Replaced clutch 3 times within 70000 miles of driving. Dealer told me not to "ride the clutch." If you drive in a big, congested, stop-and-go city, how do you avoid this?
Body pan bent inward at correct Ford-specified jacking points. Mechanic told me to use the base of the steering knuckles for jacking, which works. Like all cars today, even the metal under the body is so thin you can almost see through it.
Engine and body vibrates with lots of noise at 2500+ rpm. Road noise and tire noise add to this and make it impossible to conduct a conversation with a passenger.
Engine now has a mysterious misfire that is increasing to cover the entire rpm range. Ford dealer cannot find the cause, and charged me $100 to look at it.
My 1995 Ford Escort LX has been well maintained all of its life. The body and paint are really nice, and even the driver's seat is tear-free. The custom alloy wheels are beautiful. The oil was changed every 3000 miles. But, I cannot sell it to anyone because of the incurable misfire problem. Two used car dealers offered me $200-250 for it. One dealer said the engine was too "rough" to make an offer. This Escort is ready for the junk yard.
Before you spend a lot on diagnosis, replace the spark plugs, if that doesn't fix it, then the spark plug wires.
Also, in some cases, a worn clutch can feel like a misfire... but that isn't likely in your case as the clutch is fairly new.
As far as not wearing out the cluch... the best thing to do is to sign up for a driving school that specializes in driving with a manual transmission. One school that comes to mind is 'Shifters'
This is a tinny little clutch that will warp the pressure plate fast if it isn't installed with perfect adjustment. 30 minutes is all it takes to overheat and ruin one of these. Or you can have it perfect only to go out of adjustment later and warp it in 30 minutes of driving. Warps like a brake rotor will, only it costs more to replace and the service dept will accuse you of abusing the car.
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