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- Aug 27, 2004
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Here are some common problems with the drivetrain and some trouble shooting tips.
Clutch Slips
Well, its probably wearing out. Sometimes this can be caused by cable adjustment. Go to the arm where the clutch cable connects to the throwout fork of the transmission. Wiggle the cable, it should feel slightly loose. If it is drum tight loosen the lock nuts and put a little play in it. If the clutch stops slipping you are most likely ok for a while. Otherwise you need a new clutch. A few listmembers have destroyed there new Clutchmasters clutches by having the cable too tight and driving around with it slipping. A too tight cable also promotes overcentering where the pedal sticks to the floor at high RPM’s. If your car has more than 150 wheel horsepower, it probably needs a HD clutch!
Clutch Pedal is suddenly real stiff
The clutch cable is wearing out and is about to break or needs lubrication. Try removing your cable and shooting break-free or dri-slide into one end until it drips out of the other. If this doesn’t help , you need a new cable.
My clutch pedal sticks to the floor when I speed shift
Your clutch is overcentering. You need to reduce the cable pull so the clutch pedal will only pull enough cable to disengage the clutch.
My car grinds when I shift
Several things can cause this. If it grinds or shifts real stiffly in every gear, I would investigate to see if the clutch cable adjustment is allowing full disengagement of the clutch. If that is ok, the pilot bushing in the crank may be wearing out. If it grinds when only going into one or two particular gears which can be prevented by double-clutching, the syncros may need to be replaced. Sometimes marginal syncros can me stretched a while by going to Redline MTL. A long shot but a sometimes occurrence is that your throwout bearing arm or pivot has bent, check it.
My clutch won’t disengage even when I push the clutch pedal in
If the pedal feels slightly stiff but otherwise normal, a disc hub spring has probably broken out and is wedged in the pressure plate. Suspect this if you have an early Clutchmasters clutch or a stock clutch. In extreme cases the diaphragm spring has broken. If this is the case the pedal gets real soft. This failure is not very common. Sometimes the throwout bearing arm or pivot bends or breaks.
The clutch pedal offer resistance to pushing but the car won’t move, like it’s in neutral
Bad news, your clutch disc has burst. Replace disc and any other damaged parts.
My transmission makes a whirring or rough rumbling noise that goes away or changes when I push in the clutch pedal
The input shaft bearing is beginning to wear out. The transmission is in need of a rebuild.
My car pops out of fifth gear
The baulk ring and syncros for fifth gear are worn out. These are prone to wear out at around 80-100k miles depending on your driving habits. This usually only happens on 91-93 cars. Later cars have improved parts in these areas. Replace these parts with the latest service parts. Badly worn motor mounts can cause this problem also. Click http://www.se-r-list.org/fifth.gear.phtml for more info.
My short shifter rattles
Check to see if the shift linkage is contacting the catalytic converter heat shield. Bend the shield for clearance. If you have a SMC shifter adjusted for minimum throw, you may have to cut the shield away for clearance. A SMC shifter at minimum throw may contact the front antisway bar. You may have to adjust it higher so it won’t hit. A Stillen shifter may contact the side of the hole cut in the floor for the shifter. Grind away the contact area with a dremal tool, file or die grinder. A dry Stillen shifter can rattle. Reapply some heavy duty grease.
There is not enough thread on the clutch cable free-play adjuster to get the clutch to fully disengage
This is common on Clutchmasters clutches due to a slightly lower diaphragm spring. The secret is to lose one of the lock nuts on the freeplay adjuster on the transmission end of the clutch cable so you can get another ¼ inch or so of cable pull. If you want to get sano, you can make a spacer to go on the clutch cable bracket to take up some excess freeplay and put the cable adjuster smack in the center of it’s travel. Really worn clutch cables stretch quite a bit too. You may need to replace the clutch cable. Be careful and leave about ¼ of an inch of freeplay in the cable or you may run into overcentering.
My tranny is leaking gear oil, all the seals look ok
Check to see if the case cracked. Look at the area from the shift linkage hole to the axle hole. This is the place where it usually cracks.
My car shifts sort of stiff, especially in cold weather
The trans fluid is shearing down, try one of the synthetics mentioned previously, Redline or Motul.
My brand new kevlar disc judders
You either did not resurface the flywheel correctly or contaminated the disk with fingerprints, oil or grease. Remember kevlar and metal disks must be carefully resurfaced and broken in with easy driving for 500 miles. Any fingerprints or oil must be carefully cleaned off with contact cleaner or brake cleaner before installation.
My metal disc judders
This is normal, metal discs have no marcel spring. Metal discs must be carefully broken in for 500 miles of easy driving.
My solid hub, all metal, three puck disc clutch judders and jerks real bad
This is normal. A race disc in not streetable.
