Are manual gearboxes really durable?

Lovert Mafukure

Following your articles you said manual cars are more durable than autos but my clutch keeps burning . . .

Indeed, manual transmissions are more durable than automatics. In most cases all you need to replace are clutch kits, with automatic you may need to repair or replace the whole gearbox which is costly. The reasons why your clutch plate keeps burning out may be narrowed down to common causes as outlined below.

I prefer manual transmissions because of their advantages over automatic transmissions. Manual transmissions are cheaper to produce, to buy when new and to maintain.

They are lighter in weight and generally more fuel efficient than automatic transmissions. Give no thought to the ex-Japanese car craze, they are grey imports and do not paint the correct picture on the pricing of new cars.

There’s a lot that goes into the manufacture and maintenance of the automatic transmission, special lubrication oil is required and oil change intervals need to be stuck to religiously. With manual transmissions, all you need to do is change gear oil at set intervals and you are good to go. They are not as sensitive as the automatic ones.

Automatics are a breeze to drive. They are so easy and convenient and one doesn’t really have to put any effort to drive an automatic car.

Some automatic transmissions also accelerate faster than manuals and that’s just about the summary of the main benefits of an automatic. If one is to choose a manual then, there are some things they need to know about the manual transmission.

That their durability depends on one’s ability to understand how they work, that way they won’t abuse the manual transmission.

The first thing to take note of is only make use the clutch when you need to. Don’t needlessly press on the clutch or hold the car on a hill with the clutch. You will only accelerate the wear on your clutch.

If on a hill, make use of your handbrake the way they teach at the driving school. It’s not only dangerous to hold the car with the clutch but also increases wear on the clutch components.

Riding the clutch is the manual transmission’s biggest mistake. Riding the clutch refers to resting your foot on the clutch pedal or driving the car with a partially pressed clutch pedal. This causes the clutch to slip up, increasing its wear. There are instances where riding the clutch is necessary for example with low speed manoeuvres like parallel parking or reversing out of a tight spot.

It’s not necessary however, when driving straight. Some cars come with foot rests, make use of those and try by all means not to ride the clutch. It wears out the clutch and puts unnecessary strain on the clutch release components.

There are forceful events that occur the moment you depress the clutch. When you depress the clutch, force is transmitted to the thrust bearing via a clutch fork, what will happen next is that the bearing will press onto the pressure plate fingers, simultaneously releasing the clutch plate from the flywheel so that you may be in a position to change gears without them grinding into each other.

Keep in mind every time you press the clutch pedal that you are stressing the thrust bearing, the pressure plate fingers and the clutch folk. Any damage to any of these components means you have to pull the gearbox out and that costs money.

The clutch plate is as important as the wheels on your car, without it, the car will not move. It is the only point of contact between the engine and the transmission. It is the point of transfer of engine power to the transmission.

The nice part about it all is the gearbox rarely gets damaged unless someone is so bad a driver they grind gears all the time. Usually what gets damaged is those components but with good driving skills you can get hundreds of thousands of kilometres on one clutch kit. If you abuse your car though, you will keep pulling out the gearbox. When you replace the clutch kit, always replace with a good brand set. Trust me, you do not want to put poor quality parts in there. Till next time, happy motoring!

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