Starting with clutch depressed

[ronnie]

Hi , cars running great but for the first time today I started the engine with the clutch pressed down. It sounded like the battery was flat turning really slowly. Lifting my foot of the clutch it started no problem. What's the diagnosis then ,, crankshaft end float to much ???
Thanks Ronnie

[bmcecosse]

Why would you start it with clutch depressed? Don't do it!

[philthehill]

The reason its turns over slowly is that you have the loading of the clutch pressure plate to account for.
Let the clutch off and the loading on the crankshaft and starter is removed and it will turn over no problem as you have stated/experienced above.
As bmc stated above there should be no reason to start the car with the clutch pressed down.

[Boomlander]

Agreed, try depressing the clutch when you're idling at traffic lights - the revs drop noticeably under the increased load.

[mike.perry]

Sitting at the lights with the clutch depressed and the handbrake off seems to be a trend of modern lazy driving

[les]

It conveys a lack of sympathy for mechanical parts, the days of folk having to know the workings of things seems long gone. ------and do they fit handbrakes now? All I see at lights etc, is blinding stop lamps!

[Boomlander]

It conveys a lack of sympathy for mechanical parts, the days of folk having to know the workings of things seems long gone. ------and do they fit handbrakes now? All I see at lights etc, is blinding stop lamps!

Yes, don't you love the dummies who sit with their foot on the brakes in front of you!

[philthehill]

Regarding the handbrake - one of my pet hates is drivers who apply the handbrake without lifting the ratchet from the pawl.
Not only does it wear the pawl but also the ratchet and then they wonder why the handbrake will not hold.
As Les says above and quite correctly too in my mind - there is little regard for the mechanicals of a motor vehicle these days.
As an aside - I was once given a company car to do a job and it had an electric handbrake - could I get it to apply - no way - my passenger had to go and do the business whilst I sat in the car with my foot on the brake for half an hour or more in case the car which was parked on a slope ran away.
Give me a good old fashioned ratchet and pawl handbrake any day

[bmcecosse]

Agree about not ripping the handbrake - but my daughter - having been taught by me not to do it, was told by the 'Driving Instructor' who was showing her the test routes, that she must rip it so the Examiner knows the brake has been applied......

[whyperion]

they know its been applied when that little clunk as it settles back down to its notch occurs (or the HB warning light on the dash in a modern shows lit)

[simmitc]

I do recall reading iin a handbook that one should depress the clutch before starting the engine. The theory was that by disconnecting the drive train, it reduced drag from the gearbox. From my own experiments I quickly decided that the depressed clutch created more drag than the gearbox ever did. There is also an argument that depressing the clutch removes any possibility of the car moving if it had been left in gear - my view is that an applied handbrake and use of neutral is a better solution.

[ianmack]

My grandfather, who drove before World War One, always taught that the clutch should be down for starting. In those days many vehicles had the gearbox separate from the engine and an engaged clutch meant turning the heavy shaft between them. Not necessary nowadays!

[stag36587]

[quote="simmitc"]I do recall reading iin a handbook that one should depress the clutch before starting the engine. The theory was that by disconnecting the drive train, it reduced drag from the gearbox.m

I seem to remember this being standard advice in my Vauxhall Astra handbook

[aupickup]

my bmw mini wont start unless I do depress the clutch

[alanworland]

I'd have to rewire that!

Alan

[aupickup]

[minor65]

I always start engines with clutch in. Including my minors.

[bmcecosse]

Well - you should NOT! You are forcing the crank hard against the thrust washers - when there is little or no oil there.

[liammonty]

Deary me - why do these things always get so heated?!!!! It was commonly advised to depress the clutch when starting cars for exactly the reasons that simmtc mentions - reducing drag on the starter and battery. It's not a great idea on a Minor with its carbon thrust bearing on the clutch , as it wears it out and increases drag!! However, to say that it will ruin thrust bearings on the crank is ludicrous - in about a million miles of driving that hasn't happened to me. It's also worth noting that depressing the clutch when starting is still taught to police drivers (class one) and IAM etc. I don't think the world will end whatever you decide to do with the clutch when starting the engine.

[philthehill]

bmc is right in that the thrusts will have very little oil on them after the engine has been stood as it will have drained away from the thrust faces. The thrusts are about the last items to have oil delivered to them when starting.
Wear will not happen immediately but over time it will have an effect.