Transmission Image Gallery
Transmission Image Gallery

Diagram of car showing clutch location. See more transmission images.


Introduction to How Clutches Work

If you drive a manual transmission car, you may be surprised to find out that it has more than one clutch. And it turns out that folks with automatic transmission cars have clutches, too. In fact, there are clutches in many things you probably see or use every day: Many cordless drills have a clutch, chain saws have a centrifugal clutch and even some yo-yos have a clutch.

In this article, you'll learn why you need a clutch, how the clutch in your car works and find out some interesting, and perhaps surprising, places where clutches can be found.

Clutches are useful in devices that have two rotating shafts. In these devices, one of the shafts is typically driven by a motor or pulley, and the other shaft drives another device. In a drill, for instance, one shaft is driven by a motor and the other drives a drill chuck. The clutch connects the two shafts so that they can either be locked together and spin at the same speed, or be decoupled and spin at different speeds.


To understand how a clutch works, it helps to know a little bit about friction, which is a measure of how hard it is to slide one object over another. Friction is caused by the peaks and valleys that are part of every surface -- even very smooth surfaces still have microscopic peaks and valleys. The larger these peaks and valleys are, the harder it is to slide the object. You can learn more about friction in How Brakes Work.

A clutch works because of friction between a clutch plate and a flywheel. We'll look at how these parts work together in the next section.

Fly Wheels, Clutch Plates and Friction

In a car's clutch, a flywheel connects to the engine, and a clutch plate connects to the transmission. You can see what this looks like in the figure below.

Exploded view of a clutch

When your foot is off the pedal, the springs push the pressure plate against the clutch disc, which in turn presses against the flywheel. This locks the engine to the transmission input shaft, causing them to spin at the same speed.

The amount of force the clutch can hold depends on the friction between the clutch plate and the flywheel, and how much force the spring puts on the pressure plate. The friction force in the clutch works just like the blocks described in the friction section of How Brakes Work, except that the spring presses on the clutch plate instead of weight pressing the block into the ground.

How a clutch engages and releases­

When the clutch pedal is pressed, a cable or hydraulic piston pushes on the release fork, which presses the throw-out bearing against the middle of the diaphragm spring. As the middle of the diaphragm spring is pushed in, a series of pins near the outside of the spring causes the spring to pull the pressure plate away from the clutch disc (see below). This releases the clutch from the spinning engine.

Clutch plate

Photo courtesy Carolina Mustang

Note the springs in the clutch plate. These springs help to isolate the transmission from the shock of the clutch engaging.

This design usually works pretty well, but it does have a few drawbacks. We'll look at common clutch problems and other uses for clutches in the following sections.


Clutch Diagnostic Test

If you don't hear any noise during these four steps, then your problem is probably not the clutch. If you hear the noise at idle and it goes away when the clutch is pressed, it may be an issue in the contact point between the fork and pivot ball.

  1. Start your car, set the parking brake, and put the car in neutral.
  2. With your car idling, listen for a growling noise without pushing the clutch in. If you hear something, it's most likely a problem with the transmission. If you don't hear a noise, proceed to step three.
  3. With the car still in neutral, begin to push the clutch and listen for noise. If you hear a chirping noise as you press, it's most likely the clutch release, or throw-out bearing. If you don't hear a noise, proceed to step four.
  4. Push the clutch all the way to the floor. If you hear a squealing noise, it's probably the pilot bearing or bushing.

Common Problems

From the 1950s to the 1970s, you could count on getting between 50,000 and 70,000 miles from your car's clutch. Clutches can now last for more than 80,000 miles if you use them gently and maintain them well. If not cared for, clutches can start to break down at 35,000 miles. Trucks that are consistently overloaded or that frequently tow heavy loads can also have problems with relatively new clutches.

Click "play" to see the slip.

The most common problem with clutches is that the friction material on the disc wears out. The friction material on a clutch disc is very similar to the friction material on the pads of a disc brake or the shoes of a drum brake -- after a while, it wears away. When most or all of the friction material is gone, the clutch will start to slip, and eventually it won't transmit any power from the engine to the wheels.

The clutch only wears while the clutch disc and the flywheel are spinning at different speeds. When they are locked together, the friction material is held tightly against the flywheel, and they spin in sync. It's only when the clutch disc is slipping against the flywheel that wearing occurs. So, if you are the type of driver who slips the clutch a lot, you'll wear out your clutch a lot faster.

Sometimes the problem is not with slipping, but with sticking. If your clutch won't release properly, it will continue to turn the input shaft. This can cause grinding, or completely prevent your car from going into gear. Some common reasons a clutch may stick are:

  • Broken or stretched clutch cable - The cable needs the right amount of tension to push and pull effectively.
  • Leaky or defective slave and/or master clutch cylinders - Leaks keep the cylinders from building the necessary amount of pressure.
  • Air in the hydraulic line - Air affects the hydraulics by taking up space the fluid needs to build pressure.
  • Misadjusted linkage - When your foot hits the pedal, the linkage transmits the wrong amount of force.
  • Mismatched clutch components - Not all aftermarket parts work with your clutch.

A "hard" clutch is also a common problem. All clutches require some amount of force to depress fully. If you have to press hard on the pedal, there may be something wrong. Sticking or binding in the pedal linkage, cable, cross shaft, or pivot ball are common causes. Sometimes a blockage or worn seals in the hydraulic system can also cause a hard clutch.

Another problem associated with clutches is a worn throw-out bearing, sometimes called a clutch release bearing. This bearing applies force to the fingers of the spinning pressure plate to release the clutch. If you hear a rumbling sound when the clutch engages, you might have a problem with the throw-out.

In the next section, we'll examine some different types of clutches and how they are used.


Car air conditioning compressor with magnetic clutch


Types of Clutches








Lots More Information



  • Carley, Larry. Solving Slipping, Chattering, Noise, Sticking Pedal and Other Common Clutch Problems. (10/04/07).
  • (10/04/07).
  • (10/04/07).
  • Weisler, Paul. Saturday Mechanic - Fan Clutch Replacement. (10/04/07).