Transmission Repair

Four Bad Habits That Are Sure to Ruin Your Clutch

We here at Midwest Auto Care take pride in being your one-stop-automotive-service-shop. Let’s talk about transmissions today; specifically, manual transmissions. You might drive a stick shift because you don’t have a choice or because you prefer to shift the gears yourself. Either way, you have to take care of your clutch to get the most out of it. You may have a handful of bad habits that are damaging your vehicle without you even realizing it. Here’s what they are so you can change them.

You “Ride” That Baby

Riding the clutch means you keep your foot on it and never let it disengage. Most drivers ride theirs when they’re stuck in stop-and-go traffic because they can’t get out of first gear. When you ride, you wear down the parts quickly because the clutch is always engaged. Lift that foot so it can return to its up position. It’s only then that it fully disengages.

You Don’t Shift Correctly

You might also shift gears incorrectly without realizing it if you ride the clutch. You need a good feel for your clutch and where it catches before you can shift gears seamlessly. Riding it constantly bleeds that catch, so you never really get a feel for it. If you don’t have that feel, you’ll shift into the next gear before the clutch is ready or take your foot off the clutch too early. This can damage it.

You Don’t Stop Rolling Back With the Parking Brake

Learning to drive a manual transmission can be pretty stressful at first, especially the first time you roll back when you take your foot off the brake pedal on an incline. Many people learn how to prevent rollback by keeping the clutch engaged. This will destroy it. Rather than apply pressure on both the accelerator and clutch at the same time, set the parking brake to prevent rolling backward.

You Expect Too Much

Finally, we’ve talked about riding the clutch. There’s also a term called “burning” the system, and this happens when you stress it out. How you do this is simple: You overload your automobile and expect it to drive normally. All vehicles have maximum weight and towing capacities. If you go beyond these capacities, you not only stress out your clutch but also your tires, suspension, and brakes.

You don’t need to call anyone else other than Midwest Auto Care in Lake Station, IN, for your manual transmission needs.

Photo by ErikaMitchell from Getty Images via Canva Pro
keyboard_arrow_up

Accessibility Toolbar