My clutch is starting to slip... surprise surprise... I have a question about it. Why does it slip only in certain gears? My clutch will hold full throttle through first and second, but at anything more than 1/4 throttle in 3,4, or 5.... It slips like a bitch up to the redline... driving on the highway is horrible, I pretty much have to run out second gear, and then just cruise...

new clutch is going in next week, i just wanna know why it only slips in certain gears?

 

In the lower gears, there's not as much resistance to the engine accelerating, so instead of slipping, it is able to rotate faster and accelerate the car. In higher gears, it just sort of "sits" at an RPM, while the clutch gets an opportunity to slip.

 

If you need another example, think of a 10-speed bike and how much effort it takes YOU (or the engine) to pedal in the lower gears vs the higher gears.