clutch giving out?

[VampireSix]

I didn't see any manual transmission forums, so this seemed like the best place to post...

I'm a proud owner of a '94 4cly manual, and at about 119,500 I think my clutch is starting to give out...

Its not grabbing right away like it used to... feels like it has to gradually grab for the RPMs.... 5th gear won't accelerate at all.. if I give it any more gas than is needed to 'coast' in 5th, rpms shoot up w/o any acceleration... lower gears act in a similar fashion with a change in the amount of gas, but does accelerate mostly (but no where near how it used to), and hills are an absolute killer. This used to be a quick, fun to drive car... now I'm afraid its going to leave me stranded somewhere.

Mainly, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me whats wrong (I don't really know anything other than its the clutch), how much I can expect it to cost me to fix it, and is there anything I could have done to prevent it?

thanks!

[Tunes67]

Clutches are a wear & replace part.. much like your brakes. Typical shop costs to get a FWD clutch done average from $250 upto $400 depending on the shop. You can do it yourself for 1/2 that cost easy, if you have the proper tools and a decent place to work on it.

Your problem does indeed sound like your clutch is slipping.. and you will definately want to get it fixed asap if you need to keep driving the car. Most clutch shops (I like Clutch Doctors) can have the car in and out in under 3 hours if they are good. A busy shop will often tell you next day or in a couple of days.

If you decide to do the clutch yourself.. There are 3 main components that you need to replace.
1) Throwout Bearing
2) Clutch plate
3) Pressure plate

Parts you should inspect & replace as needed.

1) Slave Cylinder
2) Pilot Bearing
3) Hydraulic Clutch line

Hope this helps.

Tunes67

[Grants]

You should get it done very soon or it will leave you stranded. Or rather now you know about it, you'll strand yourself - no longer the cars fault! Its your responsibility - its done everything to warn you like a good car should As a bonus, it will feel like a new car.

[neutral]

Its not grabbing right away like it used to... feels like it has to gradually grab for the RPMs.... 5th gear won't accelerate at all.. if I give it any more gas than is needed to 'coast' in 5th, rpms shoot up w/o any acceleration... lower gears act in a similar fashion with a change in the amount of gas, but does accelerate mostly (but no where near how it used to), and hills are an absolute killer. This used to be a quick, fun to drive car... now I'm afraid its going to leave me stranded somewhere.

Mainly, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me whats wrong (I don't really know anything other than its the clutch), how much I can expect it to cost me to fix it, and is there anything I could have done to prevent it?

thanks!

Agree w/others here. Sounds like your clutch pressure plate is nearly 100% worn out. Those lower gears sound like they'll crap out real soon too. Typical pattern of trouble from wear and tear is losing your upper gears first like you described. Unless your driving style is hard on the clutch, it's normal wear. Can't see that from here but you'll know if the des fits.

Being hard on the clutch includes:

-keeping clutch pedal partially engaged at a stop while revving RPM's, like when "stopped" on an incline - then you're just "sanding" the disc surface... and stopping is what the brakes are meant for.

- shifting at too-high RPMS in general - again, need to avoid spinning up the RPMs at shiftpoints.

- constant hard downshifting. It's fun and meant to be so, but it wears on the clutch instead of the brakes so can sacrifice some clutch-life.

Have seen ppl get 100+K miles on a single clutch and others who get 40K from hard driving habits. Most fall somewhere between.

[Tunes67]

Heh.. my dad has a 1976 Plymouth Duster.. 318 2bbl V8 w/ Factory Hurst Shifted 4sp trans in it.. car has (no joke) 322,319 miles on it.. on the original clutch I told him thats proof he is old now

Tunes67