Overhaulin'

is it bad to keep the clutch pedal depressed?

my friend does classic car restoration for a living and he says that on the old jags that he works on, if the driver was to keep the clutch pressed for too long it would wear out the throw out bearings faster and damage the washers on the crankshaft. is this also true for modern cars? like if i was sitting at a red light and kept the car in gear with the clutch pressed, does that harm the car in any way?

Public Comments

1. That is true regardless of what car it is. It causes a lot of stress to be put on the throw out bearing.
2. NO IT WON'T HARM IT AT ALL. THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR THIS TYPE OF USE. THAT IS WHY THROW OUT BEARINGS WERE DESIGNED IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT MAY BE TRUE FOR OLDER YEARS LIKE BACK IN THE SIXTYS AND SEVENTYS JUST BECAUSE THE LUBRICANTS USED BACK THEN WERE NOT AS GOOD AS TODAYS.
3. Same old problem, it wears the throwout bearing. The throwout bearing is only expected to be under load a few seconds at a time. Sometimes that makes no difference and the bearing is still good when the clutch disk wears out, but it is no fun to have to replace a clutch just because the throwout bearing is bad or to have to listen to the noise of a worn bearing when you press the clutch.
4. Most any time you hold the clutch in it is wearing on the throw out bearing and the pressure plate, If it just a matter of sitting at a traffic light it would take a while. If it sitting for a prolonged period of time then that is going to be when it does the most damage.
5. Yes,it is bad and shorten the life of clutch assembly as the whole thing is at work all the time.Old or modern cars,clutch is the same,mechanical thingy.
6. Yes. It's bad.
7. It shouldn't, and it shouldn't to older cars either. Extra throwout bearing wear from using it as designed is a myth. It's a BEARING, it is made to spin. The major cause of throwout bearing wear on older models is lack of maintenance. Being hidden in the bellhousing, it's not easy to clean and grease. Newer models are sealed units.
8. Well...that was a jag. In most cars with hydraulic clutches (current) it makes no difference [can't say in older cars]. Assuming you don't expect your clutch to last 100k miles which they don't. Technically you're supposed to keep your car in gear at a light but it's not really going to make a difference for clutch life it you just leave it in neutral...at least you'll save yourself the workout.