[tropicana]

I'd thought i'd ask about the clutch on my 1997 Renault Clio 1.4. It currently has 58800 miles on the clock, but regarding the biting point, it seems a little high compared to other cars (nearly all the way up). My stepdad tells me this is the sign of a clutch with wear on it, but is it possible for this clutch to fail?

At cold, it's usually very stiff to get it down a gear (the worst part is getting it into first gear), but alright when you shift up. Even when approaching a couple of junctions at times getting it into first gear can be a little stiff sometimes, even on a warm engine.

What do you think? The clutch doesn't barely feel any different ever since I got the car in February however.

[cokLoolioli]

My '99 Corsa (42k on clock) is exactly the same, foot right to the floor when changing gear, and it can be stiff getting into first when engine is still cold. But it had a service back in March, and passed the MOT last week and nothing reported wrong with the clutch. Think its just due to the fact its a small runabout that wasn't designed for extreme comfort when driving!

[arrismVam]

The important thing is that it starts to bite when you lift the clutch pedal about an inch off the floor. Do you feel it is slipping at all, like on hard accelerations does the motor suddenly race with without the car going any faster?

[Muhabsssa]

Clutch could be on the way out, depends how the car has been driven through its life.

[ChexEcodece]

You'll know when the clutch is about to go, itll start slipping, making weird noises etc.

It might just be a self adjusting clutch, high biting point can mean its going to fail, but it could just be self adjusting like I said just there. My Focus has a adjusting clutch, changes all the time.

Again, my focus can be hard to get into first gear, not HARD but harder than other gears, in similar situations like you described, and its a 2000 X reg with 36k on the clock, so I doubt the clutch should go anytime soon.

[Drysnyaty]

You can't really do anything about it either.. it's pointless changing it until it goes because you never know when it will fail.. When it failed on my integra, I heard squealing and it would grab at the bottom. Mine went without slipping, at least I didn't notice it because my pressure plate was smashed. ( Too much track/Hard launches )

On the other hand, my sunfire one started engaging at the very top now, I've been suspecting it would go in april/may, but it still goes, it was changed four-five years ago before we bought it and still works *knock on wood.

[tobia]

varies from car to car, hard shifting, start checking with tranny fluid first, a decent fluid can make a world of difference in how the car shifts (i liked redline in my 944)

as far as biting point goes, it can vary too. my old s-10 would engage the instant it came off the floor and the clutch was fairly knew, but when i traded it in, i found out shortly beforehand that the master cylinder was leaking fluid under the carpet on the driver side... on my 944, i put in a brand new clutch, pp, pilot bearing, fork pivot shaft, needle bearings, TO bearing... and it engaged fairly high up, but that just makes it easier to quick shift

[DextExexy]

sounds like mine which is quite heavy at the moment, have been able to put wd40 on the clutch cable previously and it helped but no more

[Feelundseenna]

Heh, recently I've thought that my mom's Ka is starting to bite a bit too high too...

[NanoKakadze]

Similar to my parents' C3 which I drive.

The biting point is right at the top of the pedal and sometimes it's difficult to get into first gear. I don't think there's anything wrong with it though.

If it starts slipping or making funny noises then it could be on the way out. Don't worry about it!

[tropicana]

Thanks for the replies people!

Well I haven't noticed the clutch slipping in any way - nor have I heard any funny noises so I can only assume it's fine for now. I don't feather around the biting point at junctions unless i'm just about to emerge from a junction. If i'm stuck in a long queue of traffic, then I always tend to stick it in neutral, because the clutch pedal is so fookin' heavy.

[Japakefrope]

my clutch whines at me. when i idle in nuetral is squeels like a pig. just gonna wait for it to die i think. i dont ahve much problems finding a gear etc.

[Feelundseenna]

Here's an article at ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/how_7687_diagnos...ng-clutch.html

Dunno how trustworthy that is... worth a try though...