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When you start your car, clutch in/out- what gear?

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BugeyeNJ58

BugeyeNJ58

Jedi Hopeful
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I keep hearing conflicting advice.
When I start the car I have it in neutral and my foot is off the clutch pedal.
Is that the best way to prevent unwanted clutch/trans wear?
 
Yes. No clutch. Neutral with parking brake set.
 
What you have to think about is lack of start-up lubrication on moving parts, especially the thrusts on the crank. Any extra drag loads the starter, and holding clutch pedal down loads the crank to the thrust with little or no lubrication.
I cannot understand why you are getting conflicting advice. Never start with pedal down, always in neutral, wait until you get oil pressure on the gauge, THEN engage gears.
It's not the clutch/trans you worry about....it's the engine.
 
One more thing....when you come to a stopLIGHT, and it's red, put it in neutral and take yer foot off the clutch pedal.
In all the decades of working on these things in shops, the carbon T/O bearings I have had to change out, the destroyed pressure plate release fingers, and thrust bearings completely destroyed are almost innumerable.
Light turns green, clutch in, select a synchronized gear enough to stop the gears from turning, then first (if a non-synchro first box). Your thrusts, T/O bearing and such will last you a whole lot longer.
Of course, if you don't do that, you could be helping the economic recovery greatly by spending all the money for bits and mechanics.
 
Okay, another question. A mechanic told me it is so difficult to fix the clutch vs repairing brakes on this car that he recommends braking and as opposed to downshifting. I was taught to downshift. Braking from 65-70 mph to a stop doesn't seem natural, but I would love to keep my clutch and TO bearing healthy as long as possible.

Your opinions, please.

BTW when we start our tractors in the winter, we always do it with the clutch in, so you don't have to turn all that stiff oil in the transmission. We are talking five gallons of oil so stiff it makes molasses look like coke, of course. :cowboy: But it is easier to split a tractor to replace the clutch than pull the engine out of a Sprite, I know it is from personal experience. And NO bleedng!
 
On the street, I brake in whatever gear I'm in until I reach approx 1500 rpm at which point the clutch is applied.
 
Downshifting is more than appropriate, IF you bring the revs up with clutch in so the clutch does not act as a brake. Using the clutch as a brake wears the clutch out super-fast. He's right, brake pads are cheaper and easier.
I down shift all the time, but never to use as a brake until AFTER fully engaged and I let off the throttle to allow compression to take over.
 
I agree with Dave on all counts. I've changed out as many T/O bearings, clutch covers and plates as I'd ever want to. Most times the drivers had obviously ridden the clutch causing premature wear and damage. On the personal cars the clutch parts were never as bad. And heel-and-toe double clutch downshifting was my routine method of slowing the car before a stop.

As for the starting routine: choke full on, gearbox in neutral, foot off the clutch. Spin it up and on first "catch" release the choke to control the RPM with a combo of pedal and choke to keep the RPM down around 2K~2500 while watching the oil pressure. Then a short warmup, waiting for the temp gauge needle to move off the peg. Gearbox engagement process from a stop is: depress clutch, "clear" the mainshaft motion by first partially engaging second or third THEN selecting first (or reverse) and you're off.

Routinely have 80K on the clock before any clutch or gearbox needed attention.

There's a "Member's Articles" story I wrote a few years ago in a similar vein.
 
Brakes repairs are always cheaper than transmission repairs, sure I downshift under power when doing spirited driving on the curvey roads, but if I'm around town and just approaching a red light, why tramatize my tranny, clutch and throw out bearing just to stop for a red light, kind of a waste of mechanicals if you ask me, at these times I slip it up in neutral and use the brakes to stop me. Also I never sit at redlights with the clutch engaged for obvious reasons.
 
DrEntropy said:
I agree with Dave on all counts.
Click to expand...

X2 (but I'm his kid) :jester:

I hear what your sayin' on the tractor. Almost the same as a VW in cold weather. Some of which you have to jack up the rear wheels to start if the clutch drags. I miss VW's. No matter what you always knew everything would be o.k. :thumbsup:

I'm bustin' mom's old Bug out pendin' th' pockyclyps. That has thrust issues too but due to case material. It's got 165K, case has never been split, has thrust problems, no brakes and leaks like a seive but she'll still go when called on. :driving:

Like I said, everything's gonna be alright. :wink:

It sure beats havin' one of theses in a pinch, although I could use it for an air filter or crank seal material. :hammer: :devilgrin:

https://www.mytherapybuddy.com/whoneedsbuddy.shtml
 
Think about this, you do not need the clutch to shift gears if you are very good. Except for starting out of course. Yep, taught both my kids to drive on a BE and taught both to do this.
 
jlaird said:
Think about this, you do not need the clutch to shift gears if you are very good. Except for starting out of course. .
Click to expand...

I broke a clutch cable on my '80 Monza once and it took two weeks to get the part in. I drove it that way. Gotta have a good battery and starter for traffic lights.
 
kellysguy said:
jlaird said:
Think about this, you do not need the clutch to shift gears if you are very good. Except for starting out of course. .
Click to expand...

I broke a clutch cable on my '80 Monza once and it took two weeks to get the part in. I drove it that way. Gotta have a good battery and starter for traffic lights.
Click to expand...

Which puts me to mind of the great Army Jeep incident of 1979 - haven't thought of that in years!
 
I would say its not a bad idea to start it with the clutch in simply because I have seen what happens when someone starts a car with the clutch out and "thinks" its in neutral. I have done this on a motorcycle once when I was the victim of a lying neutral light and was not astride the bike. It lurched forward and off the kickstand and crashed down.
 
No emergency brake on a bike. No "neutral" light on an LBC. Set your e-brake, neutral, foot off the clutch, and start the LBC.
 
regularman said:
I would say its not a bad idea to start it with the clutch in simply because I have seen what happens when someone starts a car with the clutch out and "thinks" its in neutral. I have done this on a motorcycle once when I was the victim of a lying neutral light and was not astride the bike. It lurched forward and off the kickstand and crashed down.
Click to expand...

True story: One Porsche dealership I worked for had a "get-ready" kid working there while going to college. He was asked to go outside (in West Pennsylvania January conditions) and start the 911 sitting in front of one of the bays. Car was dropped off via flatbed, driver's window left down, car situated nose to the closed bay door. This was before the clutch "safety switch" days and this 911 was CIS induction.

Well, junior reached into the thing and just turned the key... it lit right off, in first gear. Ran itself into and through the bay door, punted a 928 off the lift in there (it was only two feet in the air, having tires changed) and that fell into ANOTHER 911 forward of it!

Three on a match! :devilgrin:

I expect the kid is STILL working to pay THAT off. :jester:
 
I start mine handbrake on, in neutral with clutch out. It's a habit I got in long ago.
 
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