Are you upset or not when you find out that the manufacturer does not indicate specific clutch life figures. If, for example, in the brake system, it is clearly indicated that the thickness of the brake disc must be so-and-so, then why is this not applicable to the clutch.
The fact is that clutch wear depends on many reasons, and first of all, of course, on how the driver shifts gears, and in what mode the clutch operates.
And, although the thickness of the clutch disc cannot be measured, just like the thickness of the brake disc with a caliper, measurement methods exist. There are two of them.
First way clutch plate thickness measurements - with a special measuring caliber. This method does not require disassembly of the clutch, it is carried out on a lift. But, you are unlikely to use it.
Second way simpler in execution, and allows you to determine the wear of the clutch disc in order to replace it. Replacing a slave drive is a procedure prescribed by the manufacturer, as driven disk - consumable item. Verification is as follows:when the engine is running, you need to engage the highest gear, disengage and, if the car is not stalled, it means that the driven disk is worn out and needs to be replaced. It must be remembered that such a check of the thickness of the clutch disc is not technologically correct, but it is effective and allows you to extremely accurately determine the condition of the disc.
As already mentioned, the resource of any clutch is determined by the conditions of its operation. Without going into the technical details of the interaction of the clutch parts, you should understand that basically the clutch life and the wear rate of the discs depends only on the driver. The clutch of the same quality and manufacturer, one driver can last 5,000 km., And another 100 thousand. Participation in drag races, frequent slipping, sudden pulling away at high speeds, foreign liquids and objects getting in, unskilled installation and adjustment clutch - all this reduces the life of the clutch.
How to check grip?
Coupling testing is carried out already proven and reliable folk methods, and only them. Naturally, in addition to disassembling the clutch. It's about how you can independently check the clutch of your car, and then decide whether you need more in-depth diagnostics with the dismantling of the clutch mechanism.
So, let's start checking the clutch on the main points.
Clutch slippage. Those. again it's about wear the driven disk when it is not fully pressed against the flywheel, which means that there is no full clutch.
1. put the car on the hand brake and start the engine,
2. enable overdrive: 3rd or 4th,
3. slowly squeeze the clutch and “give” gas,
4. When the hand brake is adjusted, the car engine must stall. If this does not happen, then it's time to think about replacing the clutch disc.
"Leads" the clutch, i.e. it does not turn off completely. This malfunction is accompanied by a difficult gear shift, or extraneous noise and sounds when shifting gears. And the gearbox here is hardly to blame. Checking the grip.
1. the engine is idling,
2. depress the clutch pedal fully and engage first or reverse gear,
3. if the transmission engages with uncharacteristic force, and at the same time you hear extraneous sounds, then the driven disk does not completely depart from the flywheel, i.e. the clutch "leads"
4. you need to pump the hydraulics and adjust the clutch pedal free play,
5. run the test again, if nothing has changed, then it's time to go to a car service for a deeper clutch diagnosis.
With these simple methods, you can independently carry out a clutch test before it fails at the most inopportune moment. Timely diagnosis, and even better - proper operation, will increase the clutch life, or take timely measures to eliminate malfunctions.
All info is taken from the Internet, I do not pretend to assign these articles.
How to check grip?
There are several validation techniques. The main one is based on the use of measuring equipment, which you most likely do not have. This is a special measuring gauge. The advantage of this method is that the clutch discs do not require dismantling - it is enough to lift the car on a lift.
Such a check will take a lot of time, but the method will allow you to get an accurate result. This verification method is used at the service station. How to check grip on a car yet? There are other alternative methods that do not require equipment.
Slippage check
Such a check is carried out if there are prerequisites for improper clutch operation. But depending on the nature of the breakdown, the technique may differ. The most common situation is clutch slippage. In this case, the correctness of its operation is checked as follows:
- We put the car on the handbrake.
- We start the motor.
- We activate the third gear (fourth is possible).
- Squeeze the clutch and squeeze the gas pedal.
If the engine stalls, then most likely the clutch disc is worn out and needs to be replaced. However, a similar result is not always accurate.
