Omg...Finally a concise video with everything I wanted to know. All videos should be like this one. Short, basic, and concise.

Wow. Honestly man, this is by far the best clutch explanation video I have ever seen. Never quite got how the clutch works, but after this..wow man. Good on you Eric. Keep making these great videos! :)

Only video that's made any damn sense. Eric the Car Guy does it again...

@BlinginTom The clutch is what is used to connect the power from the engine to the transmission in a manual transmission car. This is how the thing works that you push in when you go to shift gears in a manual transmission car.

@44centz They do in automatics. They use wet clutches in motorbikes often because of space considerations especially when the trans and engine are all in the same case.

The more videos I watch of yours the more I think you should have a television series! I can't believe how much I've learned so far. For kids without dads (like me) to teach them, or women without husbands or a father figure, this knowledge you give could be priceless... Thanks again for the 5 STAR videos!!! I hope you continue this and are rewarded greatly for this service that is so much more valuable and helpful than the pimp my car shows or overhauling, you get my point... SOMEONE MAKE

@Dogapsa That would be the pilot bearing, the throw out bearing activates the clutch. If it's a Honda the pilot bearing is in the flywheel and not the crank. BTW those conversions are tricker than you might think because the engine is actually matched up to it's transmission, in other words an engine for a manual may have a different cam than one for an automatic not to mention the computer controls. In my opinion it's much easier and cheeper to get a car with a manual to start with.

@VIHDS Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.

START HERE. Eric can explain things in his videos better then I've ever seen.

Wow, makes me realise how long i've been watching eric when I come across a 7 year old video like this one!

@donkeizluv It increases the surface area and allows for more clamping force.

your voice is fit for advertisement.. great voice.

@22wehttam Glad you liked it, thanks very much for your comment.

Almost 10 yrs later .. still noone has got it as well as you. Great video man! The spring fingers on the cover were REALLY throwing me off! Thank you for this!

Understanding how things operate makes me come to the conclusion that a tremendous amount of power is wasted to friction and vibration! I’m so glad Electric is finally getting taken seriously!!!

@thunderchief4066 I'm happy to help. Thanks for your comment.

@HondaHowTo1 You could think of it as an inner and outer disc or one for the flywheel and one for the pressure plate with a wave plate in between, the 2 discs move independently of each other and are dampened by springs during the apply.

My son has an interview for a job at a nearby Getrag transmission plant.I wanted to explain some basics to him and was struggling to share my limited knowledge .Your videos are very clear very and very well structured.He is upstairs watching more of them now,Thankyou he is much more confident now.

@TiMthisIS I think you will be just fine. Thanks very much for your comment.

hi eric im doing a motorsport course at college and my tutor used some of you videos to show us how to fit cv joints in the class room and he slaged u off but your the first guy to explain how a clutch works and ive asked loads of tutors and watched loads of videos but you are the only one that does it in a way i under stand thanks.

@aldavahermilo I'm happy to help, thanks for the comment.

Thumbs up for referring to an engine as an engine; NOT a motor.

@Halosapian They are vary similar but there are a couple different types of clutches, this type is a push type throw out bearing as there are others that are pull type that are handled differently. When I get one of those in I hope to make a video.

@prajd60 Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.

@TheGetawayer Some do but I prefer a stick. One of my favorite cars to drive was a 91 Acura Legend 5 speed, something about driving a big car with a stick was a lot of fun.

@richu27 Tough call. I would start by addressing any engine performance issues first and see if the condition still exists, if it does then I would look to the clutch and it's linkage.

@boyENZOH Glad you liked it, thank you very much for the comment.

@rajwinderosahan Your most welcome, thanks for the comment.

@IRONnTiTAN I'm very happy to hear the video helped you, it is my 'job' after all. Thanks very much for your comment.

@AcheLone Excellent point as there are 2 types as you describe, in fact I thought about making another video just on the types of clutches that are out there. The one in this video is a push type. Thanks for the comment.

I am a very technical thinker (son of an engineer), and I always knew the "why" a clutch works but always had an issue visualizing what was going on in there while I drive. You cleared that right up,

Love you videos very educational. I've come back to your videos several times during my projects and they have helped tremendously

Dude...I have seen many videos regarding clutches and have never been able to completely get it. There seemed to always be something missing. You gave the best explanation on this . Great video. Just subscribed.

