best way to test if your clutch is going out.

[T2urtle]

i've been told to go find a hill or steep enough incline. while going about 30-35 put it in the highest gear and floor it to see if it can grab. if it just free-revs i assume its slippage.

aside from finding a hill, not much in chicago, we have plenty of potholes but not many hills. Is there a way to see if the clutch is about to go out or starting to slip?

I drove the car and everything grabs nicely in street driving. NOthing sticky with the pedal, everything was nice and smooth, good pressure and engagement point. One time it didn't want to and/or jumped out of 5th.

I did 35mph on the highway and put it into 5th and it worked, slow as crap but expected and it grabbed on and made it to 70mph.

what are other methods to do this.

last time i replaced one was due to throwout bearing going bad, might as well replaced the clutch.

 

[Eli]

There's very little in between time with a clutch. It's pretty much either slipping, or it's not. If you do the above test and it does slip, you probably just used up the rest of the friction material.

 

[NutBucket]

The 5th gear method is a pretty good test. Eli has a good point too

 

[exdeath]

Shift from 1st to 5th at high RPM without letting off the throttle. You'll know if its slipping.

 

[Eli]

You could always do a 5,000RPM clutch dump off a light. That should give you a general idea if the clutch is holding or not.

I would say that a slow clutch release would be a better method than the 5th gear thing, really. At least for me. Listen to the way the clutch brings the engine RPM down. Perhaps at a lower RPM, like 1500-2000. You don't want to be doing high RPM slow clutch releases.. lol.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Unless you're about to leave on a long trip, why worry about it?

When the clutch goes, fix it, or sell the car...

 

[CVSiN]

Unless you're about to leave on a long trip, why worry about it?

When the clutch goes, fix it, or sell the car...

sell the car?! over a worn out clutch.. wow.. disposable income much?

Clutch isnt a very expensive part.. about 1500 bucks total for the best stuff there is and labor.

alot less if it's just a average car..

Mines an Infiniti and pretty much every repair is 1k+

 

[3chordcharlie]

sell the car?! over a worn out clutch.. wow.. disposable income much?

Clutch isnt a very expensive part.. about 1500 bucks total for the best stuff there is and labor.

alot less if it's just a average car..

Mines an Infiniti and pretty much every repair is 1k+

How would I know - maybe it's a beater? I've ditched a vehicle because it needed a thousand bucks worth of brake job. Presumably the right answer is going to be 'fix it'.

There are plenty of cars on the road that wouldn't be worth a thousand dollars to fix.

 

[JCH13]

1) Your clutch is gone
2) Install a new clutch
3) For a fun time, install a 6-puck clutch

 

[CVSiN]

How would I know - maybe it's a beater? I've ditched a vehicle because it needed a thousand bucks worth of brake job. Presumably the right answer is going to be 'fix it'.

There are plenty of cars on the road that wouldn't be worth a thousand dollars to fix.

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

 

[3chordcharlie]

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

I assume that wasn't on a 1993 Ford Ranger with 200k miles worth of unchecked rust.

 

[CVSiN]

I assume that wasn't on a 1993 Ford Ranger with 200k miles worth of unchecked rust.

nope ;( 03 G35 Coupe Sport package..

 

[overst33r]

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

Ouch... you just got taken by nearly $2k...

 

[T2urtle]

Unless you're about to leave on a long trip, why worry about it?

When the clutch goes, fix it, or sell the car...

more like buying a used car, well my friend is. Yea ok the clutch is say $1000 on average. But when your buying a used car, paying for a clutch could be used to lower price even more or make that car not worth it since there are many other out there.

Say a civic has a a $5000 value. You got it at $4250 right now, but if it needs a clutch total cost is $5250. I rather walk and go find another civic and see if i can get it for $4500 with a new clutch. These numbers aren't real but just used to make an example.

 

[Doppel]

Ouch... you just got taken by nearly $2k...

Yeah, I cannot imagine $3k is actual going rate for a full brake job on an 03 G35 coupe, seems absurdly high.

 

[Lotheron]

Yeah, I cannot imagine $3k is actual going rate for a full brake job on an 03 G35 coupe, seems absurdly high.

A G35 is not a Ferrari/Lambo. It should not have cost anywhere near this, labor included.

 

[MrWizzard]

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

That would be a steal if you had carbon composite breaks....lol

 

[simonizor]

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

Did the mechanic offer lube before he told you to bend over?

