does changing the engine oil make any difference to the way the clutch feels? changed the oil a couple of days ago and now the clutch feels really smooth! doesn't seem to bite harshly anymore, or is the clutch on the way out?
oil and clutch
- Thread starter agilecanon
- Start date
pollyp
Club Member
engine oil should normally have no effect on the clutch system.
although if ya mean the clutch biting force and clamping force seems more likely to slip, and you've changed to a thinner grade or upgraded to fully synthetic from mineral/semi-synth on a high milage engine, then it could be that the new oil with more detergents has dislodged some old sludge & caused the rear crank seal or sump gasket to leak onto the flywheel and the oil flung around the bellhousing could have contaminated the clutch surface making it slip. check if any oil is leaking underneath between the engine & gearbox after long drive.
although if ya mean the clutch biting force and clamping force seems more likely to slip, and you've changed to a thinner grade or upgraded to fully synthetic from mineral/semi-synth on a high milage engine, then it could be that the new oil with more detergents has dislodged some old sludge & caused the rear crank seal or sump gasket to leak onto the flywheel and the oil flung around the bellhousing could have contaminated the clutch surface making it slip. check if any oil is leaking underneath between the engine & gearbox after long drive.
yeah i did change to 5-30 i think it was,it was recomended by halfords,i give them the reg number and they told me it was that grade, it was castroll oil as i heard that's a good oil,is it going to be a problem to the car? if so is it easy to fix? the engine has done 60k, although when frank and my mate looked at it,they both say it has signs of a higher millage, either doctored m.o.t's or a rough life before i got hold of it:glare: thanks for the help
pollyp
Club Member
Thats too thin, tis not like its a brand new engine or car so halfords chart is wrong. Could've been 60k over 10yrs with cheap oil and little oil change or harsh short runs without fully heating up and the yrs of sludge buildup could've been the only thing keepin the seals blocked, ya never know how the cars been treated over the yrs exactly.
Haynes recommended 10w40 and i also tried castrols high milage 15w40 to reduce oil consumption. Give em a try to see if it stops using oil. Otherwise you may have to trace where the oils leakin and replace the seal.
If its the rear crank seal, i got mine off dealers for £26 fitted myself
Haynes recommended 10w40 and i also tried castrols high milage 15w40 to reduce oil consumption. Give em a try to see if it stops using oil. Otherwise you may have to trace where the oils leakin and replace the seal.
If its the rear crank seal, i got mine off dealers for £26 fitted myself
gonna kill halfords! i actually had castroll 10-40 and they told me to put it back as it's the wrong one! knew i shouldn't have listened! do you guys think it'll be o.k for another week or so? i have a busy week and a trip to wales on the weekend,will the car be o.k for this journey do you reckon? cheers
pollyp
Club Member
it'll be drivable. keep an eye on ur oil level when stopping during ur trip. i'd change to 10/15w40 soon as you can. if after going back to 10w40 that it gets so bad that ur clutch starts slipping badly under normal driving then you'll first need to fix the leak issue then replace the contaminated clutch
I run 5w30 in mine which is the 'correct' oil for it. At 60,000 miles, your engine will still be tighter than a knat's chuff and shoud be absolutley fine with 5w30. If you had any oil in the clutch, you'd notice a terrible smell and the clutch would slip. If you read the 'Bob is the oil guy' forums, the Americans and a lot of the top car manufacturers are going over to 0w20 oil. The lubricity's the same but the oil can get around the engine so much better that heavier oils 
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essexpunx
Site Supporter
I run 5w30 in mine which is the 'correct' oil for it. At 60,000 miles, your engine will still be tighter than a knat's chuff and shoud be absolutley fine with 5w30. If you had any oil in the clutch, you'd notice a terrible smell and the clutch would slip. If you read the 'Bob is the oil guy' forums, the Americans and a lot of the top car manufacturers are going over to 0w20 oil. The lubricity's the same but the oil can get around the engine so much better that heavier oils
Totally agree, i run mine on 5w30 with 75000 up with no problems, if the clutch isn't slipping wheres the problem, agilecanon hasn't described a slipping clutch.
well that gives me a little confidence back! was thinking i'd end up having to replace the seals/oil and clutch...and all because i was trying to make the car better! yeah as said it just feels noticable smoother, i have tried engaging 3rd gear from a slow speed and there is no slipping or engine revs before pick up, that i can tell of anyway, the only way to describe it is if you engage a gear badly you feel the car judder,but that doesn't happen any more,just smoothly no matter the way of driving! could the new oil make the engine feel different hence makeing me think the clutch is acting differently? or is it signs of the clutch possible on it's way out? i havn't noticed any burning smell when accelerating, only if i accelerate harshly from slow crawl to motorway speed, but could smel that long before the oil change, that can't be normall either i would imagine!? i havn't noticed any oil as of yet on the floor under the car, still quite baffled:doh:
also cheers all for the help(Y)
guess so hey! lets hope the road trip on the weekend is a good/safe one! thanks again all(Y)
not sure tbh, i've never tried to loosen or tighten it because i don't know how to! guessing it's a simple procedure though from what i've heard, how do i do it? and any advantage to it?
lol, i have and wish i had his knowellege! would stop me feeling stupid lol
the pedal is quite high, i'd say around 2 thirds or around 3 quarters untill biting point, but thought this was normal?
i will give it a look over tomorrow, thanks for the advice! just loosen it and the biting point is lower?
