Blown out "clutch" knee

Abutterfly

New member
Yes, once again I have a chapter to add to the Jeep saga....well, for 4 days now I have had a blown out "clutch" knee and I don't know why. I don't remember injuring it... BUT.....as everyone knows..I just learned to drive stick.....I am hoping to God that it isn't the stickin' doing it to my knee. If I had to sell this Jeep already, I think I would have a break down. Lord knows I have been thru some crap with this Jeep already and if I had to part with it it would really bum me out. We've bonded now, you know.....I know I could get one with an AT... but it is a hassle to find a buyer....find one with an AT (which I couldn't before and that is why I bought this without knowing how to drive stick!) So there you have it... yet another tale of woe...:cry:
 

Sorry to hear it, but I'm in the same boat. I crunched mine a couple weeks ago playing with my son and then seem to have re-injured it jogging this weekend. With a little practice shifting with the right leg isn't too difficult in most types of traffic ;-)
 
Could be worse. My right knee is biffed up and i can't move my foot still after 4 motnhs. My XJ with an automatic just sits outside and patiently waits for me.
 
Don't ya hate it when that happens? I remember the dilema i had during 3-a-days for football, couldn't lift either of my legs. Those where some of the scariest rides home i had for a while!!!
 

Donk523 said:
Don't ya hate it when that happens? I remember the dilema i had during 3-a-days for football, couldn't lift either of my legs. Those where some of the scariest rides home i had for a while!!!
O god that brings back memories. Trying to drive home after practice and having your legs(both at once) cramp up! I've blown out my left knee twice playing football(acl, mcl, miniscus disk*sp?*, cartilage and broke the bone) and welcome the clutch. If i let it sit for too long(15 minutes or so) when i get out of the car i can barely walk for 30 minutes. The way i sit up higher, like i'm actually in a chair, and the clutch helps keep my knee mobile and in a comfortable position. I hate driving my mom's Accord even though it's brand new(and fast). 5 minutes in that thing and my day is shot, can't walk anywhere.
 
Donk523 said:
Don't ya hate it when that happens? I remember the dilema i had during 3-a-days for football, couldn't lift either of my legs. Those where some of the scariest rides home i had for a while!!!
O god that brings back memories. Trying to drive home after practice and having your legs(both at once) cramp up! I've blown out my left knee twice playing football(acl, mcl, miniscus disk*sp?*, cartilage and broke the bone) and welcome the clutch. If i let it sit for too long(15 minutes or so) when i get out of the car i can barely walk for 30 minutes. The way i sit up higher, like i'm actually in a chair, and the clutch helps keep my knee mobile and in a comfortable position. I hate driving my mom's Accord even though it's brand new(and fast). 5 minutes in that thing and my day is shot, can't walk anywhere.
 

Abutterfly said:
We've bonded now, you know.....

So far my YJ has spent almost as much time in my garage undergoing surgery as it has on the trail. My wife has been a little alarmed at the amazing ability an old Jeep has to suck money out of a bank account, but I LOVE that Jeep and will probably spend thousands more than it is worth keeping it going, but I love it. Does your seat cut into the back of your leg? that might affect your knee.
 
Magua308 said:
So far my YJ has spent almost as much time in my garage undergoing surgery as it has on the trail. My wife has been a little alarmed at the amazing ability an old Jeep has to suck money out of a bank account, but I LOVE that Jeep and will probably spend thousands more than it is worth keeping it going, but I love it. Does your seat cut into the back of your leg? that might affect your knee.

Well, I keep my seat all the way up almost.. my shin is just about touching the dash. I don't know why, that is just where I like it so my knee is pretty much bent all the time. It feels better for my leg to not have to stretch it out all the way to shift.

Don't know which is worse...sitting close and using a lot of strength to push it down with less leg stretching or sitting back and shoving that leg all the way out each time??? Not sure which is best to do .

I also do this thing, which I am sure is NOT good for me or the Jeep but I don't know.. I tend to ride the clutch.. not when I am resting...but lets say I am at the top of a hill and I shift into neutral to just coast it out to the bottom... when I shift into N... I keep the clutch to the floor ....all the way in.. ... and I leave it in til the stop sign or light. I don't know why. I think it is a "fear" thing.. that if I let it out it will stahl even though I know it won't. My husband says it's okay as long as it is all the way in... not out. ??? I am thinking that holding that in might be what is killing my knee but I don't know. It takes a lot of strength to hold that clutch down. I do the same thing like in the drive thru... I pull up to the window and stop and I hold the clutch in while in N.... I don't let it out.. I know it's weird.. I just developed that habit.. and I think I need to change it ASAP...

I think because I used to stahl it out so much that I am making sure it doesn't or something. I don't know. Does anyone else do that or am I a Pod Person from the planet Mars???
 

dropseys said:
Could be worse. My right knee is biffed up and i can't move my foot still after 4 motnhs. My XJ with an automatic just sits outside and patiently waits for me.

One more thing.. I guess I shouldn't complain. I am just disappointed and worried. It could be my right knee and I could be not driving at all. I guess I am still lucky.
I hobbled in the other night from work and hubby asked how my knee was. I said better , but not great. He said "Ya know what, I think you need to take my Jeep and let me take yours until that knee heals up." :purple:
Yea, buddy, I am SURE you do.....I was actualy thinking the same thing. He went 4 wheelin' this weekend with his buds somewhere up in the coal regions of PA.. near Knoebels Amusement park... he came back and said it was HELL as his buddies Jeep is an old CJ piece of junk and the ride was just about unbearable. They went 27.5 miles in first gear on the worst terrain.. he looked like he was put thru the ringer. He has the top and doors off and he said there was a moment when they knocked this tree loose on his side and he said it stood straight up and wobbled and wobbled and he thot it was going to smash his head in...:cry: He said he is not goin' out again for a while .he said he thinks he no longer wants a Wrangler.......now that was before he just took mine to work for 2 days!!!
He walks in the house doing his air "stick" and carrying on... now I ,on the other hand, am driving his 94 Cherokee......which drives like a go-cart... all over the road.... NO radio... only casettes..... it's crazy. But I like not having to shift right now. If I gotta hear VanHalen's "So This is LOVE!" one more time on that warped 1983 cassette I think I will crash myself into a tree!!!! I did get a smokey burn out on the on ramp tho.... with his killer "high output" engine!! WOOOO yeah!!! Mine isn't quick.. especially with me behind the wheel and one good knee. So, it's give and take... I can drive mine with no power but really fun... or I can drive his with knee comfort and in silence .(not including the squeals from the tires!!! :p

I am going to rest this knee until Monday I believe... he can play with my Jeep til then. It is feeling better but not great. I am going to be walking all over Cape May this weekend.. so lets hope it holds out or I might just have to plant my butt on the sand and stay there....
 
Keeping the cluth all the way in like that for extended periods of time can be bad for the throwout bearing, which seem to be a pretty expendable part on Jeeps. Soooo, if I were you, yeah, I'd change that habit.
 

If you see a Coast Guard Recruit Company running through Cape May this weekend, say hi. (I'm glad I am done with that, boot camp is only fun in hindsight)
 
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