 

[CVSiN]

A G35 is not a Ferrari/Lambo. It should not have cost anywhere near this, labor included.

Well All of you would be wrong..
Brembo racing brakes were an option in 03/and 04 on the 6MT sport package which is what my car has.

A quick trip over to G35Driver.com would show you that is indeed the price the dealer charges to replace all 4 rotors and pads. 2800-3k+ is pretty average.

I paid 1200 but did not buy the Infiniti factory parts or the slotted or drilled rotors which are 500+ bucks each for the Brembos.

 

[ShawnD1]

Shift from 1st to 5th at high RPM without letting off the throttle. You'll know if its slipping.

Yikes. If the clutch wasn't broken before, it probably is now.

sell the car?! over a worn out clutch.. wow.. disposable income much?

Some cars are designed by people who have engineering degrees but don't know what a car looks like. The result is that they build cars that work great until you need to take them apart. Some cars are very well designed and changing the clutch takes maybe an hour or two of shop time. Some cars are horrendously bad design, so changing the clutch can take as much as 20 hours of shop time. By the time you burn out the clutch, the car is 10 years old, has a million miles on it, and is worth less than a happy meal.

A quick trip over to G35Driver.com would show you that is indeed the price the dealer charges to replace all 4 rotors and pads. 2800-3k+ is pretty average.

Now is that the dealer's fucked up price or the actual value of the job? Example: companies like Ford and Honda and Toyota think floor mats are worth $100. At Walmart, you can buy the same floor mats for $15. Honda's price for an ash tray that fits in the cup holder is something like $70. You can easily get those for $5 at a store like K-Mart. Dealerships thinks plain old aluminum rims for a Civic or Accord are worth $200+ each. I've seen similar rims, minus the logo, for $80 at a local tire shop.
Dealerships always screw people.

 

[CraigRT]

heh.. 1k brake job? wish mine was that low.. dealer price on Brembo rotors and pads and hardware 3000 bucks..

just did it =/

Learn to do work on your own.. $3k on brakes is just LOL.
No repair on my Saturn no matter how big is ever more than $200 (clutch job - DIY)

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Ok those g35 brakes are not 'real' brembos. They're decent stock brakes, but there really isn't anything special about them

 

[CVSiN]

Ok those g35 brakes are not 'real' brembos. They're decent stock brakes, but there really isn't anything special about them

Um.. you are so clueless.

look up the 2003/2004 SPORT package.. we have REAL BREMBOS on 18 inch wheels.
these are not the crap stock Infiniti brakes that ate rotors every 12k miles..

VERY limited and coveted package by G enthusiasts.

no those are not the 18s either in that pic but thats the only good closeup shot I could find.

Yes that was dealer ripoff markup and no I didn't pay it..
I paid 1100 out the door which was fair as the parts were very expensive as I ebay priced them as well.

 

[CVSiN]

Learn to do work on your own.. $3k on brakes is just LOL.
No repair on my Saturn no matter how big is ever more than $200 (clutch job - DIY)

lol even the OEM parts are more than 200 bucks.. the replacement flywheel alone is 500..
and a decent OEM aftermarket replacement clutch/pressure plate is up to 700 buck even on ebay for a reputable brand. factory is ridiculous too.

but yeh I know what you mean about working on your own stuff..
however it is against our HOA to do anything like that on the property even if I did have the tools and a real lift to do it.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Um.. you are so clueless.

look up the 2003/2004 SPORT package.. we have REAL BREMBOS on 18 inch wheels.
these are not the crap stock Infiniti brakes that ate rotors every 12k miles..

VERY limited and coveted package by G enthusiasts.

no those are not the 18s either in that pic but thats the only good closeup shot I could find.

Yes that was dealer ripoff markup and no I didn't pay it..
I paid 1100 out the door which was fair as the parts were very expensive as I ebay priced them as well.

Those are not made in the italy brembo factory with the rest of the real brembo brakes; they're basically chinese made rebadged budget junk with an 'authorized' brembo logo (not even a logo that's in the mold either; just a little decal)

Are they good street brakes? Sure.. No doubt better than stock g35 brakes.. But they aren't what most would consider 'real' brembos.


There are other vehicles with the same marketing crap... Actually 1098/1198 are similar... These are still monobloc calipers, but made in china and not the same as "real" brembo monoblocs.



Don't get me wrong; they're great for the street... But they're basically just larger infiniti brakes with a logo to make you feel better.