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Clutch check?

F

Fordwerke

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
157
Location
Bay Harbor Islands, FL
Hi,

I am in a bit of a Contique crisis, I need a car quite quick, since I am gonna move next week, and still don’t have a car, and was too busy to look for one so far.
I found a ‘99 Mystique in my price-range, but it is a manual. I don’t mind that too much, since I learned how to drive it in Germany. Yet, my experience is that folks over here don’t quite know how to drive them, cause I hear them all the time burning the clutches. So I don’t wanna end up with clutch issues (how much would it be on a Contique?).

Is there a way to check the clutch prior to purchase that even a layman like me could do? I was told to pull the handbrake, and than slowly release the clutch in the highest gear, and wait for something funny to happen. Is this advisable?

I really wanna show the car to a mechanic prior to getting it. Since I don’t know any mechanic in Miami, do you now any nationwide ‘chain’ (dunno, Midas or Meineke?) to which I could trust for a check?

Thnx very much folks,
 
set the parking brake and use 4th gear. realease the clutch and if it stalls the clutch is good if it doesn't stall or drop the rpms the clutch is slipping ....

other then that just drive it and see what happens.


and about burning clutches out .... I have 200k on my stock zetec clutch and I put 100k on it .... my fathers 95 has 150k on the original clutch ... another member here put over 200k on his clutch also ....

chances are if it was driven right a spring in the clutch or pp will let go before the clutch material burns up ...
 
yup, i had 241K miles on my stock zetec clutch before one of the dampening springs blew up. when i pulled it the clutch still had plenty of material left on it as well.
 
on the zetec, wearing out a clutch is a hard thing to do, my pre98 had 140K on the stock clutch, my 99 had 170K on the stock clutch.
 
IMO its cause ford over engineered the pre98 contour. that or they underengineered the 98+ ones. :D
 
Fordwerke said:
Hi,

I am in a bit of a Contique crisis, I need a car quite quick, since I am gonna move next week, and still don’t have a car, and was too busy to look for one so far.
I found a ‘99 Mystique in my price-range, but it is a manual. I don’t mind that too much, since I learned how to drive it in Germany. Yet, my experience is that folks over here don’t quite know how to drive them, cause I hear them all the time burning the clutches. So I don’t wanna end up with clutch issues (how much would it be on a Contique?).

Is there a way to check the clutch prior to purchase that even a layman like me could do? I was told to pull the handbrake, and than slowly release the clutch in the highest gear, and wait for something funny to happen. Is this advisable?

I really wanna show the car to a mechanic prior to getting it. Since I don’t know any mechanic in Miami, do you now any nationwide ‘chain’ (dunno, Midas or Meineke?) to which I could trust for a check?

Thnx very much folks,
Click to expand...

If the clutch feels smooth and grabs predictably and crisply, you know it'll hold up to whatever you throw at it. Clutches in these cars last a long time if they're not beaten on, as others have attested. Don't waste time and money having a shop give you an opinion on a part they can't even see without significant and costly disassembly. The pedal should engage and disengage smoothly, and you should feel the clutch start to catch roughly half way up the length of the travel.

If you really want to torture test it, take it a few blocks in afternoon rush hour traffic on the Tamiami Trail or the Palmetto (gasp!). :cool:
 
I also thought Ray had a "how to" sort of thing to tell. It went something like this

In 1st gear get it up to around 15 mph.....shift to 5th and hammer the gas. If the RPMs climb faster than the speed, than you have a slipping clutch.
 
elraido said:
I also thought Ray had a "how to" sort of thing to tell. It went something like this

In 1st gear get it up to around 15 mph.....shift to 5th and hammer the gas. If the RPMs climb faster than the speed, than you have a slipping clutch.
Click to expand...

4th IIRC
 
I was taught 2 ways to check a clutch.

1st way
flat parking lot, try a 5th gear start, if rpm start drop the clutch is fine. If they climb the clutch is starting to go. This only needs to be done for a few seconds because you don't want to damage the clutch, no need to stall.

2nd way
4th or 5th gear + steap hill and floor it, rpm climb bad clutch, engine starts to choke down shift and your clutch is fine.
 
Fordwerke,

This is a site for cars that in majority are not driven normally, these cars are typically raced and driven harder than normal passenger cars. 5,000 to 6,000 rpm clutch drops do little for clutch life.
You say"...drive it in Germany. Yet, my experience is that folks over here don’t quite know how to drive them, cause I hear them all the time burning the clutches. So I don’t wanna..."

same goes for brakes and tires, normal maintenance items that wear out accordingly to how the vehicle is driven.

USA gladly welcomes people from all over the world to come here. Make yourself fit it, not alienate yourself with prejudgiced and uneducated comments. Having said that I do truly welcome you here and hopefully have enlightened you somewhat also at the same time.

my 2 cents worth only
 
Silver Bullet said:
Fordwerke,

This is a site for cars that in majority are not driven normally, these cars are typically raced and driven harder than normal passenger cars. 5,000 to 6,000 rpm clutch drops do little for clutch life.
You say"...drive it in Germany. Yet, my experience is that folks over here don’t quite know how to drive them, cause I hear them all the time burning the clutches. So I don’t wanna..."

same goes for brakes and tires, normal maintenance items that wear out accordingly to how the vehicle is driven.

USA gladly welcomes people from all over the world to come here. Make yourself fit it, not alienate yourself with prejudgiced and uneducated comments. Having said that I do truly welcome you here and hopefully have enlightened you somewhat also at the same time.

my 2 cents worth only
Click to expand...

Who in their right mind would do a 5-6K clutch drop in this car? We have differentials exploding at 2.5K drops.
 
my car with Zetec had only about 89k when the transmission and clutch went out. But i only got the car with 78k and i took the car racing about a month ago, and it took 33 launches at 4k+RPM. so overall i think they're pretty strong clutches and trannys.
 
FFE said:
I was taught 2 ways to check a clutch.

1st way
flat parking lot, try a 5th gear start, if rpm start drop the clutch is fine. If they climb the clutch is starting to go. This only needs to be done for a few seconds because you don't want to damage the clutch, no need to stall.

2nd way
4th or 5th gear + steap hill and floor it, rpm climb bad clutch, engine starts to choke down shift and your clutch is fine.
Click to expand...

I did this and it tested Fine, BUT, when I got the car it released near the firewall, and then after a little abuse on the clutch to avoid reversing into an idiot who obviously felt he didnt have to follow the stop sign, it released at the very top.....could I have messed my clutch release adjustment?
 
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