Thread: How do you "burn out" a clutch?

My Dad is having some trouble. He has "burned out" his clutch on several occasions. Actually, he has broken his transmission and he has broken his clutch several times. He has memory trouble so he doesn't have any idea what he is doing or not doing.

And he's still driving ????

I'm not joking about this, don't find it funny at all. How is his reaction time? How is his ability to evaluate road situations?

Back to the question you asked:

If you can, sit with him for a while while he drives -- you'll be able to see what he's doing. "Burning out the clutch" is always coupled with "slipping the clutch" and/or "riding the clutch" (although that destroys the throwout bearing, not the clutch lining). It could be (as everyone has said already) at traffic lights, during starts, during shifts (if they're really slow and sloppy).

I second the suggestion for an automatic transmission -- it saves a lot of mental work for the driver. But that would mean a new car, and it might require an adjustment he can't make.

Charles