IDIOT drove my car, question about clutch

[281pony]

well i made the mistake of taking my car into an exhaust shop to see if i could get my exhaust fixed. (it hangs 3 inches or so lower then it should).

they took the keys which i reluctantly handed over and the guy went to drive it up onto the lift. starts the car. grinds reverse. then gets it in, kills the car. backs it up. then starts coming up the lift, he is revving the car a little bit each inch. he cant hold a consistant rpm. then the smoke comes from my clutch. the god damn moron is smoking my clutch to get up the lift because he is too ****ing stupid to operate a manual transmission. i say get the **** out of my car!!! and he looks at me and i say your ruining my clutch you idiot.

he gets out and acts like he is going to hit me. so i said if anything is wrong with my car you will be paying for it. i can smell my clutch and i suspect the worst. so i leave them without getting my car looked at and say ill be back if anything is wrong.

just to move my car 10 feet he moved my seat, re-adjusted my rearview mirror, and my side mirror also. my question is, by smoking the clutch like that by not engaging it enough, has that severely damaged it?

i took it out afterwards and did some launches and stuff and it grabbed fine. just wondering how much it was potentially damaged by 2-3 seconds of smoking?

also, this is the same place i took my car to when my mufflers got welded on. they have changed ownership within the last 2 weeks i found out before they were very professional and drove my car up fine so i didnt hesitate to go back. anyway, they said since my mufflers dont have turndowns or tailpipes "im going to burn up my differential fluid". has anyone ever heard of such a thing? he told me that after looking under the car to understand what my "h-pipe/mid-pipe" was.

ALL the reason i ever need not to let anyone, or any shop touch my car unless it is absolutely necessary and ONLY when singles pieces are off the car.

NOTES: idiot at exhaust shop smoked my clutch for 2-3 seconds driving car up lift by not engaging it enough. i did some launches and it grabbed fine, any damage to worry about? clutch has less then 10k miles, king cobra clutch.

 

[v8only]

No doubt he overheated the clutch, glazing the disc and the flywheel, and prematurely wearing it out too, and likely putting hot spots on it. Honestly, you'll probably be ok for a while. Maybe almost no damage at all. However, the fact that it was smoking mean some damage was done, and unfortunately you're not gonna know it for some time. That really sucks

 

[slo65]

i can top that.... took my car to get the clutch done a while back, i had to drop it off and go to work, i call them up to see how it was going and the guy said "man your car has some balls" needless to say i was pissed....

 

[281pony]

i drive my car really easy, honestly after he did that it was the hardest ive ever driven it.

i dropped the clutch at 2500 and was suprised how easy the tires just ignited. so i shifted to second and drifted sideways sitting still, i was really impressed. never done a burnout in my car before. its been driven that easy.

not doubting it didnt cause wear, it just pisses me off. then for him to act pissed at me. that is what i hate about being young. they think your rich or mommy and daddy do it all for you so i wont care. i bust my ass for everything on my car and do everything myself. then to see somebody in my car hurting it pisses me off beyond anything.

what do you think about my exhaust melting my differential fluid? never heard of that.

 

[281pony]

i can top that.... took my car to get the clutch done a while back, i had to drop it off and go to work, i call them up to see how it was going and the guy said "man your car has some balls" needless to say i was pissed....

yep, ive taken my car in a total of 4 times now to have someone else touch it. once for my front brakes, twice to this exhaust shop, and once to have wheels mounted. i stand there and watch no matter how pissed they get. i dont trust them and with good reason.

 

[feifong]

i think from the 2-3 second burn that maybe equaled to 6 launches you couldve had

 

[v8only]

dude, the exhaust doesn't get hot enough that far back to barely burn your bare hands, let alone burn diff fluid, lol.

 

[TheUser]

I have heard/read that not having turn downs could heat up your rear differential fluid. Not only that, it's probably gonna cause the underside of your car to rust. Why not put turn downs on it.

I'm the same way at shops and places too. You can ask them to "allow" you to drive your car on the rack. I've driven my car up on the rack more than once. I hate going somewhere for anything, so that's why I try to learn everything I can and do everything I possibly can at home myself. Sounds like what you do too.

