I need help in knowing when to get a new clutch.

I've got 67,000 miles on my car now. My clutch definitely FEELS different to me. The car is less fun to drive and harder to drive smoothly.

I noticed a big change about a year ago when I did a big brake job. We didn't do a great job bleeding the brakes, and the brake and clutch feel changed very noticeably. (Clutch and brakes share the same fluid). You've got to push the brake pedal down a lot further now to get it to give the brakes full power. When you push the brake all the way down- further than you did for stock- the brake pedal feel is really mushy. Similarly, the clutch felt softer and more mushy and less precise.

But now I think it feels even worse. The clutch has less feel and is harder to drive smoothly , and is much less pleasurable to drive.

The best way to describe what my clutch feels like- and I know this is silly- is when you're walking down the stairs while not paying attention, and in your head you think you've reached the bottom of the stairs and are expecting your foot to land on solid ground, but there's another step so you fall 6 inches... that's what it feels like to shift into first. There's the point where I feel like the clutch SHOULD catch, but there's another dip in it, you know?

I always figured I'd know when it was time to change the clutch because it would start slipping, but the clutch doesn't slip. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding what slipping feels like.

It would probably help to get the brakes/clutch bled professionally, but I don't know if that's worth it to do now if I need a new clutch altogether.

How do I know when I need a new clutch?

 

When it slips under heavy load. You probably just need to vacuum bleed the system several times to get the trapped air out.

 

if it was slipping your motor would rev suddenly for no reason when it slips while in gear. you'll know.. my eclipse turbo had a slipping clutch and it was very noticeable .. but try bleeding it as suggested good luck