C
Clive
Guest
Depressing The Clutch
I don't know if the Corvette has thrust washers in the engine, but here's what holding the clutch pedal down does on my other car.
Keeping the clutch depressed puts pressure on the release bearing. That in turn puts forward pressure on the clutch itself and in turn to the crankshaft. That's forced forward under pressure and causes the thrust washers to wear out faster. Given time, in some cars, they can drop out and the extra crankshaft thrust then puts a sideways strain on the connecting rods and in extreme cases caused the rod ends to hit the cast webs where the thrust washers were causing engine damage that may not be repairable.
Best thing is to shift to neutral, keep one's foot off the clutch pedal and set the parking brake until it's time to move again.
I don't know if the Corvette has thrust washers in the engine, but here's what holding the clutch pedal down does on my other car.
Keeping the clutch depressed puts pressure on the release bearing. That in turn puts forward pressure on the clutch itself and in turn to the crankshaft. That's forced forward under pressure and causes the thrust washers to wear out faster. Given time, in some cars, they can drop out and the extra crankshaft thrust then puts a sideways strain on the connecting rods and in extreme cases caused the rod ends to hit the cast webs where the thrust washers were causing engine damage that may not be repairable.
Best thing is to shift to neutral, keep one's foot off the clutch pedal and set the parking brake until it's time to move again.
