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Hello guys!
About two months ago I bought a new (used) car with a manual transmission. The car is Mazda 3 2004 with petrol engine (chain) at 90k miles. I have a problem – I often stall the car (once a day, usually). The reason is that the clutch catches very high and it’s very uncomfortable to drive. Also, the engine is very quiet and it is sometimes difficult to feel when is the right time to give some gas. For these two months I stall the car about 30-40 times because I drive a lot in the city.
I can say that I got used to the car’s clutch, although sometimes still happens to me to stall the car 🙁I’m a bit worried if it can damage the car by stalling. Is there reason to be worried about this? How bad is it to stall a manual transmission car?
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I’m sure stalling it a lot causes some wear but probably not near as bad as riding the clutch where you don’t fully engage the engine to the transmission and basically burn the clutch. As for when parts will wear out for you, it will depend on how good the prior owner was about taking care of the car including the clutch. When you talk about the clutch catching very high, I presume you are talking about when the clutch is fully out (meaning your foot is almost off the pedal). On some cars that can be an indication of a worn clutch that might soon start to slip. I do not know how a Mazda 3 is set up regarding clutch adjustment but it might be something you will want a professional mechanic to just take a look at for you. Hopefully someone you can trust. From time to time I will drive a car that wants to stall and I will ride the clutch (very slowly release the clutch) so I don’t stall it. But that does cause more wear on the clutch.
Well when you stall there is a possibility for unburnt fuel etc to be in the chambers and also you are giving your starter and battery a work out. Which in turn gives your alternator a workout. The clutch will prob need to be inspected after your first year as when you are new to it you will eat up the clutch fast.
I would just suggest doing oil changes at half the interval stated in the book and also run a high octane fuel in it once a month. Between that and just keep an eye on your electronics for them getting dim other then when cranking because that means you prob need to let the car run at 1200-2000rpms for 5 mins to get the charge up on your battery. Just do that till you get the hang of it then resume normal intervals.
Makes you feel any better I learned on a transmission without oil in it and it cost me a trans, dual mass flywheel, and dual disk clutch. But, I can drive anything stick now even if the trans is sloppy and the clutch is really bad. Btw the trans had 3 inches of side to side play when its only supposed to have 5/1,000 of an inch lol.
no starter is the only thing that might get warn out a little quicker, maybe the clutch if you ride it too much during acceleration.
ok, only the starter and clutch are exposed to wearing out? And what is the reason for this wear? Because I will start the engine several times as a result of the stalling of the car? Is there a difference in wear on the starter because I will start the engine twice a day more (due to car stalling) or twice will stop somewhere to buy coffee and start the engine 2 times more? Isn’t it the same thing?
My other question is: My engine has a timing chain (not belt)! Is there any risk of straining of the timing chain or shorten chain’s life? Is there a risk to the life of other engine components such as bearings, etc.?
I used to own a 03 mazda 6 the clutches are naturally quite high on my mazda 6 there was adjustment in the pedal to lower the height and bring the biting point down a little if this is already done you’re probably looking at replacing the clutch.
But in terms of your original question it will wear parts out at an accelerated rate if you are continually stalling but once a day you wont notice anything failing that wouldn’t already be failing.
[quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=123189]as far as the timing chain, that would get more abuse from running the engine hard i am sure.[/quote] Or dieseling…but since carbs are less prominent nowdays many younger “mechanics” don’t even know what dieseling is 😆
Though to the original poster i doubt you have a carb too new of a car so you can just ignore this.
A great video of dieseling be ware it is loud as hell:
This can put a rod down 4 feet into solid concrete at least on a big rig. So it is very dangerous. Though if the air filter is on you can normally choke it out with a fire extinguisher. No air no bang bang. Also you can block the inlet with a piece of steel. If it has turbos wood will not work it will pull it in unless it is over 3/4 in thick.
[quote=”MDK22″ post=123296]Though to the original poster i doubt you have a carb too new of a car so you can just ignore this.
A great video of dieseling be ware it is loud as hell:
This can put a rod down 4 feet into solid concrete at least on a big rig. So it is very dangerous. Though if the air filter is on you can normally choke it out with a fire extinguisher. No air no bang bang. Also you can block the inlet with a piece of steel. If it has turbos wood will not work it will pull it in unless it is over 3/4 in thick.[/quote] Well in a gas engine, dieseling is from a different cause..usually heat + carb still dumping fuel/air into the intake as the engine RPMs settle down when the key is turned(ignition off) it will then act like a diesel by igniting the fuel without spark. With a diesel, it can be due to a turbo oil leak and the diesel will run on the oil till it blows! I know you know this, just wanted to clarify for others.
Both ways still need air. Block the air with the methods I stated and wala no more dieseling. Btw, it would need to be a CO2 fire extinguisher which is what most are but, some shops have type D also for metal fires.
Once again doubt it is relevant lets get back on topic shall we.
[quote=”MDK22″ post=123305]Both ways still need air. Block the air with the methods I stated and wala no more dieseling. Btw, it would need to be a CO2 fire extinguisher which is what most are but, some shops have type D also for metal fires.
Once again doubt it is relevant lets get back on topic shall we.[/quote] Gotcha and yes sorry back on topic.
[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=123261][quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=123189]as far as the timing chain, that would get more abuse from running the engine hard i am sure.[/quote] Or dieseling…but since carbs are less prominent nowdays many younger “mechanics” don’t even know what dieseling is :lol:[/quote]
yea that’s where the engine can literally start running backwards, yea that’s hell on the timing chain, happens to my grandpas tractor sometimes after running it hard, it will cough… cough chuck cough… and run backwards or forwards with ignition turned off simply because hot spots on the head are igniting the air fuel mixture still being drawn in through the carburetor.
thanks guys, but let’s get back on topic. Let us summarize everything said so far, because I’m a little confused by all the information that I received here and elsewhere in the network. Is there really a reason for me to worry about health of my car? Surely I already know if I continue to stalling the car can lead to accelerated wear of some components. I’ll do everything possible to reduce to a minimum car stalling! But let’s summarize 🙂
Summary there is little to no damage. The thing that will be worn out the most is your clutch from learning to drive manual. Like I said in my first post here if you follow those steps it will be like nothing ever happened with the exception of your clutch and that is just from learning to drive it. It is a small price to pay for the fuel economy you will gain by driving a manual. Not to mention the fun you will have on twisty windy roads. Though stop and go highway will piss you off and kill your leg lol.
The frequent oil changes and higher fuel octane is just to make sure you don’t get deposits from incomplete combustion and that any incomplete combustion particulates that the oil picks up are flushed out by the oil changes. While one combustion stroke might fail to rotate the crank over enough there is no way to tell where it stalled whether fuel has been dumped in another cylinder but, not ignited etc. Most of that will be picked up by the oil film that is scraped on the cylinders each time. The other part of it might sit at the top of the piston and collect combustion particles. Done enough times over a short period of time and you can get hot spots. But using a higher octane fuel will burn it out next combustion stroke. So adding high octane every once in a while will help clear it out.
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