Five free practice questions on clutch: content area A of the ASE A3 Manual Drive Train & Axles test, 6 of its 40 scored questions (15%). They are in the ASE format: four options, one best answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.
01The questions
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A clutch pedal pulsates under the driver's foot when it is held partway down with the engine running, and the pulsation stops when the engine is shut off. Any of these could cause it EXCEPT:
- excessive runout of the flywheel face.
- clutch disc facings worn thin.
- release fingers worn to uneven heights.
- a bell housing bore out of line with the crankshaft.
Show the answer
B. Correct. This is the exception: thin facings eventually let the clutch slip, but the wear is even all the way around, so nothing pushes the release bearing back and forth as the engine turns. Pulsation comes from a part that wobbles or runs eccentric once per revolution.
Why not the others
A. Could cause it. A flywheel face with runout makes the pressure plate and its fingers wobble against the release bearing once per revolution, which the driver feels through the pedal.
C. Could cause it. Fingers worn to uneven heights load the release bearing unevenly as they turn, so it is pushed back and forth once per revolution and the pulse travels through the linkage or hydraulics to the pedal.
D. Could cause it. A misaligned housing holds the release bearing off the crankshaft centerline, so the fingers meet it unevenly as they turn and the pedal pulses.
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Some hydraulic clutch lines carry an in-line damper. What is its job?
- Holding residual pressure on the slave cylinder
- Absorbing pulses before they reach the pedal
- Storing fluid to make up for facing wear
- Slowing engagement when the pedal is let up
Show the answer
B. Correct. Engine vibration and small runout at the release fingers send pressure pulses back up the line, and the damper's flexible chamber absorbs them so the driver does not feel a buzzing or pulsing pedal.
Why not the others
A. A clutch system keeps no residual pressure with the pedal up; pressure left on the slave would keep the bearing loaded and make the clutch slip. The damper's job is to soak up pulses.
C. The reservoir supplies and takes back the fluid volume that changes as the facings wear. The damper holds no reserve of fluid for that.
D. Slowing engagement is the job of a delay valve, which restricts the fluid returning from the slave. The damper absorbs pressure pulses; it does not set how fast the clutch engages.
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A car's hydraulic clutch makes gears clash at a stop. With the pedal held down, the slave cylinder pushrod moves the full distance the manufacturer specifies, but through the inspection opening the release bearing moves noticeably less than the manufacturer's release travel. Which of these could be the cause?
- A fork worn at its pivot or cracked
- Air trapped in the clutch hydraulics
- A pressure plate with bent fingers
- A master cylinder leaking internally
Show the answer
A. Correct. The slave delivers full travel, yet the bearing moves less, so motion is being lost between them, in the fork and its pivot. A pivot ball worn into the fork, or a cracked or bent fork, flexes or shifts instead of moving the bearing its full distance.
Why not the others
B. Air would shorten the slave pushrod's travel. The pushrod moves its full specified distance, so the hydraulics are delivering their stroke.
C. Bent fingers could make the release uneven, but they cannot change how far the fork moves the bearing. The bearing's short travel is lost before it reaches the fingers.
D. An internal leak would shorten the slave pushrod's travel. The pushrod reaches its full specified travel, so the master cylinder is doing its job.
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Each of these is correct practice when installing a new clutch disc and pressure plate EXCEPT:
- centering the disc on the pilot with an alignment tool.
- cleaning the friction faces with a solvent that leaves no film.
- tightening the cover bolts fully one at a time.
- checking that the cover fits over its flywheel dowels.
Show the answer
C. Correct. This is the wrong practice: pulling one bolt tight while the others are loose cocks the cover against the diaphragm spring's force and can distort it; the bolts are drawn down a little at a time in a crisscross pattern, then torqued to the manufacturer's specification.
Why not the others
A. Sound practice. The alignment tool holds the disc on the pilot bearing's centerline while the cover is tightened, so the input shaft can slide through the hub and into the pilot.
B. Sound practice. Any oil or fingerprint film on the flywheel or pressure plate face can cause chatter or slip, so the faces are cleaned with a solvent that leaves no residue.
D. Sound practice. The dowels locate the pressure plate cover on the flywheel, keeping it centered and in balance, so the cover is checked to seat over them before the bolts are tightened.
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Teeth on a four-cylinder engine's flywheel ring gear are chipped and worn in two areas directly opposite each other, while the rest of the gear is sound. Why is the damage in two places?
- The engine tends to stop in two positions
- The starter engages twice per crank turn
- The ring gear was heated unevenly when fitted
- The flywheel runs out at two points
Show the answer
A. Correct. A four-cylinder engine has a compression stroke every 180° of crankshaft rotation, so it usually coasts to rest in one of two positions half a turn apart, and the starter pinion meets the same two sections of teeth on nearly every start. Replace the ring gear or flywheel and inspect the starter pinion.
Why not the others
B. The pinion meshes once at the start of each crank and stays meshed until the engine fires; it does not engage at two points per turn. The two sections wear because the pinion keeps meeting the gear at the same places.
C. Uneven heating during fitting could loosen or distort a ring gear, but it does not chip teeth in two opposite sections. That pattern comes from the pinion meeting the gear at the engine's usual stopping points.
D. Runout makes a face or rim move in and out once per turn; it does not chip teeth. The two worn sections line up with the engine's usual stopping positions.
02Answer key
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Q1 | B |
| Q2 | B |
| Q3 | A |
| Q4 | C |
| Q5 | A |
03What area A covers
This content area covers the clutch and everything that works it. Questions deal with slipping, chatter, pulsation, noise and release problems, pedal linkage and switches, cable and hydraulic release systems and how they are bled, release bearings and forks, discs, pressure plates and pilot bearings, flywheels including dual-mass types, bell housing alignment and crankshaft end play, and powertrain mounts.
The ASE test specification calls this content area “Clutch Diagnosis and Repair”. It carries 6 of the 40 scored questions, 15% of the test.
- Diagnose slip, chatter, pulsation, noise and drag
- Service pedal linkage, springs and clutch switches
- Bleed and repair hydraulic clutch systems
- Inspect release bearings, forks and pivots
- Install discs, pressure plates and pilot bearings
- Measure and resurface flywheels; check dual-mass units
- Check bell housing runout and crankshaft end play
- Inspect and replace powertrain mounts
04What the questions turn on
Slips only when hot
If a master cylinder piston cannot return far enough to uncover its compensating port, fluid is trapped between it and the slave. As that fluid heats and expands, the slave pushes the bearing into the fingers and the clutch slips only after a drive.
Find where release travel is lost
Measure travel at each step of the release system. A spongy pedal with short slave pushrod travel points to air in the hydraulics, while full pushrod travel with too little release bearing travel puts the loss in the fork or its pivot.
Flywheel cuts have limits
Subtract the cut needed from the measured thickness and compare the result with the minimum; below it, the flywheel is replaced. On a stepped flywheel the rim is cut by the same amount as the friction face, or the diaphragm spring loses clamp load.
Draw the cover down evenly
Pressure plate cover bolts are drawn down a little at a time in a crisscross pattern, then torqued to specification; pulling one bolt tight first can distort the cover. The disc faces the way it is marked, because its hub is offset.
05The other content areas
The A3 test has six content areas. Each has its own page of free questions:
The ASE A3 Manual Drive Train & Axles practice test page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.
ToolboxPrep is an independent study site. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ASE (the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence). Our questions are original practice questions written to the published ASE test specifications; they are not actual test questions.