rob_engineer

Let's of talk on here about manual vs auto. What I want to know is what are the primary causes for premature death of a clutch. Or flip that around, what driving techniques will give the best chance of a very long clutch life. I have a 2012 jkus in manual and want to make sure the clutch lasts a long time. It's been 15yrs since I've had a manual trans and that was in a ford mustang. I put 120k miles on that with the original clutch before selling the car. Clutch was still good.

johnrb3b

Ignoring errors in manufacturing or assembly, the single determining factor in clutch life is the driver.
I've put between 75,000 and 150,000 miles on a dozen clutch vehicles in my decades of driving and never replaced a clutch. And I do a LOT of up & down shifting, including double-clutching. That pedal goes in and out a LOT.
You might lose a throwout bearing, depending on years of use. Not much you can do about that.
It's simply a matter of keeping clutch slipping to a minimum. Coordinating your feet so the clutch engages and the engine revs climb with minimum slip will keep a clutch working for a quarter million miles.
It's a knack that some people never acquire. To others, it seems to come naturally.

Worst case example:
A relative of mine burned out the clutch in a Honda in under 75,000 miles. They would hold the car on a hill at a stop light by slipping the clutch!!! Hello, what are the brakes for?

Alaska Jeep

I think mostly it depends on how much you let your wife drive your jeep.

Mjkrakow

what else makes them fail early?

teaching someone how to drive on a manual as well!

JK-Tex

This is transmission-related, not clutch, but I would add that people should always use their parking brake. When I'm parking, I (1) put the trans in Neutral, (2) apply the parking brake, (3) let up off the brakes to allow the vehicle to "settle" onto the parking brake, (4) turn the vehicle off, then (5) push in the clutch and put it back in gear (1st or Reverse, depending) to prevent a rollaway if the parking brake fails. This prevents a lot of premature wear on your transmission.

jdk

X2 on how much your wife drives

rob_engineer

Back in the 80's I was teaching my girlfriend (now my wife) how to drive a manual. Ended up getting T-boned when she stalled in an intersection because she was starting off in 3rd gear. Maybe I did not learn my lesson. I will be teaching her how to drive my jeep this weekend because she needs to use it on Tuesday. It's been about 20 years since she has driven a manual in a car, though she handled a 5 speed atv for a few years, so she knows the concept.

JfK

The number one cause of death for a clutch is slippage, as has been mentioned above. Double clutching on down shifts, smooth acceleration, and keep your foot off the freaking peddle(one of my biggest pet peeves) when you are not actively disengaging the clutch. Water will also destroy a clutch, as will heating it up(from spinning).

A clutch can and will outlast a vehicle if driven properly.

Eckman

Is double clutching necessary? Aren't our gears synchronized?

mandor6863

Without aging myself, I have had a number of vehicles with clutches over the years. Some things that drive clutch wear is mis-alignment, slipping (like holding on a hill or stop light), mechanical issues (broken springs in the fingers), not fully depressing, higher horsepower, big tires without gear changes in the axles, so many things in general.
To me, my biggest concern for pre-mature wear on my clutch is this dang auto hill hold stuff. I will be dis-abling this soon as it is truley causing me concern. That and a motor that is torque light, need to rev it just a tad if on any kind of incline. In compared, my old scout or toyota or willys I could dump it with a jerk but not a stall.
Still, an experienced driver can be the biggest factor in clutch life.
Hope this helps -
Mandor6863