I'm sure it wasn't good for your clutch, but I can't believe someone could be THAT bad at driving a stick and even offer to drive it.

 

[jerry beach]

Heres what I do, it works for me. If I have to take my car to the shop for something, I dont hand anyone the keys. Alignment is the only thing it been in for, otherwise everything is done by me at home. I went to a few shops and informed them right off the bat that I would be the only driver of my car. The third one said no problem. I drove it on and centered the wheel. I went under the car with the tech and talked with him about caster settings on my coilover setup. He gave me good advice on how to make my setup better. I could go on, but in short find another shop you can trust. If they wont let you in the work area at all, they have something to hide in most cases.

 

[slo65]

. that is what i hate about being young. they think your rich or mommy and daddy do it all for you so i wont care. i bust my ass for everything on my car and do everything myself. then to see somebody in my car hurting it pisses me off beyond anything.
.

exactly brother, i'm 18, work my ass off at a 8/hour job just to pay for my stuff, granted you have a lot more done, but its the same principle, a couple of people have made comments a long those lines, it gets me mad working 35 hours a week while going to school... people dont understand

 

[93GTosu]

i just got my car (93 GT) and im like u guys, i busted my ass and im payin every dime for this car and everything about it. Its a manual and ive never driven one before. Do you guys have any driving tips for me so that i dont burn my clutch? or ruin any other part of the car?

I've only driven it 3 or so times. The first time in the car....well lets just say that didnt go so hot but do you guys have any tips for me from now on?

sorry bout your car man...

 

[slo65]

i just got my car (93 GT) and im like u guys, i busted my ass and im payin every dime for this car and everything about it. Its a manual and ive never driven one before. Do you guys have any driving tips for me so that i dont burn my clutch? or ruin any other part of the car?

I've only driven it 3 or so times. The first time in the car....well lets just say that didnt go so hot but do you guys have any tips for me from now on?

sorry bout your car man...

well i learned to drive on a toyota pickup, as far as the mustang u just gotta get used to how heavy the clutch is, dont worry about your first clutch not lasting too long, it happens, just learn whats best, and when in doubt stick in the clutch (so the car wont die) i would go up to a school parking lot (on a hill) and practice coming to a stop then going

 

[TheUser]

i just got my car (93 GT) and im like u guys, i busted my ass and im payin every dime for this car and everything about it. Its a manual and ive never driven one before. Do you guys have any driving tips for me so that i dont burn my clutch? or ruin any other part of the car?

I've only driven it 3 or so times. The first time in the car....well lets just say that didnt go so hot but do you guys have any tips for me from now on?

sorry bout your car man...

I was in the same boat you're in about 3 1/2 years ago. I bought my car having only driven a manual a couple times. It wasn't all that hard to learn for me. First you want to do what someone said and find an empty parking lot and practice. Find out how far you have to let your clutch pedel up for it to start grabbing. You'll know because, if you have your tranny in first, the car will start to move a little bit. Practice making it take off without any gas. That's probably not good because it's riding the clutch, but you'll learn where it lets up at so you'll be better in the next step: Taking off on a hill. Find a hill where no one is around (parking lots, etc, preferably) and practice taking off on the hill. You'll kill it a few times when you're first learning, no big deal. I've killed mine in intersections, stop lights, etc. I even killed mine one time when I first got the car and was racing a guy at a stop light..a little embarrassing - I even had a girl w/ me at the time lol. I only kill mine a couple times a year now and it's mainly from just not paying attention.

The only way to learn is to drive it!

PS: I've heard it's easier to learn on a 5.0 because they have more torque, so you don't have to give them as much gas or something.