More info on various types of clutches : http://www.se-r.net/car_info/drivetrain_tips.html
Clutch Slips
Well, its probably wearing out. Sometimes this can be caused by cable adjustment. Go to the arm where the clutch cable connects to the throwout fork of the transmission. Wiggle the cable, it should feel slightly loose. If it is drum tight loosen the lock nuts and put a little play in it. If the clutch stops slipping you are most likely ok for a while. Otherwise you need a new clutch. A few listmembers have destroyed there new Clutchmasters clutches by having the cable too tight and driving around with it slipping. A too tight cable also promotes overcentering where the pedal sticks to the floor at high RPM’s. If your car has more than 150 wheel horsepower, it probably needs a HD clutch!
Clutch Pedal is suddenly real stiff
The clutch cable is wearing out and is about to break or needs lubrication. Try removing your cable and shooting break-free or dri-slide into one end until it drips out of the other. If this doesn’t help , you need a new cable.
My clutch pedal sticks to the floor when I speed shift
Your clutch is overcentering. You need to reduce the cable pull so the clutch pedal will only pull enough cable to disengage the clutch.
My car grinds when I shift
Several things can cause this. If it grinds or shifts real stiffly in every gear, I would investigate to see if the clutch cable adjustment is allowing full disengagement of the clutch. If that is ok, the pilot bushing in the crank may be wearing out. If it grinds when only going into one or two particular gears which can be prevented by double-clutching, the syncros may need to be replaced. Sometimes marginal syncros can me stretched a while by going to Redline MTL. A long shot but a sometimes occurrence is that your throwout bearing arm or pivot has bent, check it.
My clutch won’t disengage even when I push the clutch pedal in
If the pedal feels slightly stiff but otherwise normal, a disc hub spring has probably broken out and is wedged in the pressure plate. Suspect this if you have an early Clutchmasters clutch or a stock clutch. In extreme cases the diaphragm spring has broken. If this is the case the pedal gets real soft. This failure is not very common. Sometimes the throwout bearing arm or pivot bends or breaks.
The clutch pedal offer resistance to pushing but the car won’t move, like it’s in neutral
Bad news, your clutch disc has burst. Replace disc and any other damaged parts.
My transmission makes a whirring or rough rumbling noise that goes away or changes when I push in the clutch pedal
The input shaft bearing is beginning to wear out. The transmission is in need of a rebuild.
My car pops out of fifth gear
The baulk ring and syncros for fifth gear are worn out. These are prone to wear out at around 80-100k miles depending on your driving habits. This usually only happens on 91-93 cars. Later cars have improved parts in these areas. Replace these parts with the latest service parts. Badly worn motor mounts can cause this problem also. Click http://www.se-r-list.org/fifth.gear.phtml for more info.
My short shifter rattles
Check to see if the shift linkage is contacting the catalytic converter heat shield. Bend the shield for clearance. If you have a SMC shifter adjusted for minimum throw, you may have to cut the shield away for clearance. A SMC shifter at minimum throw may contact the front antisway bar. You may have to adjust it higher so it won’t hit. A Stillen shifter may contact the side of the hole cut in the floor for the shifter. Grind away the contact area with a dremal tool, file or die grinder. A dry Stillen shifter can rattle. Reapply some heavy duty grease.
There is not enough thread on the clutch cable free-play adjuster to get the clutch to fully disengage
This is common on Clutchmasters clutches due to a slightly lower diaphragm spring. The secret is to lose one of the lock nuts on the freeplay adjuster on the transmission end of the clutch cable so you can get another ¼ inch or so of cable pull. If you want to get sano, you can make a spacer to go on the clutch cable bracket to take up some excess freeplay and put the cable adjuster smack in the center of it’s travel. Really worn clutch cables stretch quite a bit too. You may need to replace the clutch cable. Be careful and leave about ¼ of an inch of freeplay in the cable or you may run into overcentering.
My tranny is leaking gear oil, all the seals look ok
Check to see if the case cracked. Look at the area from the shift linkage hole to the axle hole. This is the place where it usually cracks.
My car shifts sort of stiff, especially in cold weather
The trans fluid is shearing down, try one of the synthetics mentioned previously, Redline or Motul.
My brand new kevlar disc judders
You either did not resurface the flywheel correctly or contaminated the disk with fingerprints, oil or grease. Remember kevlar and metal disks must be carefully resurfaced and broken in with easy driving for 500 miles. Any fingerprints or oil must be carefully cleaned off with contact cleaner or brake cleaner before installation.
My metal disc judders
This is normal, metal discs have no marcel spring. Metal discs must be carefully broken in for 500 miles of easy driving.
My solid hub, all metal, three puck disc clutch judders and jerks real bad
This is normal. A race disc in not streetable.
More info on various types of clutches : http://www.se-r.net/car_info/drivetrain_tips.html
