i learned how to drive over 50 years ago on a stick shift. The person who taught me said to shift into neutral and release the clutch when I come to a red light or other rqmts to stop, other than a stop sign, and step on the brake pedal to save the clutch. That’s the way I’ve been driving and my previous car, 1970 vw bug, purchased new, lasted me for over 30 years and over 400,000 miles. I may have had one clutch replacement if at all. Is this still good advice? Your comments please.
Is this still good advice? Your comments please but by e-mail, not over the radio because I’m not always near a radio on Sat. mornings.
“Your comments please but by e-mail, not over the radio…”
Harry
Apparently you are under the impression that this is a direct line to Tom & Ray.
While it is possible that they occasionally glance at this forum, they do not respond here, and are unlikely to respond on their radio program to anything posted here.
In reality, this forum is the “playpen” for scores of ordinary automotively-oriented folks who listen to the show and who like to help others with their car problems. As one forum member has said, the responses in this forum are just from “peons” like me.
All of that being said, the technique that was taught to you over 50 years ago is the same technique that was taught to me over 45 years ago. By not keeping the clutch pedal depressed while sitting at a traffic light, you reduce the chance of wearing out the clutch throw-out bearing. Additionally, there is less chance of the car lurching forward if you are hit from behind.
So–yes, this is still good advice, at least IMHO.
I am sure that some of the other peons will also log on to give their opinion, and if you are particularly lucky, one of our new forum members will attempt to inject his opinion about the metric system into this thread!
;-))
Harry, I am not sure why you are asking for advice. You made a cheap car last more than 30 years. We ought to be turning to YOU for advice.
Yes, your driving method is quite correct. Congratulations on keeping your car on the road for 643,000 kilometers.
Yes, this is still good advice.
The clutch disc is sandwiched between the flywheel and the pressure plate when engaged. Inside the bellhousing, you have a release bearing (also called a throwout bearing) that, when you press the clutch pedal, forces levers in the pressure plate assembly to lift the pressure plate off of the clutch plate, releasing it from its comprssion and freeing it from the flywheel surface. However, it puts itself under significant load when doing this. Holding the pedal in adds to the wear of the release bearing.
In short, your practice is, in fact, alloowing the release bearing to last longer.
I second Steve’s congratulations.
Another good reason to go into neutral is safety.
If for any reason your foot accidentally slipped off the clutch pedal…
400,000 miles on an air cooled engine is phenomenal. Who did the maintenance?
I generally drive my stick shift the same way you do, but with a couple exceptions:
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If I am first in line at a red light, and I can’t see the traffic signals of the crossing traffic, I hold down the clutch and have the car in gear. I don’t want to hold up the line when the light turns green. However, if I am not first in line, I have time to shift into gear after I see the light turn green before the car(s) in front of me start(s) to move, and if I can see the signal for the cross traffic, I have time to shift into gear when the yellow light for cross traffic comes on.
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If I’m in a bad neighborhood, I will have the clutch pressed and the car in gear so I can drive away quickly if I have to.
400,000 miles on an air cooled engine is phenomenal. Who did the maintenance?
Those engines are known for the longevity. There was one guy in Chicago with over 1,000,000 miles on the original engine. In many ways that air-cooled engine is far more reliable then most other engines.
@harry10531 - Please let us know how you got your car to 400k. What all maintenance and repairs did you do?
400k is NOT unusual for that engine…They were extremely durable engines.
Well, my VW friend rebuilds his every 100k or so. While the engine might be the same one he started with, I imagine there was some significant work involved to get it to 400k. I had to check to confirm, but these didn’t even have an oil filter, just a screen. Many have been retrofitted with filters.
Well, my VW friend rebuilds his every 100k or so. While the engine might be the same one he started with, I imagine there was some significant work involved to get it to 400k.
My Dad had a 69 Bug that had well over 200k miles before it rusted out…
Not too sure of the reliability of the ones made in South America…But the ones sold in the US back in the 60’s and made in Germany were one of the most reliable engines made. I’ve rebuilt one with over 350k miles…The cooling fan belt broke and my friends wife didn’t know it…The engine overheated…Dropped the engine…put in new bearings…and had to replace a 2 of the cylinders…put in new rings…and I forget what else I did…But it was running great again in just a couple of days.
I’ll admit that my experience with air cooled VWs is minimal but of the ones that I have worked on none ever clocked over 150k miles on an engine. Most required an overhaul before 100k. In the 1960s the local dealer could drop, overhaul and re-install an engine in 4 hours and kept quite busy doing so.
The biggest problem with those engines was the cooling fan. If the belt broke or the fan froze up…the engine didn’t last much longer. But keep the fan running…and those engines ran forever.
Mike I have to disagree with you also. The bug engine was pretty reliable up to around 100k, but that was about it. Keep in mind that 100k in the 60’s, with the oil available at that time, was considered very good.
You could get rebuilt bug engines pretty cheap in the late 60’s and they were quick and easy to change out.
Mike I have to disagree with you also. The bug engine was pretty reliable up to around 100k, but that was about it. Keep in mind that 100k in the 60’s, with the oil available at that time, was considered very good.
Well we’ll have to disagree then…I’ve seen several bugs from that era with well over 200k miles. They were very popular where I lived because of the snow. They were legendary for their ability to drive in snow…No heat though…but many people in our town had them because of the 250" of snow we got…Very few cars had fwd…and mostly only pickups had 4wd back then. Big cars even with snows couldn’t go as well as the bug did in snow. This was a mainly a poor farming community…so the Bugs were a perfect choice.
By 1960s standards, the Beetle engines were reliable, in the same sense as the Dodge Dart was reliable. By today’s standards, probably not so much. They ran forever if you took good care of them but they both required frequent care that nobody would tolerate today unless they like working on cars or collect them as a hobby.
I am hoping one day to get my hands on a Beetle in good condition, but I don’t kid myself. I know it will take up a lot of my free time to keep it running.
Mike, I have no doubt they ran 250k +, but I do wonder what maintenance/repairs they needed. The bug folks I know put 100k as a reasonable rebuild interval, something that was quickly and routinely done, the bodies didn’t rust to pieces like so much US iron of the time, so a few hours in the shop and it was ready for another 100k. I put that down as maintenance, not reliability.