How do you know when the clutch is gone?

[84gmcjimmy]

How can you tell when the clutch is gone in a truck? When we bought my Jimmy , the first thing my dad noticed when he test drove it he said the clutch was gone...

How do you tell?

In our furd truck when I let the clutch out there is a small clank or bang sometimes. Could this be it?
Also, when I turn it off after its started sometimes the engine makes this weird noise and I have to press the brake in and let out the clutch, other wise the truck drives forward a bit-even though its turned off and on flat ground, no hills or anything..
HELP?

 

[randy88k5]

Well, a dead giveaway would be when the engine accelerates and the truck does not.

You can pop the bellhousing cover and check to see if any friction material is still present on the friction disk. Look for grooves in the flywheel. The throwout bearing could be bad, which will howl/squeak/grind at you when you push in the clutch.

If the clutch is starting to go, but still holds, can sometimes be felt in the clutch pedal. If the clutch disengages all the way at the top of the pedal travel, its probably in need of replacement. That means all the play in the clutch pedal is gone because there is a decrease of distance between the pressure plate and the flywheel. Kind of like when brake pads wear down, the pad backing gets closer to the rotors. This slack can sometimes be taken up if you have manual linkage. Hydraulic clutches cannot be adjusted (within reason).

Hope this helps...

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

You can tell the clutch is gone when it slips more than you want it to, i.e. you let the clutch out and the clutch slips a lot more than you would expect. It is not necessarily a terminal problem and will get worse the more it wears. You will replace it when you can't stand driving it with a crappy clutch any more. The bang in your F*rd is probably not clutch related. When you shut it off and it keeps running, that is called dieseling and is caused by lots of carbon buildup, timing being too advanced, idle set too lean, or spark plugs in the wrong heat range (basically what is happening is something in the combustion chamber is getting hot enough to ignite the air fuel mixture without any spark, thus the engine continues to run even though you have cut the ignition). You should probably fix that problem, it can be pretty hard on motors. Oh yeah, if you do replace the clutch, get a Centerforce stage II. You won't regret it (IMHO, of course).

 

[84gmcjimmy]

Thanks I will pull the cover and check for those mentioned ideas.

I will look into the dieseling problem soon. Is it going to be hard to fix, I haven't done anything like this with engines. Any ideas where I can start?

 

[sweetk30]

also go about 30 mph and slip it in to top gear and floor it. if it revs up it is slipping. just a nother way to tell . putts a good load on it this way.

 

[unclematty]

Thanks I will pull the cover and check for those mentioned ideas.

I will look into the dieseling problem soon. Is it going to be hard to fix, I haven't done anything like this with engines. Any ideas where I can start?

Steve, the thing is probably runnin a little rich, or the timing is advanced a little too much or the engine is running very hot. these three things or any combination there of, can cause "dieseling" or run on.
try leaning out the air fuel mixture screws a little, maybe a 1/4 turn in on each one. then check the timing, let me know what you find.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

I wouldn't bother taking off the inspection plate to look at the clutch, it could be bad even if it has plenty of material left (and it is really hard to tell anything anyway). Just drive it, you will know and decide what you want to do with the clutch. As far as your F*rd, first set the idle mixture (either search or ask here if you need to know how to do it). Next, check the ignition timing. Finally, I would buy some seafoam and pour it down the intake (instructions are on the can, this stuff works awesome for getting rid of carbon). One of these will probably fix your problem (probably the seafoam).