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| This car burned in less than 15 mins on the N3 in KZN. Photo: Johan Viljoen |
Q: When buying a second [hand] car how do I know the clutch plate is burnt?
A: The best way to check for a burnt and/or worn clutch is to park against an incline, pull up the hand brake, select the highest gear (5th in a manual or “Snow” in an automatic) and then, with the hand brake still up, slowly release the clutch pedal.
If the engine quickly stalls, the clutch grips and is still good. If the engine continues to run with the gear engaged, the clutch doesn’t grip and is worn.
The exceptions to this rule are the CVT gearboxes found in Ford models from 2010 and 2011 and Smart cars from 2003, which feels like a slipping clutch when it is working fine. By comparison, the CVT gearboxes in Nissan and Audi are as smooth as silk.
