As long as you depress the clutch pedal, the clutch throwout bearing is under load. If you release the clutch (i.e. put the transmission in neutral), there is no load on the throwout bearing. No load means less wear on the bearing.
The rear crankshaft thrust bearing is also under load when the throwout bearing is pushing against the clutch disk. So yes, putting the car in neutral is more gentle on the components.
The problem is that only .001% of the cars on the road today have manual transmissions. So the moron behind you has no concept that the car ahead might need to depress the clutch, shift into first, and gently release the clutch in order to get moving when the light turns green.
I generally stay in gear, my thoughts are if I need to get going quickly due to some loose nut behind the wheel texting, not paying attention to what's in front of him it gives me a better chance of getting out of the way more quickly and avoid being rear ended. Don't know if this the absolute best way but offers me a modecum of peace of mind. Fran
I was recently in the Netherlands and though I was expecting it, I was a bit thrown by getting a manual rental car. Though I've never owned an auto and hate driving them my brain went immediately to "rental car = auto transmission" mode and I stalled it at the first stop light I came to because I neglected to disengage the clutch! :blushing:
Back on topic: I just watch the pattern of the light and put it in gear right before I expect to get the green light.
I visited Amsterdam a few times while working in Heidelberg. IIRC, the trips went something like this:
Arrive, bar, coffee shop, coffee shop, coffee shop, bar, waffle cakes, bar, coffee shop, hotel, pizza, bar, red-light window shopping, repeat the next day, drive home. >
The car was a manual NSX, which luckily didn't need to be touched once we arrived.
I too always pop the car into neutral at a stoplight. Maybe that's why my '73 still is on the same clutch it had when I drove it new off the dealer's lot on 30 January 1974.
Alfajay: The problem is that only .001% of the cars on the road today have manual transmissions. So the moron behind you has no concept that the car ahead might need to depress the clutch, shift into first, and gently release the clutch in order to get moving when the light turns green.
That's okay because he's too busy looking at his phone to even know that the lights changed.
I don't think it matters much with a hydraulic clutch as the throwout bearing is always slightly loaded. With the Alfa it's actually probably more detrimental to put it in neutral because you then have to put further wear on the second gear synchro to get it back in first. I've never had a throwout bearing failure and have never had to do any clutch work in between overhauls and I mostly always leave it in gear at a stoplight.
My favorite is when waiting on an upslope and the jebulla after me pulls within 2" of my bumper. I get nervous - what if I stall or he jumps the gun and rearends me? I've actually turned around and waved people to back off.
Kcab pilot, your throwout bearing vs 2nd gear syncro theory is an interesting suggestion. I'll have to see if it helps mitigate the first gear crunch. . . .
Oh it will because first gear doesn't have a synchro. You need to just touch second prior to putting it in first if the clutch has been let out in neutral.
On the five things not to do video I'm afraid I'm guilty of all five and I've been doing it for about 45 years now. I think a lot of this came from some engineer stuck in a cubicle, it's not because selector forks and throwout bearings were prematurely failing at alarming rates. Plus I can think of about a billion other things to worry about that are more pressing.
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