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Clutch question

dukebound85

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jul 17, 2005
19,218
4,342
5045 feet above sea level
I should know this but I dont

Why is it that my clutch seems to stick when its cold? For instance, its like -7 deg F here and my clutch seems to expereices a sludgy feeling both engaging and disengaging

It's a new clutch and just the other day when it was like 50 deg, it worked like a champ, very fluid
 
well remember you clutch is hydrolic so the fluid is cold. On cold days I notices both my clutch is sluggish and my power steering does not work as well until everything warms up a little.
 
Well all the lubricants and fluids involved probably aren't too liquid at super low temperatures...I know that when it gets below 0ºF I have to be careful shifting into 3rd gear in my car first thing in the morning because it doesn't like to engage.
 
Extreme cold (below 20F and -7C) will affect a hydraulic clutch causing sluggish behavior, and if problems do not persist at normal operating temperature (engine temp 200F/95C for 10 minutes) everything is probably fine. But not all clutches are hydraulic, many vehicles including popular late model Fords have a mechanical linkage clutch still. Stickiness can often be caused by a weak pressure plate, binding in the linkage, and improper adjustment.
 
Yeah if you by any chance have a 99 Forester, we had a clutch issue when it was cold or wet out. The clutch would shutter when engaging, only in first, and would eventually go away. It was a known issue across the subaru lineup for that year, maybe even a few more years.
 
dukebound85 said:
right now, the air temp is -15 deg F. brrrrrr
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This is why, the fluid probably can't warm up fast enough. How far/long would you drive before it does start to loosen? I drive 14 miles to work but that can take 15 minutes or 45 minutes (sometimes longer thank you 405). In 15 minutes I am halfway to work before my heater really starts to bake the **** out of me. So if you don't drive far/long then it probably never really warms up. Anyway to pump it before you start it to sort of get it going? I did that in my jeep often in the winter because it was so hard to push.
 
Wow, I'm a total girl, I was reading this thread and wondering why a guy was carrying a purse. *exits*
 
Sounds like completely normal operation. Automatic transmissions do the same thing to a lesser degree :)rolleyes:).

Take it slow. If gears are hard to engage, double-clutch until it warms up.
 
The OP is in colorado and I am also. As he knows, it's been extremely cold here the past three days. Sunday night the low temp was -19 and the high was about 0.

That is insane record cold for our city. I have a new car that was making some weird noises on that day as anything will when starting in those cold temps. It's all normal. Lots of peoples cars didn't even start up that morning.
 
Definitely due to the hydraulic action of the clutch. Cars haven't had fully mechanical linkages for years.
 
You may want to check and see if there are any air bubbles in the clutch line, or perhaps dirty fluid. Do you know if they changed it out when you had the clutch replaced?

cantthinkofone said:
Let your car warm up before you drive it. my integra does this in the mornings....well it did....it hasn't ran for 4 months (dam timing belts :mad:)
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Generally, you should only let it sit for no more than a minute, than drive it like a granny until the oil comes up to temperature, which is usually a few minutes after your coolant temp reaches its normal range.

I'm not sure what you can do to warm up clutch fluid, aside from having the engine warm it indirectly.
 
Counterfit said:
You may want to check and see if there are any air bubbles in the clutch line, or perhaps dirty fluid. Do you know if they changed it out when you had the clutch replaced?



Generally, you should only let it sit for no more than a minute, than drive it like a granny until the oil comes up to temperature, which is usually a few minutes after your coolant temp reaches its normal range.

I'm not sure what you can do to warm up clutch fluid, aside from having the engine warm it indirectly.
Click to expand...

yea i had it flushed as well

i will say things are back to being smooth clutch wise with temps in the 20's today

must have been the extreme cold that did it
 
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