 

[Stang8URMPRT]

lol. As for you guys saying you want to be up the techs ass.... Man... I LOVE you people. I will stop, and just stare at you. Sit down... stare... Then when you finally realize I stopped because you've so far up my ass, you could check my colon for cancer, I will explain to you if you don't give me my space, YOU CAN DO IT and I'll charge you twice as much. Or I will close the shop door in your face, whichever I feel will PISS YOU OFF MOST, because I know YOU know by standing there, you're pissing me off. If there is one thing most techs can't stand is the dumb ass people that need to bring their car in cause they don't know what they're doing sits there and stares at you, like you have no idea what you're doing, or you're gunna **** something up. Ya know what? Do it in your driveway, or take it elsewhere. Somewhere you can trust if you don't trust me. And as for an alignment... I drive the car before, and after the alignment. No one pulls their car up on my alignment rack. I need to test drive the car to check for pulls and wheel straightness. Just to get an idea of what might be wrong and what might need to be done. If you don't like the rules... I'm sure there is another shop down the road that will let you do what you want, and charge you less at that... But you want me to work on YOUR car because YOU CAN'T DO IT... hand the keys over... and go sit in the lobby and read your damn Good Housekeeping. Thank you.

Nick.

 

[281pony]

ill probably get turndowns put on eventually, i just found it funny how they act now.

the guy who told me that about the diff, is the one who assisted putting the mufflers on before. i said wtf you were here before and never said anything? he told me it was the "other" place. so the "other" place did **** work and your just telling me now?

i wont allow anyone else to drive it on a lift now. i always usually say ill do it, with the exception of this place. i wont be going back, and im sure they wouldnt be happy to see me anyways.

yes, the guy was that horrible. i was standing next to the car watching, i had full view of my tach. he kept like tapping the gas and going from 2200-3k rpms when it started burning. i have never yelled at anyone in my life like that, but i said get the **** out of my car the second i saw smoke. everyone in the shop heard me and the shop next door and came out. i said he is burning up my clutch and they all turned to him. so i dont feel bad one bit about doing it.

this was NOT a young guy. probably mid-40's. i even went out and opened my door because i have the famous plastic handle problem. only so many preventative things you can do and it STILL isint enough to keep someone from ****ing with your car.

anyways, thanks for the input guys. i am not hard on my car at all, so i think ill be ok. even with my burnout yesterday i never went over 4000 rpm's. was nice to hear the nitto's scream for the first time though.

 

[Ourobos]

lol. As for you guys saying you want to be up the techs ass.... Man... I LOVE you people. I will stop, and just stare at you. Sit down... stare... Then when you finally realize I stopped because you've so far up my ass, you could check my colon for cancer, I will explain to you if you don't give me my space, YOU CAN DO IT and I'll charge you twice as much. Or I will close the shop door in your face, whichever I feel will PISS YOU OFF MOST, because I know YOU know by standing there, you're pissing me off. If there is one thing most techs can't stand is the dumb ass people that need to bring their car in cause they don't know what they're doing sits there and stares at you, like you have no idea what you're doing, or you're gunna **** something up. Ya know what? Do it in your driveway, or take it elsewhere. Somewhere you can trust if you don't trust me. And as for an alignment... I drive the car before, and after the alignment. No one pulls their car up on my alignment rack. I need to test drive the car to check for pulls and wheel straightness. Just to get an idea of what might be wrong and what might need to be done. If you don't like the rules... I'm sure there is another shop down the road that will let you do what you want, and charge you less at that... But you want me to work on YOUR car because YOU CAN'T DO IT... hand the keys over... and go sit in the lobby and read your damn Good Housekeeping. Thank you.

Nick.

 

[281pony]

lol. As for you guys saying you want to be up the techs ass.... Man... I LOVE you people. I will stop, and just stare at you. Sit down... stare... Then when you finally realize I stopped because you've so far up my ass, you could check my colon for cancer, I will explain to you if you don't give me my space, YOU CAN DO IT and I'll charge you twice as much. Or I will close the shop door in your face, whichever I feel will PISS YOU OFF MOST, because I know YOU know by standing there, you're pissing me off. If there is one thing most techs can't stand is the dumb ass people that need to bring their car in cause they don't know what they're doing sits there and stares at you, like you have no idea what you're doing, or you're gunna **** something up. Ya know what? Do it in your driveway, or take it elsewhere. Somewhere you can trust if you don't trust me. And as for an alignment... I drive the car before, and after the alignment. No one pulls their car up on my alignment rack. I need to test drive the car to check for pulls and wheel straightness. Just to get an idea of what might be wrong and what might need to be done. If you don't like the rules... I'm sure there is another shop down the road that will let you do what you want, and charge you less at that... But you want me to work on YOUR car because YOU CAN'T DO IT... hand the keys over... and go sit in the lobby and read your damn Good Housekeeping. Thank you.

