Ford Bronco Owner’s Friend Claims He Knows How To Drive Stick, Thoroughly Destroys Clutch

Oct 24, 2023

According to the original poster the scent of the burnt up clutch is so strong that he can smell it even though the vehicle is long gone

One Ford Bronco owner got a sour surprise after lending their vehicle to a friend. Evidently, that friend claimed to know how to drive a stick shift but only returned the SUV after completely destroying the clutch disc. It's one thing to be bad at driving a car with a manual transmission and it's another to be this bad.

Driving a stick shift is certainly a learned skill but this is far from the first time we’ve seen someone have trouble with it. Typically though, someone's failure to figure out the transmission is a comical episode. That was certainly the case when criminals couldn't steal a Subaru WRX because it had row-your-own gears.

In this case, we’re not totally sure how the conversation between the owner and his friend went down. What information is readily available comes from Reddit poster hetereciousu7. They titled the post "Don't let your friend who says he knows stick borrow your Bronco."

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The poster doesn't go into detail about the situation though. Thankfully, they did include photos of the vehicle, the damage, and the process of removing and replacing the clutch components. It's a gnarly sight that's worth breaking down. First, there's a glimpse of the flywheel which looks like it's full of hot spots. It's likely a goner at this point.

The clutch and pressure plate are for sure past their expiration date though. The clutch disc itself is completely smooth down to the metal plating. In fact, most of the friction medium that's on display in the photo is stuck to the pressure plate which is… let's just say not optimal.

According to the poster the scent left from the burnt-up clutch is so strong that it persists even after the Bronco has long since left the shop. Carscoops has reached out to the original poster for more information on the Ford and we’ll update this story if we learn more. For now, the lesson is simple. Don't let just anybody drive a car because they say they know how.