Clutch Issues

[sperry]

My clutch is having issues...

...actually, it's always been a little spotty, since the my car's power is right at the limit for the clutch. Even when it was in good condition it was very easy to smoke if you weren't careful. But I always considered that a good thing because it meant the clutch was the point of failure before the tranny.

Anyway, I decided to test out the clutch a bit. Here's what I did.

- Drove down an empty street at about 40mph.
- Push the clutch in.
- Switch off the ignition to kill the motor.
- Give the motor time to stop spinning.
- Switch the ignition back to "on".
- W/o letting the clutch out, the motor immediately picked back up running at idle speed!

What this tells me is that I'm never completely disengaging my clutch. So every time I'm idling w/ the clutch in, I'm wearing the thing! And every shift requires that the synchros grip harder than the grip of the clutch, meaning I'm wearing my synchros prematurely as well!

Of course, when I have to stop for any extended period of time, I shift to neutral and step off the clutch... but still, shouldn't I be able to completely disengage the tranny via the clutch pedal? Shouldn't turing the car back on in the test above result in a dead motor until I let the clutch out a bit?

Since I'm planning on a 6MT in the car with a new clutch/flywheel I'm not too concerned. However, I'm planning on swapping this clutch/flywheel into the SVX along with the 5MT. Now I'm thinking I'm going to need to resurface the flywheel and probable replace the pucks in the clutch when I do that swap.

[MikeK]

Both my WRX and now my STi do that right from day one.

On the way back from Nick's on the weekend going downhill on the freeway, when I just pushed the clutch in, the RPM dropped to about 1500, but when I put the stick in neutral, it dropped to normal idle, 700 odd.

I just assumed the clutch was naturally draggy. Is this definately something new for your clutch, or could it be just that you are paying more attention now that you are getting ready to do the swap?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Both my WRX and now my STi do that right from day one.

On the way back from Nick's on the weekend going downhill on the freeway, when I just pushed the clutch in, the RPM dropped to about 1500, but when I put the stick in neutral, it dropped to normal idle, 700 odd.

I just assumed the clutch was naturally draggy. Is this definately something new for your clutch, or could it be just that you are paying more attention now that you are getting ready to do the swap?

I've never tested it before, I just assumed that w/ the pedal on the floor, I should have no clutch drag.

It's not like it's a huge deal. During normal shifting I either don't use the clutch at all or only just enough to release the gears. I was just concerned that this might be a symptom of a larger issue, and perhaps have something to do with my ever-stiffening clutch pedal.

[MattR]

When I drive the STi again, I will do the same. I honestly don't know if the clutch totally disengages the gear or not though.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

My car has a cable so I can adjust the tension on it to change the clutch release point, but I assume yours have a hydraulic system. Can you see if there's any manual adjustment on the actuating mechanism down on the tranny?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

My car has a cable so I can adjust the tension on it to change the clutch release point, but I assume yours have a hydraulic system. Can you see if there's any manual adjustment on the actuating mechanism down on the tranny?

I'm sure there's a way to adjust it, at least a little, but I don't know the procedure. I'd probably benefit a lot just from flushing the fluid, since it's never been done.

[Kevin M]

My RS holds 1200-1500 in neutral when I'm on the highway. I attributed it to the motor attempting to hold idle as high as possible when in gear, but it could be dragging. I don't think it's much of an issue though, we rarely coast with the clutch in anyway. Don't brakes (which are substantially the same as clutch materials) also drag lightly all the time?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

My RS holds 1200-1500 in neutral when I'm on the highway. I attributed it to the motor attempting to hold idle as high as possible when in gear, but it could be dragging. I don't think it's much of an issue though, we rarely coast with the clutch in anyway. Don't brakes (which are substantially the same as clutch materials) also drag lightly all the time?

If the motor is turned off, then back on w/o cranking the starter, it shouldn't start running at all unless something spins the motor. If the clutch is supposed to completely disengage the motor from the tranny, in my test listed above, turning the car back on shouldn't turn the motor over.

Also, this isn't so much an issue about coasting w/ the clutch in. I never do that. However, if I'm sitting at a light that I expect to change soon, I'll put the car in gear and sit with the clutch in. In that case, the motor is wearing against the clutch.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

My RS holds 1200-1500 in neutral when I'm on the highway. I attributed it to the motor attempting to hold idle as high as possible when in gear, but it could be dragging.

I think this is pretty common; the throttle body bypass will keep the idle up a bit until you slow down below a certain speed, like 5 or 10 mph. Fords do it too.

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by sperry

If the motor is turned off, then back on w/o cranking the starter, it shouldn't start running at all unless something spins the motor. If the clutch is supposed to completely disengage the motor from the tranny, in my test listed above, turning the car back on shouldn't turn the motor over.

Also, this isn't so much an issue about coasting w/ the clutch in. I never do that. However, if I'm sitting at a light that I expect to change soon, I'll put the car in gear and sit with the clutch in. In that case, the motor is wearing against the clutch.

Ah, that didn't click with me. I thought you actually did key the starter.