Clutch Wear

[Citroënbender]

I'm infamously hard on clutches, at least according to a couple of my erstwhile colleagues.  Not too fussed about that, but got a simple question re the 147 TS clutch.

Once it starts to slip under load, does the failure continue to be progressive until it's so bad one has to do something, or is it one that rapidly transitions from "a bit slippy under power" to "no drive at all"?  I realise it's just Ye Olde Valeo Clutch in the physical sense, but the TS power band is quite different to Pugs and Citroëns so I am not confident it will progress to failure the same way... 

[bazzbazz]

That's like asking "how big is a ball of string."

The problem is once a clutch is worn to the point of near failure it can completely fail from simply running out of friction material or the drive plate can split or fracture as it loses structural integrity.

[V AR 164]

On the family Mazda 323 it still has the factory original clutch from 1998 and it has near 190,000kms on it. Recently it has started to slip, especially when driving up hills and inclines. And if you shift pretty quickly the clutch takes a second to 'grab'.

Been like this for a year or so and has gotten a little worse over time, but I doubt it will stop functioning 'overnight'. I don't see why the 147 clutch should be any different.

If it is starting to slip take it easy for a while until you have the chance to swap it out. I could be wrong but just speaking from  my personal experience.

Andrew.

[bazzbazz]

Been like this for a year or so and has gotten a little worse over time, but I doubt it will stop functioning 'overnight'.

Wow! You really like tempting the gods don't you? 

[Citroënbender]

For cost reasons I'm hoping to avoid doing it twice - once to fix the clutch and once for the Sele conversion. Just that my realistic timeframe for the full swap is probably 3-4 months to starting... Rapidly ageing family with associated poor health is meaning I put on a lot of miles running around and have less free time for projects I would have once been happy to draw out.

[Citroënbender]

Actually, I'm sure it's the wheel speed sensors.

[bazzbazz]

Huh?   

[Cool Jesus]

+1 with Bazz's Huh!

But back to the clutch, it won't take 3 or 4 months of slipping if your using it fairly regularly. When you say hard on clutches, do you bang it in to gear or let it slip heaps as you engage? Banging in gear may save you some slippage (though not sure about the benefits there), if you ride the clutch and let it slip heaps then you'd have maybe a week of daily driving I reckon. Just my thoughts here.

Oh, swapping from manual to selespeed. Interesting?

[Citroënbender]

I don't clutch dump, it's more over-feathering - especially as a result of driving cars poorly matched to speed humps - you try to use the acceleration pitching as means of avoiding either bottoming out as you cross it, or chin scrape as you depart.  Also I taught myself to drive on cars with indifferent brakes, so I tend to use gears/clutch where others might employ the anchor.

Foster Ute has a silly clutch, think one of those sintered "paddle" types you pretty much can't feather.  Mate put it in, probably just to confound me. 

[Citroënbender]

Disclaimer, in advance.

I've got a pretty messy split tooth right now^*, it will need emergency work tomorrow.  I fully expect thereafter it may hurt like something proverbial. That being the case, it may impact on the sanity or clarity of anything I post for a few days...  I'll do my darnedest not to ride it as an excuse, however.



^*It's 14, if anyone knows their fangs. 

[bazzbazz]

That being the case, it may impact on the sanity or clarity of anything I post for a few days... 

And the difference would be . . . . . ??   

[Citroënbender]

Precisely.    But as I have close to nil tolerance for people being aerosols then blaming it on an external agent, thought it appropriate to speak in advance.

[Citroënbender]

Just a quick note, the clutch is still hanging in there, not really got any worse. 

(Unlike the dental bill; to finish off allegedly costing another $35K  - maybe fake a scooter accident in Bali and hit the crowdfunding pages?  )

[bazzbazz]

So your social nick name is "Bucket Mouth"?   

Are you listed in "The Big Book of British Smiles" (Yes I stole that one from the Simpsons)

[Citroënbender]

I'll be smiling all the way if the clutch lasts to when it's convenient for me to change it over.  The 405 gets driven much harder at present, because it's more fun.