I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny (no
problems when sold at 160K miles)..anyway, I respect the opinions of this
group and wanted to ask a question on a non-Chrysler product- I have as my
commute car a 1990 Protege with the 5 spd SOHC setup and it still has the
original drivetrain including clutch at 220,000 miles. I'm now putting on
about 22,000 miles a year, 10,000 of that pure highway 75-80mph and I'm
wondering- DO clutches really wear out? If you don't ride it, don't slip it
shifting and don't rest your arm on the stick...how long will it last?
Tomorrow she goes in to have the "lifetime" rear bearings replaced- I'll do
alt, rad, plugs and the like but this one was bit more than I wanted to
tackle...anyway...what's the highest mileage ya'll have heard on a manual
drivetrain?
Thanks,
Richard
Art - 26 Oct 2004 02:51 GMT
The shortest clutch lifetime was on a friend's Ford escort in the 80's. It
exploded (big bang with a bunch of other parts) while still under warranty
and Ford tried to call it a wear out item and didn't want to cover it
although they were going to cover the rest of the repairs.
>I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny (no
> problems when sold at 160K miles)..anyway, I respect the opinions of this
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Richard
Matt Whiting - 26 Oct 2004 03:46 GMT
> The shortest clutch lifetime was on a friend's Ford escort in the 80's. It
> exploded (big bang with a bunch of other parts) while still under warranty
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>>
>>Richard
Art, what part of "highest mileage" didn't you understand? :-)
Matt
Art - 27 Oct 2004 13:53 GMT
>> The shortest clutch lifetime was on a friend's Ford escort in the 80's.
>> It exploded (big bang with a bunch of other parts) while still under
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Art, what part of "highest mileage" didn't you understand? :-)
Who crowned you group monitor? Answer: No one.
Matt Whiting - 27 Oct 2004 22:27 GMT
>>>The shortest clutch lifetime was on a friend's Ford escort in the 80's.
>>>It exploded (big bang with a bunch of other parts) while still under
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> Who crowned you group monitor? Answer: No one.
Who stole your sense of humor and ability to understand what a smiley
means? And do you talk to yourself often?
Matt
Art - 28 Oct 2004 02:44 GMT
>>>>The shortest clutch lifetime was on a friend's Ford escort in the 80's.
>>>>It exploded (big bang with a bunch of other parts) while still under
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> Who stole your sense of humor and ability to understand what a smiley
> means? And do you talk to yourself often?
Sorry I forgot my :-)
Matt Whiting - 26 Oct 2004 03:44 GMT
> I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny (no
> problems when sold at 160K miles)..anyway, I respect the opinions of this
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> tackle...anyway...what's the highest mileage ya'll have heard on a manual
> drivetrain?
Sure, they wear out eventually, but they wear from sliding against the
pressure plate and flywheel just as brakes wear out from sliding against
the rotors or drums. Less sliding equals less wear. Since you are
driving most on the highway, you are getting very little wear per mile
and proper clutch usage minimizes wear even when starting out and
shifting fairly frequently.
I've never yet worn out a clutch in a passenger vehicle, but then I've
never taken one past about 150,000 miles. I did drive tractor trailers
years ago and I've seen them go beyond 300,000 miles on a clutch if
shifted properly.
Matt
Richard Smith - 26 Oct 2004 12:16 GMT
> > I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny (no
> > problems when sold at 160K miles)..anyway, I respect the opinions of this
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Matt
Thanks guys. I'd wondered about it since I intend to keep this car until
the wheels (literally) come off...but now I'm wondering if an engine rebuild
will occur before a clutch replacement. But running Mobil 1 perhaps they'll
both happen after 300K.
Richard
Matt Whiting - 26 Oct 2004 23:09 GMT
>>>I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny
>
[quoted text clipped - 53 lines]
>
> Richard
Often the throw-out bearing will fail before the clutch disk fails,
unless the rear main seal fails enough to get oil on the clutch.
Matt
Alex Rodriguez - 26 Oct 2004 18:11 GMT
>I have a T&C and before that a '92 G.C. with the infamous 4spd tranny (no
>problems when sold at 160K miles)..anyway, I respect the opinions of this
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>tackle...anyway...what's the highest mileage ya'll have heard on a manual
>drivetrain?
My GLH-T had about 150K miles before the original clutch started to slip.
I mostly took it easy on the car, but I did do hard launches on ocassion.
A car that is babied I can see lasting 200k.
------------
Alex