Clutch Worn

[asphaltrunner]

How do I know if my clutch is starting to wear out? Also, will a worn clutch affect drive-ability, once a gear is selected? The reason I ask is because when I was driving home from work today, I noticed that if I jabbed the gas pedal, there was a certain reverberation coming from the engine bay. I took a quick look at what I thought was a motor mount, and I didn't notice any excessive engine movement. Ideas? Suggestions?

[Human Collapse]

If it is the clutch, one test I have when in doubt is to rev up the engine a little (3-4000 rpms) and dump the clutch. If the tires turn over, the clutch is probably just fine. If it doesn't then, yeah, your clutch is probably in need of replacement.

This isn't the most refined test, but I've only tried it on a car that was like 17 years old at the time. If you're not comfortable with a probable burnout, I'd look into some other tests or take your car into a place with free inspections. They will, however, probably say that you're life is in danger because your doors are about to fall off and your tires may just eject from the car and your engine may just even go into reverse and fly out of the steering column or some BS like that!

[asphaltrunner]

What do you mean if the tires turn over? I tried your test, and the car just died.

[Human Collapse]

Sounds like you didn't use the gas as well or at least didn't keep the engine RPMs up. When I said tires turn over, I mean a burnout basically. You don't have to smoke the tires down the street or anything, but if the clutch is fine, the tires should peel out then you just have to either stop gassing it or push the clutch back in.

Does this clear things up?

[Kid Morbid]

What he is saying is basically throw it in 1st or 2nd, hold the gas around 3-4k rpms, and take ur foot off the clutch.

[Human Collapse]

When you first learned to drive a manual, you probably killed it a couple of times, right? This is basically the opposite. You'll accelerate beyond the point of traction and do a burnout. This is how a lot of racers launch, but racers don't want to lose traction because they wont go anywhere if they're spinning their wheels. If you are able to do a burn out, you're set for a while still.