My 92 is having some weird transmission problems here lately. What happens it as I'm letting the clutch out into 1st gear (letting it slip nicely without too much throttle), it will shake almost violently. I really don't know how to describe it. It also does this on a lesser scale when going from 1st to 2nd, but no other gear.

Also, here lately, I notice that the clutch will "let go" quicker than it ever has. For instance, if I'm trying to get it going in 1st, if I give it any throttle, it will just release about 2 inches or so off of the floor, causing an annoying jerk.

It's also a feat to get the tranny from 1st to 2nd, especially under high throttle, but this may be totally unrelated.

Has my clutch had it? Do I need to start looking into getting it replaced?

 

gimmi a lil more info.. like eingle and so on.. sound slike the pilot bearing and TO bearing acting up more on the side of the TO bearing.. i jst ran inot something like that and ended up doing a new clutch and MC andSC.. and it is fine now.. how many miles??

 

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry, I don't understand exactly what else you need. Can you elaborate?

BTW- The truck has almost 200,000 miles on it. I don't know how old the clutch is as I bought the truck used last year.

Also, if it matters any, the clutch only seems to do this after it gets "warmed up". For instance, it will be fine for the first 5 minutes or so of stop and go, then go downhill from there.

 

Sounds like either the pressure plate of flywheel is warped. Hopefully it's your pressure plate. Mine does it a little bit when it's cold though not hot like yours. Try and shift to second once and slip your clutch...not really bad just enough to get it a little hot and see how that effects it. Maybe you just have a bit of an uneven worn spot and it'll smooth back out. If you haven't had a clutch though in 200K it's probably about on it's last legs.

 

Warped flywheel. Replace clucth, throwout bearing, pressure plate and have the fywheel sent out to be resurfaced. The fywheel should cost less then $50.

 

Is that because of abuse or just having the clutch a long time?

Should I go to the dealer for a factory clutch or get one from a local shop (I just moved so I don't know exactly who's good and who's not)?

Also, will the clutch replacement help with the shifting issue or is this unrelated?

 

Sounds like the pressure plate is going out

Dealer parts aren't nessesary, just get a quality NEW clutch kit. A kit will have a new pressure plate. throw out bearing, and clutch disk. Really good kits may have the pilot bearing and the alignment tool for the disk (buy the tool if it is not included $5-10).
Allways get the flywheel machined (check your machine shop, as some aren't open on weekends if that is when you do it)
I say new from my perspective as a mechanic that has been paid once to do the job, the second time is on me if it chatters, grabs, slips etc. I have never had new one malfuntion, in my earlier days rebuilt was crap. If you don't mind maybe doing it twice, rebuilt can save you $$, but check the difference and see if it is worth it to you.

 

Thanks for the reply Yoda.

Do you think that a Centerforce dual-friction clutch would be good? I think I can get it for a lot cheaper than a new factory clutch.

Also, I'm wondering if there's any advice anyone could give me as to "clutch driving/usage" as I am only 18 and this is my first car. It's also been the victim of me as a first-time manual driver. Basically I would like to get as much life out of the new one as possible and could use any "do's" or "do nots" that would help me with this.

Thanks!

 

Yeah, you are experiencing clutch chatter. Sounds like a full clutch job is in order like others have mentioned.

Unless you plan on pushing a major amount of power through your rig, just go with an OEM clutch. When driven properly, they last forever (200K or more sometimes).

The idea is to get the rig rolling as smoothly as possible without bogging it, and with minimal clutch burn. Its a fine line, you'll get it.

 

Thanks for the advice!

Will the clutch replacement fix the problem of 1st and 2nd gears being difficult to shift into or are we looking at synchros?

 

Well, that is hard to say. No matter what, you need a clutch, so get that done and then see where you stand. If you still have 1 - 2 shift problems, the the plastic bushing at the base of your shifter may be worn.

Get that clutch done and let us know from there.

 

Ok. I'll go to the dealer soon and get a quote. So this is something I don't need to wait on?

 

I would get it done ASAP. The dealer is going to hose you, so shop around. Look for coupons in the mail. We get them here in PHX. 15% off isnt too bad. Expect them to charge you around $600 for everything.