehow...no big deal I guess, tried to recharge it with no effect. Tried swapping some of the A/C relays, too thinking maybe one of those went bad.

Now he thinks the clutch on the A/C suddenly went out...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2009, 03:23 PM
ttz
 
Location: Western WA
677 posts, read 1,662,480 times
Reputation: 430
That is one thing I never understood. When you take in your car to have something worked on, and you get it back and something else does not work!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top