1. Purpose of the clutch
All standard or manual transmissions have a clutch to engage or disengage the transmission. The clutch is located between the transmission and engine. If clutches were not used, every time the vehicle came to a stop, the engine would stop. The clutch engages the transmission gradually. This will eliminate jumping abruptly from no connection at all to a direct solid connection to the engine.
2. The main parts of the clutch
Figure 2-106 shows the main parts of the clutch: the flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate assembly, clutch release bearing and the clutch fork. When the clutch is disengaged, the flywheel and the pressure plate rotate independently. When the clutch is engaged, the pressure plate clamps the clutch disc to the flywheel, and the engine was connected to the transmission.
