After my clutch was replaced awhile back, I noticed a few changes in how my car acted. When the car was cold and I would start out in first gear, it liked to moan loudly and make the car vibrate. It only does this every so often, not every time I start driving in the morning. The other thing is that when the car has been driven for awhile (20-30 mins) and I try to drive slowly in first gear, the car shutters when I'm letting the clutch out below 3000 rpm. It only does it in first gear. If I rev it up above 3000 rpm and let the clutch out slowly (keeping the revs up) then it doesn't shutter.

It might be the clutch, but I don't know. I'm thinking it could be a motor mount. How do you check if the motor mounts are bad? Where are they located, I could only find drawings of the two on the crossmember in the fsm. Isn't there another one on the trasmission somewhere (I have a VE-5)? Do these sound like symptoms of a bad motor mount?

 

the 2 tranny mounts are on the driverside frame rail. one is just behind the big black canister under the battery tray/relay box, and the other is below the brake master cylinder.

you should NEVER need to rev to 3000 to keep it smooth. on a stock flywheel i'd often launch at 1000rpm with HORRIBLE motor mounts and not chatter very bad. maybe you were too rough on the clutch during the break-in? maybe something in your clutch kit was defective?

granted, usually i'd say "if you have any doubt about your motor mounts, then they're probably bad", it may or may not be the case here. putting the car in 2nd at 20mph, punch and release the gas pedal about the same pace that you'd dribble a basketball... how violently does the car jerk around? is it almost intolerable? or is it jerky but still liveable?

my clutch also moans more during engagement than my old one did.. both on the stock flywheel and on this one.. no idea why that is, but it's just something I noticed.

 

You have a condition called "clutch chatter"...sounds like your flywheel needs to be replaced, or resurfaced. most likely replaced all together.

 

I tried it out and it's unbearable. It clunks REALLY hard when you release the gas (when punching it and releasing it like you said to try). So does this mean I have bad mounts, or could it be the clutch? When the transmission shop put in a new clutch they resurfaced the flywheel as well.

I only have the shuttering I described when the car is warm, and then it's not always, just a lot of the time. Is this consistent with bad motor mounts or a bad clutch job?

Oh, and I took a look at the 4 motor mounts and it looks like there might be a crack in the rubber on the front motor mount and the rear transmission mount (the one under the brake mc). It doens't look bad, and I don't know if this would cause the shuttering I'm feeling, but that's what I saw.

 

Does anyone listen to me in here anymore?

I might as well told 3 year old niece the problem.

 

correct....i think its a bad clutch job....

 

I have had a bad acting new clutch plate. After 10k, the shuddering went away, must have been the cheapest solution materiel.... (Greeny is right; if resurfacing is needed, then it is needed). My lesson learnt: dont save on that spare part...

The open mounts can be test filled with plastics or tight rubber. If the characteristics change, then youll know the problem area. Bluebird/Stanza mounts have been working nicely 100k with two rubber bits in the holes - the problem in it was like u depicted.

 

They resurfaced my flywheel and showed me the receipt, but you think they did it wrong then maybe? Why would it only shutter when the car has been driven for 20-30 minutes? The transmission shop told me it was probably motor mounts because after 20-30 minutes the engine would be hot and they would be more flexible and cause that. But would a bad flywheel do the same thing?

I just need to get it hot and have it start shuttering, and then I'll take it to the tranny shop and have them check it out.

 

I listen to ya Greeny! I have a similar problem, but of the two tranny shops that I took the car to, they said that the clutch and flywheel were great.

 

That was shown also to me. I even paid. Still they ruined my car, and almost got killed as steering wheel disintegrated on the fly... Since then, I have always ruined my car myself. Nowadays I am an expert BUT, no need to pay.

Just dont tst stiffen those mounts, it could solve the issue. Keep the receipts...

 

well it could be that he's got both problems.... i had both problems and it chattered like a ****. new clutch and new flywheel and it still chatters a TINY bit just because the mounts are floppy. but the clutch and flywheel replacement made it a LOT better. i have a spare VE flyweel that's been outside for a while... but a little sandpaper and it could be used again right? or once they rust they're fooked?

what car was that on? I thought you only drove automatic... or is this a story from a couple years back?

 

Tha is my old story that I do see time to time; 2L manual stanza. Goin strong...

The vanagon also has extra rubber bits pushed inside in all three mounts, sealed in with sikaflex (www.sika.com). Its extra engine frame also has add-on -isolation with vibration rubbers. The four cylinder diesel is now tight but relatively vibration free. Cost just few cents. And of course, intake/exhaust mods give 40% boost... all 50 NA horses have now possibly 20 (?) new brothers pushing smoke. And hey, its all manual labor. (Luckily the max rubber burn can be used as a pressure release valve)

 

if the rust has been there for more than a couple of months in a damp climate, then it's farked.

 

ha, ok, in that case, nevermind...

 

I am having the same condition with the car i just purchased.. it has a new 06 tranny with exedy stage 1 clutch and lightweight flywheel.. The owner told me it has new Poly motor mounts.. When i go to let clutch engage if i am not slowly slipping the clutch as it engages it will jerk the car real bad as if the whole motor shook is what it feels like.. and then when im shifting gears.. when it engages the next gear CLUNK is what i hear and i actually feel it shake.. is this mounts? flywheel? clutch? HELP!

 

it could be. i had bad luck with poly mounts. Basically it broke after just a few days, and over the course of 5 months it ended up like this: