Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one of the shafts is typically driven by a motor or pulley, and the other shaft drives another device. In a drill, for instance, one shaft is driven by a motor and the other drives a drill chuck. The clutch connects the two shafts so that they can either be locked together and spin at the same speed, or be decoupled and spin at different speeds.
To understand how a clutch works, it helps to know a little bit about friction, which is a measure of how hard it is to slide one object over another.
In a car's clutch, a flywheel connects to the engine, and a clutch plate connects to the transmission. You can see what this looks like in the figure below.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, you could count on getting between 50,000 and 70,000 miles from your car's clutch. Clutches can now last for more than 80,000 miles if you use them gently and maintain them well. If not cared for, clutches can start to break down at 35,000 miles. Trucks that are consistently overloaded or that frequently tow heavy loads can also have problems with relatively new clutches.
The most common problem with clutches is that the friction material on the disc wears out. The friction material on a clutch disc is very similar to the friction material on the pads of a disc brake or the shoes of a drum brake -- after a while, it wears away. When most or all of the friction material is gone, the clutch will start to slip, and eventually it won't transmit any power from the engine to the wheels.
-Leaky or defective slave and/or master clutch cylinders - Leaks keep the cylinders from building the necessary amount of pressure.
-Air in the hydraulic line - Air affects the hydraulics by taking up space the fluid needs to build pressure.
-Misadjusted linkage - When your foot hits the pedal, the linkage transmits the wrong amount of force.
-Mismatched clutch components - Not all aftermarket parts work with your clutch.
Another problem associated with clutches is a worn throw-out bearing, sometimes called a clutch release bearing. This bearing applies force to the fingers of the spinning pressure plate to release the clutch. If you hear a rumbling sound when the clutch engages, you might have a problem with the throw-out.
Clutch Diagnostic Test
If you find that your clutch has failed, here is an at-home diagnostic test that anyone can perform:
1-Start your car, set the parking break, and put the car in neutral.
2-With your car idling, listen for a growling noise without pushing the clutch in. If you hear something, it's most likely a problem with the transmission. If you don't hear a noise, proceed to step three.
3-With the car still in neutral, begin to push the clutch and listen for noise. If you hear a chirping noise as you press, it's most likely the clutch release, or throw-out bearing. If you don't hear a noise, proceed to step four.
4-Push the clutch all the way to the floor. If you hear a squealing noise, it's probably the pilot bearing or bushing.
If you don't hear any noise during these four steps, then your problem is probably not the clutch. If you hear the noise at idle and it goes away when the clutch is pressed, it may be an issue in the contact point between the fork and pivot ball.
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