Concerned about clutch

[KevinWX]

I hope this is not a dumb question but I'm a little worried about the clutch on a 2007 corolla S i recently purchased used.

After having the car for a few days I noticed the clutch catching really high (I seem to remember it catching about 3/4 the way up on the test drive but maybe I was mistaken). I've been reading all about adjusting it and what not because it really bothers me being a tall guy and having my knee above the steering wheel when it engages.

To the point, It felt like when I was up shifting into 4th or 5th gear there was very little if any engagement in the clutch. So I tried shifting into those gears and letting the clutch up really fast, expecting the car to jerk, however it didnt... I can shift into 4th gear by pushing the clutch down and letting it fly back up with only a barely noticeable jerk in the car.

I cant remember if my old truck would jerk in this situation, you have to be pretty bad a shifting to encounter it, but I feel like it should.

Is this an issue or am I just worrying too much? The clutch is not slipping or having any other issues I'm aware of.


Other info, the car had a clutch replacement around 30k miles, I bought it at 68k. Also the clutch only travels a distance of about 5 3/4 - 6 inches, ive read it should be 6 - 6 1/2. and there is only 1/4 in of free play

Thanks!

[invader]

It all depends on how well you're synchronizing your rpm to selected gear when you side-step the clutch... Have you tried bleeding the clutch release cylinder? Just crack it open and let the darker fluid out in a small container. It'll release any air, and take up new fluid from brake fluid reservoir.
Then you can look into adjusting pedal height, if the replacement clutch is in fact ok.

[hardtopte72]

4th gear should not give you a noticeable jerk. You will notice more jerk in law gears like 1,2,3 when popping the clutch. 4th has so much load there is no way the pressure plate has enough clamping force to cause the jerking motion. I would do what invader said. Bleed the clutch and then adjust it. These clutches are a little high by default. Bigger question is why was clutch replaced at 30k. I have 102k on my original.

[MD1032]

These cars simply do not behave the way you would expect them to. This car will rarely "jerk" the way a normal car would. The clutch is extremely smooth and very slippery, consequently, extremely forgiving (my personal opinion is that this is the way 99% of cars should be set up anyway). It engages very far back and that's the way the factory has it set...unless you're going to have the clutch replaced, I wouldn't worry about it unless it's really slipping. I have never had mine slip even one tiny bit, personally, and I've driven cars with "grippier" clutches that slipped anyway at times. A good test to see if the clutch is slipping is to put the car in a high gear and go from zero to full throttle instantly. The flywheel will break free and the engine will rev if it is worn out.

I'm 6' 2" with long legs and I know how you feel, but after a couple weeks of driving, trust me, you'll get used to it to the point where you don't need to lift your leg up to use the clutch. At first I looked like an idiot in these corollas...between the drive by wire and the high clutch I was revving the thing up like crazy between shifts the first few times I drove it.

Also, like hardtopte72 pointed out, the previous driver is obviously a terrible driver to have a clutch go bad on him at 30k. It's possible that he did indeed half kill the replacement already before it got to you...