94 Tercel Standard Clutch Noise, Slight Shhhhh sound on cold mornings Options

[rockyp44]

My 94 with only 53,000 miles is making a soft shhhh or whooosh sound when I press on the clutch on cold mornings. It goes away once the car's been driven about 10 miles. Does anyone know what causes this and is it OK to drive the car 450 miles this weekend?

Also--should I stick to the NKG spark plugs when I do a tune up or are the cheaper brands ok?
Thanks!

[Pongo]

A. Check the transmission fluid level. If it's ok, don't worry. Many tranny's make some noise until they warm up....very tight tolerances will do this.

B. NGK plugs are no better than other brands (Champion is cheapest). The only difference is in their Radio Frequency Output which affects squat unless you're driving a snowmobile using a communicator (interferes). If you have easy access to your plugs, get the cheapest ones, gap them properly, but replace them every 50,000 kms.