Starter or Clutch? which to ruin?

[soda_pop503]

I have been looking for this answer for quite a while now, and cannot find a definite one. I dont have a scangauge so can't really accurately test it myself.

Anyways. When doing EOC, I hear a lot of people say to compression start the car rather than using the starter. I have a 3.8L V6, so it takes quite a bit of momentum to get the engine going again.

Also in my 25 mile trip I only have the opportunity to EOC 5 or 6 times, but for quite a while.

all I know is I would rather have my starter go out before my clutch. So will I really get much benefit to FE by using the starter instead of compression?

and am I really putting a lot of wear on the clutch by using the compression?

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Unless you rev match perfectly your clutch gets a scuff when you put in in gear anyway, so you're basically asking, "Should I wear the starter and the clutch, or just the clutch" ... so just put it in 3rd or something and let the clutch up fast. (Smoothness is only a sign of efficiency when you achieve it by perfectly matching speeds, not by grinding the hell out the clutch to slowly engage it.)

[theholycow]

First off, the correct procedure is just to slip the clutch a little and then step it back to the floor, letting the engine start itself once it's been turned over a little.

So, that said, consider the amount of clutch wear we're talking about if you do it right. It's less than starting from a stop in 1st gear. The clutch needs only transmit enough work to crank the engine, not even as much as is required to move the car from 0 to 2mph.

I can use 5th gear to start all the way down to 18mph dependably, or 12mph if I feel lucky.

As for electric starting, I don't know; but plenty of people who don't EOC have to replace starters, solenoids, and batteries more often than clutches...of course those are cheaper to replace too...

It's a personal choice but IMO electric starting is clumsy and unpleasant, while bump starting can be quite graceful and won't be noticed by anyone on the road or in the car.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Hmmm yeah depends on speed, usually when you're starting from a push, usually cold, you need to drop the clutch again but if you're at a reasonable speed and you get the gear right you often don't need to, at least that was my experience last I drove a standard.

[GasSavers_Ven]

you guys are nuts!!! To get a clutch replaced is about $1200! you can replace a starter much easier and cheaper ($100+?). Thats only if its worth it... If you have to do it, save the clutch, man.

[GasSavers_Erik]

IMHO bump starting a car is 100X easier on the clutch than starting the car out from a stop sign. So every bump creates such little wear that it doesn't matter in the end.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

True, because on the one hand it's overcoming the inertial mass of the car, and on the other it's just overcoming the inertial mass (plus pumping resistance) of the engine, which is less than the inertia of the car, or you'd never be able to start a motor like that. You can turn a motor over with one human arm, but to propel it from a stop sign at anything like the rate which engaging the clutch does, you'd probably need at least 4 people pushing. Hmmm 8 leg power vs 1 arm power, maybe 10-20 times more wear on launch than a bump start.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Well, let's see...last manual transmission car I had was my '79 Chevette. In 180,000 miles, I replaced the starter nine times (a couple of those were defective starters right out of the box) and the clutch once. With the starter going out so many times, I got to really identify with a couple lines out of "Country Home" by Neil Young:

"I don't like to go down to the flats
'cause I can't park on a hill.
Instead of getting a rolling start,
I have to pay the bill."

When I was a little kid, my dad drove to work in a '49 Ford. Our street had a gentle downhill slope, and he nearly always started the car by popping the clutch. And in the several years he did this, I don't recall him replacing the clutch.

So, I would guess that popping the clutch to restart when EOCing would probably be quite alright. All my examples would be harder on the clutch than EOCing would be.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Originally Posted by Ven

you guys are nuts!!! To get a clutch replaced is about $1200! you can replace a starter much easier and cheaper ($100+?). Thats only if its worth it... If you have to do it, save the clutch, man.

Clutch kit for a 2001 Chevy S-10: $137.21. http://www.oereplacement.com/partInf...D=R-52332205CK

Plus a twelve-pack of beer for you and a buddy (an extra person makes R&R of the transmission a LOT easier!)

[slurp812]

I dunno. I don't EOC much, but I always bump start. But I use 5th when I'm going maybe 10-20 mph. Cant be much clutch wear.