Nick.

i didnt see this making my final post. wtf? your a moron.

your telling me you would like to see the clutch smoking on your car and not say anything about it and sit there and think oh well?

i do everything i am able to do on my own, and if i dont know how i learn if its possible. some things just cant be reasonably done, like buying a welder and car lift. you feel the need to jump in and be a smartass?

this was in no way directed to you, so why insult me by insinuating im a dumbass who cant do my own work? sick of people like you who come into posts to be a jackass just because you have nothing better to do.

 

[illwood]

Stang8URMPRT - I know what you mean about hating it when people are watching over your back when you work being annoying, but you don't have to be an automotive tech to have that happen to you. I remember working for a summer as a design engineer and guaranteed that the manager would at least once a day stand behind me at my desk, looking at my computer screen and say, "hi, whatcha doin?" If I had just let it get the better of me and told him "My Job!" or been a jerk like you were suggesting I would have been out on my ass. Most people on this forum work hard for their mustang and parts for it and not everyone can do everything on it. So when someone has to go to a shop they are already paying a premium to have the work done (even if the tech doesn't get much) and they are not paying to have the crap beaten out of their car just because it is a fast ride. And yes, some customers can be jerks thinking that they're better than the tech's because they have a college degree or some other bull$h1t.

88SC_GT - sux about your car, but you probably approached it wrong to tell the guy to get the **** out of your car. I understand adjusting the seat (different heights of people and such), but not the mirrors.

Can everyone just calm down a bit and have a few beer?

 

[281pony]

Stang8URMPRT - I know what you mean about hating it when people are watching over your back when you work being annoying, but you don't have to be an automotive tech to have that happen to you. I remember working for a summer as a design engineer and guaranteed that the manager would at least once a day stand behind me at my desk, looking at my computer screen and say, "hi, whatcha doin?" If I had just let it get the better of me and told him "My Job!" or been a jerk like you were suggesting I would have been out on my ass. Most people on this forum work hard for their mustang and parts for it and not everyone can do everything on it. So when someone has to go to a shop they are already paying a premium to have the work done (even if the tech doesn't get much) and they are not paying to have the crap beaten out of their car just because it is a fast ride. And yes, some customers can be jerks thinking that they're better than the tech's because they have a college degree or some other bull$h1t.

88SC_GT - sux about your car, but you probably approached it wrong to tell the guy to get the **** out of your car. I understand adjusting the seat (different heights of people and such), but not the mirrors.

Can everyone just calm down a bit and have a few beer?

let me clarify. i am a really calm and polite person usually. it was mostly a reaction when i see smoke coming from underneith my car. once the clutch started to slip, he started to rev the engine MORE to try and get it to grab im assuming. if i hadnt of said something who knows what he would have done?

i dont stand there to be a prick to the tech, i stand there usually and bs with them actually. ive only gone in a couple times for stuff im not able to do, and i will watch and usually strike up a conversation. i dont ask them whats going on, i usually like to watch also and see how it is done.

it changes completely when someone doesnt know how to drive a car onto a rack though. i dont care who you are, or how highly you opinion your car/"tech" knowledge, you should NOT be taking keys from a customer if you cant get a car on the rack without causing damage! in that case, i feel the customer has the right to say whatever they want. in my case, it was my fastest reaction. may not have been polite, but neither is ****ing up my car.

im only 17, but i act maturely when i take my car in, i treat it maturely and i would expect someone who is getting paid to do the same. once again, it comes into the age thing alot of the times, i think.

i understand someone picking at you is annoying, but in my case its completely different. if anything, my "dumbass" is trying to learn what i dont know.

 

[281pony]

also, i didnt say "get the f out of my car". i said "get the **** out". was my first reaction at the sight of smoke and increased revving.