How to: Take care of your clutch

For the sake of your clutch having a long and happy life, you should not be using it in heavy traffic or while waiting at traffic lights.

Dewald Raft, Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA) chairman, a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), encouraged drivers to apply the park brake at traffic lights and select neutral until it’s time to take off.

“Don’t press the clutch pedal unnecessarily while driving or when the vehicle is stationary,” he said.

Ranft said the reason clutch control – also known as controlled slipping – leads to clutch burnout, is because prolonged slipping time causes clutch temperatures to rise excessively. Racing starts have much the same effect.

However, installation errors and other components related to the clutch can also add to this increased slipping time.

“It is safe to say that drivers as well as clutch installers can both play a very big role in this unfortunate phenomenon, which can cost anywhere from R2 000 to R20 000 to repair, depending on the vehicle type and availability of parts,” he said.

Besides quality of installation and driving style, other variables that play a role in the life expectancy of a clutch are general levels of vehicle maintenance, road conditions as well as the vehicle’s normal labour load.

“That is why it varies. Some people need clutch replacements after only a few thousand kilometers, while others drive with the same original clutch in their vehicle for ten or even twenty years.”

Apart from minimising the use of clutch control, here are more ways to preserve the life of your vehicle’s clutch:

• Allow the vehicle to warm up (reach normal operating temperature) before applying aggressive load to the driveline.

• Keep the vehicle’s revs per minute (rpm) as low as possible and the slip-time as short as possible when you pull off from a standstill.

• Never pull off in a higher gear than first gear.

• Do not overload. Avoid pulling heavy trailers.

• Avoid launching the vehicle on an uphill or in muddy conditions if possible.

• Maintain the condition of the hydraulic fluid by filling up with the correct specified fluid according to the Original Equipment (OE) manufacturer.

• Have the hydraulic system bled properly when gears are starting to grate during gear changes and have the system flushed every 40 000 kms.

• Only fit OE or quality aftermarket clutches.

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