Hey guys, how can you tell if your clutch is slipping? I'm not sure if mine is, but lately when i've been driving around, I can feel little shudder as I let go of the clutch. (And no, i'm not new at driving manual). No matter how slow I let go, it still shudders a little, and when I let go of the gas after reaching a shifting rpm of around 3k, I can hear a little muffled chirp/squeek. My clutch is considerable new, it was installed in July 2002 and I've only driven at most 8k miles since then. Anyone know what could be causing this? Clutch slippage? Other major problem?

 

it probably has something to do with the fact that its a "racing" clutch, and not one meant for everyday driving. An upgraded clutch will give harsher engagement... as the springs are usually a lot stronger as well as the pressure plate.

 

Hmm...makes sense, but it was smooth engagement for the 5-6 months or so up until just recently. Do you guys know how it feels when a clutch starts to "slip"?

 

Sounds like yours is chattering. Uneven engagement, not smooth. Like the disk is warped or the flywheel or pressure plate aren't flat. Or maybe the smoothness of those surfaces isn't even. That's completely different than slipping.

As the clutch wears out the disk gets thinner. Eventually its so thin that the pressure plate runs out of travel, & can't squeeze it hard against the flywheel. Then it slips.

You can make any clutch slip just so you know what it feels like. Push in the clutch pedal just about to the point where it begins to disengage, then try to accelerate. The engine rpm revs up but the car doesn't accelerate. This isn't the best way to treat your clutch, so don't keep doing it for fun...