Is it bad for a clutch if you sit at a stop light with the pedal pressed in? I don't do it, I just put the car in neutral, but I see some people hold the clutch out like that, with the car in gear. Is that hard on the pressure plate and/or the clutch cable (for cars that non-hydro like mine)?

 

It probably just causes a little extra wear on the throw out bearing. I almost always leave it in neutral too.

 

hes right...but you arent causing any actual wear unless you are slipping the clutch. so in or all the way out its cool

that half way thing will mess one up though

 

i sit at the light holding my clutch out while leaving the car in 1st gear, i havent had any problems, i know its not the best thing to do but its the way ive always driven, ive never had any problems doing that but i have had problems while sitting on a steep hill holding the clutch half way out while stepping on the gas a little to keep the car level, just to not have to step on the brake because the truck behind me was right on my ass and i didnt want to roll backwards, and then when i dropped the clutch i notice it'll slip, so id strongly suggest holding it half way on there for any long period of time or else u will really wear out ur clutch prematurely.

 

I think u when u stop at a red light it would be better to just put it in neutral cause having the clutch out could wear down the bar bearings or if your lazy lol do that

 

The added wear you'd see only comes from engaging or disengaging of the throwout bearing surface on the pressure plate fingers. So basically, it doesn't matter a whole lot.

 

hey, since this is about clutches, here's a related question--my 96 RS integra has about 86K mi on it with the original clutch (background info but don't know if it matters). When I sit at a light with the car in neutral and shift to first to go, about 1/4-1/3 of the time, it won't go into gear. I have to double clutch. WHY DOES IT DO THIS??? It's annoying. I understand that there is a safety thing so you can't put it into first from second, but why not from neutral?

 

The gears in your transmission were designed to engage when the input shaft is spinning. For first gear it doesn't have to be spinning very much, but sitting at a light for a long time with the clutch in and the car out of gear will let everything in the gearbox stop. Letting out on the clutch will get it spinning enough to get into gear again.

 

I think we might be thinking of different things. I'm saying when I'm NOT on the clutch and in neutral, I go to shift into first and sometimes it doesn't go in. What you're saying seems like if your sitting at a light and you're in neutral with your foot on the clutch for a while. So why would it not shift in this instance?

Does this make sense? Not trying to contradict you just want to make sure we're on the right page.

 

First gear's a funny thing sometimes, best I can tell you.