Slip check
How to check the clutch disc yet? The second method does not involve the use of any special techniques. When driving in city mode, the driver just needs to carefully monitor the behavior of the car. For example, if the car is traveling very hard, there is a burning smell or a drop in speed for no apparent reason, then there is a slip. In this case, you can try to replace the clutch disc, however, in this case, other elements of the system may be responsible for this behavior of the transport, and the clutch may turn out to be working. So additional diagnostics will be required.
When the clutch "leads"
When the clutch "leads", then unpleasant sounds appear from the gearbox, and it becomes more difficult to engage the gears. In this case, there is a way to check the grip:
- We turn on the engine, set the gear to neutral.
- Depress the clutch pedal.
- Turn on the first speed.
If you have to make an effort when activating the transmission and at the same time there are strange sounds from the box, this first of all means that the flywheel disk does not detach. Most often, this problem is solved by pumping hydraulics and adjusting the pedal.
Check disk wear
Recall that the clutch disc necessarily has its own resource. Many car owners forget about it and change it only when it becomes uncomfortable to drive a car. In the urban driving mode, this resource decreases rapidly, and if the car "ran" about 70-80 thousand kilometers in the city, then the clutch disc is simply obliged to "junk". However, when driving on highways, a car can travel more than 300 thousand kilometers without replacing the clutch disc.
The easiest way to determine the degree of wear of the clutch disc using the pedal stroke. To do this, you must:
- Place the machine on a level surface.
- Start the engine and warm to operating temperature.
- Engage first gear and slowly release clutch. At the same time, the engine must not be allowed to stall. We pay attention at what point the transmission of torque to the wheels begins. When there is vibration on the car body, we stop checking.
If the clutch began to grab at the very beginning of the pedal stroke, then this indicates that everything is in order with the disc and its degree of wear is either low or absent (the disc is new). If setting is carried out in the middle of the pedal stroke, this may indicate wear on the disc, but not always. On some machines, there may be a similar pedal adjustment, in which the disc seizes in the middle of the pedal stroke.
In the event that the setting is carried out at the very end of the pedal stroke or a slip occurs at all, this indicates a worn-out disk that requires replacement. If there is a burning smell, the clutch disc must be changed urgently, otherwise there is a risk of damage to the flywheel.
Release bearing check
It’s not enough just to know how to check the grip. You also need to be able to check the release bearing, because this element plays an important role in the transmission system. Often its breakdown is confused with the breakdown of the entire clutch system.
The check is carried out with the clutch pedal depressed, since it is in this position that the torque is transmitted to the bearing. He steps back and pulls the clutch disc. Therefore, it is not recommended to keep the clutch pedal depressed for too long, since this exerts unstable loads on this part and leads to its rapid wear.
A clear sign of bearing wear is sounds when the clutch pedal is pressed (knocking, rustling). However, if such sounds appear in cold weather, then do not worry. This part has a low coefficient of expansion at low temperatures due to the high strength of steel. And the glass itself, where the entire assembly is located, has a high coefficient of expansion. Therefore, when heated, the sound should disappear.
In addition, there are other signs that indicate a clutch malfunction: incorrect gear shifting, the inability to turn on some gears in general. It is also worth paying attention to the twitching of the car when driving at speeds.
How to check clutch cylinders?
With defective cylinders, the car may either not respond to pressing the clutch pedal at all, or it may not respond correctly. Often car owners who don’t have a main or auxiliary cylinder working complain that the car starts moving even when the clutch pedal is depressed. This primarily indicates a faulty cylinder. Checking them is quite simple: given that there’s nothing to break there, you just need to check if there are fluid leaks in the cabin (immediately above the clutch pedal and under the hood). If there are no smudges, then, most likely, everything is in order with the cylinders.
Conclusion
Now you know how to check grip. Of course, no one can guarantee a high accuracy of the check, therefore, in any case, if a malfunction is suspected, it is advisable to contact the service station. They know exactly how to check the clutch of VAZ and other brands of cars, including rare foreign cars. On some foreign cars, the methods described above do not work.
