As an act of exteme bravery or extreme foolhardiness or maybe both, I find
myself
disagreeing with Joe and Andy...
Yes, you get wear on ALL the engine parts with a "dry start", but
1- You have no choice on the other parts - bearings, cylinder walls etc. You
DO however have the option of reducing the load on the thrust washer - why
not take advantage of it? and
2- The bearings, cylinder walls etc are not known for premature wear and
catastrophic failure. The thrust washer is. Again, why not take the ounce
of
prevention?
And yes, leaving the clutch engaged while starting means that you have to
spin part of the gearbox as well as the engine, but that is putting additional
load on the starting circuit, not the tranny. And starters are cheap compared
to engines.
Please be kind in replying as my Nomex is at the dry cleaners!
-Greg
Joe Curry writes
>
> Well stated, Andy. That was pretty much my point (although not as well
> articulated) in the first place. Anytime the clutch is depressed, there
> is pressure on the thrust washers. Although they might have better
> lubrication after the car is running. I hadn't even thought of the
> gearbox issue. I guess it proves that there is always going to be some
> sacrifice no matter what you do. Such is the nature of mechanical
> things.
>
> Joe
>
> Andrew Mace wrote:
> >
> > Joe Curry wrote:
> > >
> > > > In theory, the mentioned wear would be from the force of the crank
> being
> > > > pushed against the thrust washer. Although, I think the problem is
> > > > minimal.
> > >
> > On Thu, 17 Jun 1999, Michael Burdick wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Joe - let me respectfully say "I'm not so sure about that". The
> force
> > > pushing against the thrust washers when the clutch is disengaged is not
> > > insignificant (the clutch pedal is a pretty good lever arm), and the
> > > application of this force very often occurs after the oil has had
plenty
> > > of time to drain back into the pan. A high load with minimal
> lubrication
> > > could very well lead to premature wear....
> >
> > True, but isn't that same relative lack of lubrication true throughout
the
> > engine, i.e., bearings, cylinder walls/rings, etc.? Meanwhile, the
age-old
> > philosophy of depressing the clutch was to eliminate the drag of the
> > gearbox, right? So sacrifice one part to save another.
> >
> > Me? I suspect I'd worry more about holding the clutch in all the time at
> > red lights and stop signs (which I admit I still do all the time for
other
> > safety-related and long-ingrained-in-me-by-dad-and/or-safety-experts) and
> > the wear that causes! :-)
> >
> > --Andy
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