@djmouser15Y One thing that is often overlooked on manual transmissions is the thrust bearing inside the engine, this can wear on a manual trans car to the point where the crank will actually move forward when the clutch is depressed. Have someone step on the clutch while you watch the crank pulley to make sure there isn't any movement.

Been lookin at tons of videos on clutch and how it changes gears. Yours finally shed some light on the matter. Thanks man!

I just came by this time to not ask you any question but to say THANK YOU for all your amazing videos. I've been learning a lot since I found you.

I've watched several videos about this, and this is by far the best. Thanks for the vid, very well done. I'm replacing the clutch on my Acura RSX this weekend, wish me luck!!

@StudioManic I agree, thanks for the comment.

@KCIK49 I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.

@Cybercom82 It could be an issue with the hydraulics, see the video I did on replacing Honda clutch hydraulics for specifics on what I'm referring to here but it could also be an issue with the clutch or pressure plate. If it were me I would check out the hydraulics first and go from there.

What a solid well explained and detailed video. It's good to see some basic minded people out there with the intelligence to back them up. Nice work mate, greatly appreciated this video!

That was very helpful, I went to school to be a diesel technician and it took us a few weeks to learn this. You're short video was awesome and thank you.

@littlelucy27 Thanks for the comment, glad you like the videos.

Thank you! I'm teaching my grandson to drive a stick and thought knowing how a clutch actually works would be a great start. Your video will be a BIG help, so thank you very much!

@5PYZ3R Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.

@polypolyman How do you 'feel' the balance? Also, you need some rotational mass there as it helps to balance the engine, remember the power comes in pulses so you want that rotational mass to help smooth out those pulses.

@cristoretornebiblia It's really how they are used more than anything, I've seen people go through clutches in less than 10K and others 100K +, knowing how they work is a good start to making them last though. There is a way to make a slipping clutch grab again that I'll probably post a video about at some point but it's too lengthly to explain here.

BY FAR the most accurate and explanative clutch video on the Internet. Thank you for taking the time to properly explain how this often misunderstood part of the drivetrain works!! B

I love how much time you put into your videos, thanks!

@xxants2286xx Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.

@demoneyesrakka I'm glad you liked the video, thanks for the comment.

@TheGamersTrend 2 discs in the clutch assembly make for more surface area and supposedly better holding power for hight torque applications. A racing flywheel is normally lighter so the engine can rev faster.

You have a hell of a good channel, thanks very much

Most clutch discus. Oh man, 10 years ago. Learned my most with Mr. Eric.

@1ownjoo2 You may have to live with it then or overhaul or replace the transmission as there is little I can think of besides what I suggested that you can do.

I've wondered my whole life how a clutch worked. You just explained that perfectly in 5 minutes. Thanks alot for putting this video together!

I finally fully understand how a clutch works thanks to Eric the Car Guy. Other videos on youtube were not good. I'm a person who must see things in action to know how they work and you showed me. The part about the springs dampening the two halves of the disks with the slit in the middle confused me since I couldn't see how that was possible, but HondaHowTo1's video response fixed this by clarifying that it dampens the inner and outer disks. Thanks a lot this this and all your other videos.

@MartyOs1 No, you won't normally hear those springs, that sounds more like an issue with the throw out bearing or some other issue.

@SovietSlayer Indeed it does, they are actually quite easy to work with in my opinion.

Forgot to mention in my last comment, great video Eric! It was everything I have learned to expect from you, keep up the good work!

Wow! I looked at 3 other clutch videos and was completely lost until I saw this video! Thank you so much! Great way of explaining things along with clever editing.

Thank you Eric for the video..finally I understood how clutch engaging works!

Great video! I'm changing the clutch and the flywheel on my 325i this weekend, and its helpful to see the all of the parts.

@mitulpatel0308 It may be that a spring has fallen out of the clutch disc or the pressure plate is damaged, if that is the case then you may experience a problem like that.

Great stuff. Thanks for putting this all in layman terms to demystify the clutch.

@DjWell17 Not sure really but I would be checking the linkage from the shifter to the transmission.

