How do you know when you need a new clutch, and how long can you drive your car once it starts to go bad?

Question

I want to learn to drive stick and might buy a car that needs a clutch

Answer 1

As the clutch fails the engine speed will increase for a relatively slow vehicle speed. For example, the engine might be running at 4000 rpm in 2nd or 3rd gear but the car is only going 25 mph. The clutch is slipping as it wears out. Sometimes the clutch will gradually start slipping over a period of weeks and sometimes it will start slipping and then completely fail within a few minutes. Some clutches last 150000 miles and some last 40000.

Answer 2

Ugh! Don't learn on a car that needs a clutch. You'll learn all wrong.

If the clutch is starting to go bad, you can often "baby" it for awhile by being very light on the throttle... feeling for when the clutch starts to slip away and backing off the throttle. But that won't work for long, and you'll hit situations like parallel parking or hills where you'll just get stuck and won't be able to move.

Answer 3

On the truck I had when the clutch was started to go it would progressively lose gears, from 5th to 3rd (they would just start slipping really badly). Concerning, still wanting to drive it, from my experience with my truck, it's just how slow you are willing to travel, on my truck it took about two weeks from when I started to lose 5th to when I was about to lose 3rd completely. Like a couple of the other answers say, if you wait to long to replace it, it will get so bad that even 1st gear won't get you moving.

Other than that I haven't had to replace any other clutches.

Answer 4

If your clutch goes bad, you can still get more mileage out of it by driving in reverse.

Be sure to clean your rear window.

Answer 5

when your cluth goes bad u cant drive it at allu will for awhile but when u take off your motor will rev higher than wat the tires r spining..this means ur clutch is slipping.