Rust on pressure plate

[mikeh]

Now, I wouldn't normally worry about rust on a car, if it wasn't for the fact there wasn't any the last time I looked.

Here it is 2 years / 20k miles ago.

Here it is today

I'm just curious if it's something I ought to be worried (water/crap getting in there?) about or perhaps the clutch just wasn't that old when I bought the car.

 

[MartinR]

First picture is a brand new clutch, second is normal tbh due to moisture in the air no need for water to make things rust.

Change it whilst the box is off if you are not already doing so.

 

[mikeh]

That's the thing, the first isn't a brand new clutch.

That was the view that greeted me after removing the box.

I'd owned the car for around 6 months at this time.

 

[Snake182]

Don't forget that the clutch/pressure plate gets quite hot, and like anything that gets hot it will corrode, due to the cooling effect and moisture in the air. Exactly the same as brake discs and exhausts. Obviously the more water its exposed to (Driving conditions dependant) the more apparent the corrosion will be.

 

[GrahamS]

Has the car been standing frequently? looks like it's been damp a while. Nothing to worry about though. Clutch in first pic appears to be pretty new.

 

[mikeh]

The car has been sat around a lot for the last year, I guess I should just attribute it to a combination of that and perhaps the clutch being done just before I bought it.

 

[Mini182]

As others have said don't think it is much to worry about.

If it has been on there for 2 years and 20k miles it would make sense to change it while you have access to it though. But I'm guessing you are already doing that.

 

[mikeh]

Nope - to be fair, the clutch gets very little abuse now the car isn't used on the road.

If it fails further down the road then I won't be devastated about pulling the box off again.