@1ownjoo2 Jeeps aren't exactly known for having great transmissions if I'm honest. You might start by changing the fluid with synthetic, I've been hearing good things about the stuff. If you try it let me know how it works out.

@thiagosct There are no 'return springs' that's pretty much the job of the pressure plate. You might start by checking the linkage and if you don't find anything there you'll probably have to remove the transmission and check things out.

@Placer There is a pilot bearing and a throw out bearing.

Thank you! Came here for "what are the springs for anyway" and got almost every other question I hadn't got around to looking up answered at the same time with clear visuals!

My textbook has 80 pages about this, you just explained it better in 4 minutes. Ty.

@HussamStands Thank you!

@denvernn Your welcome.

@Dosalt It really doesn't matter as all your looking to do is disengage the engine from the transmission and since the clutch is splined to the input shaft of the transmission once it's disengaged from the engine it will no longer transfer power to the transmission which is what your trying to accomplish.

@T9SUnFou Not knowing what type of car you have I can only guess but if they changed the clutch and throw out bearing that pretty much leaves the input shaft bearing inside the transmission or some other internal transmission issue.

@pufarinu Awesome, thanks for the comment.

Car guy you are AWESOME!!! simple explanations for the average mechanic. You are saving people some serious cash bro.

Dude, You are legendary. Seriously, you did everything you said in the title. love your vids. I'm probably going to watch them all now. Subbed already(:

Thank you sir, a very good video. Thanks for your time and efforts.

yesssssss! thank you. maybe you could do an in depth guide on shifting correctly and what happens as youre shifting and how to do it all correctly to not burn out your clutch or hurt any other part of the vehicle from bad shifting etc

Thanks Eric i really appreciate all your vids !

This is proper quality stuff mate! i loved how you showed what happened on the transmission side too. That was really great as on my course we have just learnt about the clutch itself! Keep up the good work!

@Halosapian I actually have plans for that as well as a transmission core that I plan to use for that very video. Stay tuned.

eric thanks for the help. am still at school and my teacher hasnt been able to get it across to me how the clutch works for about 6 weeks and you made me understand within 4 mins 33 seconds

god man ive watched many videos on the mechanical functions of a car. i learned so much from your visuals and descriptions thank you!!!

Many thanks for a nice simple explanation that a numpty like me can understand! Appreciated. I didn't previously understand that the friction plate was in fact 2 plates that could very slightly rotate against eachother with those springs to take away the harshness that would exist if it was solid, have wondered what the springs purpose was. Thanks again.

This was really helpful. I was just curious how these worked, because I thought they were a 1 peice object (clutch discs). Keep up the great, and wise videos.

Dude I get it now. Been driving a manual mustang for about a week now and have been wondering how the hell it worked. Makes a lot of sense now. Thanks man

@cristoretornebiblia That only works if there is still some adjustment left and the clutch hasn't been adjusted in some time, if the clutch is worn out you really can't make it work properly again.

That was awesome, Eric! Keep'em comming! :D

good video. i allways drove manual cars but never quite understood how the complete thing works... now i get what the pressure plate really does and how it works, thankyou for that kind sir! :D

That was awesome! Thanks! I'm trying to decide if I can tackle my Mazda Protégé clutch replacement.

The entire set of KZfaq videos are full of priceless information and perfect sound- thanks to KZfaq

This is a great video, he explains everything so simply and so well, and really gives you an understanding off how a clutch actually works

Thanks dude! I took one apart once and had no clue how it worked. Thanks for explaining in a very simple way! Keep it up

I knew how a clutch worked but never knew what those springs were for, and now I do. Great video.

Your explanation was the BEST. Great job.

Most clutches for manual transmissions are dry! No oil or grease needed. The thing you need to know when replacing the clutch: CENTER the disc while tightening the pressure plate assembly! - there are centering jigs to help you out (I usually pop a short piece of a wooden broom handle in the lathe to make the required diameters) Otherwise you can't slide the transmission back on. it's a 2 person job with an elevator and a (or two) high jack stand to support the engine (and transmission)

@ilia93 Yep and it spins the input shaft of the transmission thus transferring engine power to the transmission.

Thanks. I understood better from real life rather than animation. Very grateful for this one. 👍👍👍