Can someone please tell me how to fix the cliutch play/chatter on my 5 speed? I know alot of other people have that problem too. I cant even downshift without double clutching cause it just doesn't grip smoothly....
Im sick of being in the lower RPM range of the gear and having the car jerk on me. (Anything below 2500 RPM results in big jerk)
Can anyone tell me what EXACTLY is needed to be done to fix this?
I know replacing the motor mount and tranny mount will fix alot of the chatter, but I want to know if there are any other bushings or things to change, seeing as PR Motor Mounts are way too expensive, and home made poly mounts are also out of my price range.

Thanks

 

I've heard that resurfacing the flywheel helps this.

 

Home made poly mounts cost what, about $8 to make? That's out of your price range?

 

#1...I think he means buying someone's home-made ones...

#2...its like $20 for that poly crap!



I have poly mounts (all 4 of them) and still get a lot of clutch chatter with my ACT. I just live with it. It only happens at low speeds, and doesn't bother me that much. I just get the engine speed higher before I launch!

 

Yeah, the only real cure for ACT clutch chatter is a launch rpm of about 1500-1800.

I filled just my front mount with West Systems marine epoxy with glass filler. Epoxy is a lot stiffer than polyurethane, I think the modulus is around .5 msi, maybe more with the glass filler in it. That made a pretty significant reduction in clutch chatter (but it didn't get rid of all of it) and wheel hop. NVH at idle is increased, though. I've got a spare rear mount, I might fill it, too, just out of curiosity.

 

What kind of clutch do you have?

 

That's my biggest gripe about the Maxima drivetrain, the clutch. The OEM clutch (which what I assume you have) is an EXCELLENT performance clutch in that it's very strong and has quick take up. The problem is in normal driving the take up is hard to modulate therefore you get the "jerk" into gears at lower rpms. The engine mounts don't help things either in that they're pretty soft and the VQ is rather large and torques the mounts pretty good. I usually experience the chatter only in the morning when the clutch is cold. My car's problem is the jerkiness on the 1-2 shift. Funny thing is many magazines have noted how hard the Maxima clutch is to master. Many complained that the clutch made them look like rookie manual drivers. I couldn't agree more. My 7 year old clutch has 100K miles and a ton of 1/4 mile passes and it's showing no signs of wear except for some faint and very random throw-out bearing noise. I almost wonder if my flexplate or throw-out bearing will die before my clutch does

I plan on buying new front and rear mounts and the support rod mount which supports the shifter. Visually my mounts look fine, but I think their age and abuse have loosened the robber a lot, even though they're not torn.


Dave

 

Yes i do have the OEM clutch....How much does the support rod mount cost? I assume it will help for more crisp shifts. Also Dave my clutch seems to grip perfectly when its cold, only when it warms up and combined with the knock sensor ghost code do i get hard jerking, and like you during the 1-2 shift.
As well to the other people that did poly mounts, I was saying that homemade mounts are expensive because i was assuming to buy new mounts when injecting the polyurethane.
If the stock engine mounts are shot or worn could i still pop the bag in the mounts and fill it with polyurethane?
I plan on getting a new clutch after the winter anyway, but first i want to be prepared to do anything and everything to reduce the chatter.

 

What's the downside to stiffer motor mounts? That vibration and motion has to go somewhere, and I suspect the CV joints are the recipients. If the motor and tranny are supported by stiff bushings, the next closest expensive parts 'downhill' are the CV joints. Is this an unreasonable train of thought?

I would rather have a little NVH and clutch chatter than cause my CV joints to fail early. Or have my ball joints rattle apart. Or transmit some nasty vibration into my steering rack (replacement has gotta be $800 on that beast.)

Anyway, my potentially worthless $.02.

Ciao,
TOM