Hydraulic Clutch vs Cable Clutch

[manish09]

Yesterday I came to know BRIO has hydraulic clutch and this type of clutch system is not offered for all the cars available in the market. So what are the criteria of selection for type of clutch system by manufactures? What are the pros and cons of the two type of clutch system?

Experts please share your views and enlighten all on the subject

 

[jarpickle]

Mechanical clutches use a cable for actuation(a clutch cable on the gearbox)and need to be adjusted every now and then depending on the clutch wear.
Mechanical clutches, just have a cable that connects the pedal to the gearbox.

Hydraulically actuated clutches are self-adjusting(just like disc brakes and drum brakes)Hence they need to be bled out just like the brake lines to make sure there are no air bubbles in the lines.
Hydraulic clutches require less effort to actuate.Hence heavier cars and 4x4 vehicles benefit from them.You don't need to adjust any cable depending on clutch wear.It is self adjusting.
Hydraulic clutches have a master and slave cylinder like a brake which will need to be replaced if it wears out.
Hydraulic clutches are more expensive on the whole because they contain so many parts that can wear out,plus the oil.You can use the same oil that is used in the brakes.Most DOT4 oils are brake/clutch fluid.Depends on what the car manufacturer has specified.

Common parts for both are a clutch disc,pressure plate,release bearing and flywheel.

 

[manish09]

So hydraulic clutch only advantage is no adjustment required and less effort. But due to more complex system, how is the failure rate. Which is more reliable and good system (safety point of view) hydraulic or cable clutch.

 

[jarpickle]

Reliability will be an issue with both.But the one with less parts is always better.Less moving parts hence less chances of breakdown.

But with times everything has moved forward.The new gearboxes might be to heavy to actuate by cable and might require too much effort and also take a long time to actuate. Hydraulic clutches activate faster and this results in faster and smoother gear changes.Hence the transition from mechanical to hydraulic clutches.

 

[navnit013]

GYAN from me:

Advantages of hydraulic clutch:
- low maintenance.
- easy usage, read easy on your legs.
- self adjusting.
- very reliable.
Disadvantages:
- hard to know the status of your clutch plate. Its either fine or its broke.
- clutch wear is more specially if the driver is used to resting his foot on the clutch pedal.

 

[joni_rajpura]

Question About Fluid Used By Hydraulic Clutch

it is always wonder for me that from where the Hydraulic Clutch fluid comes from because there is no reservoir for fluid refile

 

[ameyam]

Have a query in this- If the clutch in the remaining cars is mechanically actuated, how come the brake pedal sinks if the clutch is held depressed in neutral at signals?


Ameyam

 

[bhvm]

Reliability will be an issue with both.But the one with less parts is always better.Less moving parts hence less chances of breakdown.

But with times everything has moved forward.The new gearboxes might be to heavy to actuate by cable and might require too much effort and also take a long time to actuate. Hydraulic clutches activate faster and this results in faster and smoother gear changes.Hence the transition from mechanical to hydraulic clutches.

GYAN from me:

Advantages of hydraulic clutch:
- low maintenance.
- easy usage, read easy on your legs.
- self adjusting.
- very reliable.
Disadvantages:
- hard to know the status of your clutch plate. Its either fine or its broke.
- clutch wear is more specially if the driver is used to resting his foot on the clutch pedal.

Here is a good read-
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ch-plate-flywheel-gone-bad-twice-49k-kms.html

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...oo-detailed-review-audio-led-hid-mods-22.html

Hydraulic Cutches have a bad name for Failing suddenly and making a huge mess/Expense. A Cable clutch will start slipping well before it fails, which gives ample time to mend and replace parts.

 

[navnit013]

Hydraulic Cutches have a bad name for Failing suddenly and making a huge mess/Expense. A Cable clutch will start slipping well before it fails, which gives ample time to mend and replace parts.

Well, today in the car market, majority of the vehicles are using hydraulically operated systems. So the breakdowns due to it failing are negligible. My Sumo Grande has done 120000 kms now. No issues with the system. Only changed clutch plate once, recently. My Uncles 2004 Scorpio had zero issues with hydraulic clutch system till 2 years back when he had to change the clutch master cylinder (not sure about this, may be its the slave cylinder? or whatever they call it).

The reliability of the system is such that people dont know that their cars are now running hydraulically operated systems.

 

[leorcid]

Our brakes turned hydraulic when those were upgraded. So clutch should follow. I am trying to fix a hydraulic clutch actuator to my motorcycle.