Not wheel hop, what is it?

I drove around some yesterday to get my shifter working right and I dont thing my car has wheel hope but, it does have something else making it shake. You can ease out on the clutch and it will shake, so it cant be wheel hop. Jack, you said something about the clutch not being lined up. What do you mean by this. How could it not be lined up? I need to figure out whats making the car shake so bad.

Mike

Check all engine and transaxle mounts. If they are tight you may have oil on the cluth friction plate (leaking rear main seal), or the clutch pressure face plate and/or flwheel surface could be warped, or the clutch pressure face plate could be skewed off-center. Also check your rear shocks and trailing arm mounts.

I just hope I dont have to take the engine out. Maybe its something im over looking but i will check in not that i have it up on jack stands.

Mike

I almost sounds like you may have a worn pilot bushing in the gland nut If it has the needle bearing type, it,s most likely thrown some needles out. I,d say switch it to the bronze insert bushing they dont give trouble.

The clutch "Bowden tube" that guides the clutch cable need to be tightened, changed.

I always use 3-4 large washers under the tube where it slips through the trans to aadd tesnion, and stop this condition...its simple to fix.

So its just the clutch cable? This thing will shake real bad when you get on it hard and not as much when you just ease out on the clutch. Jack i sure hope its what you say it is. I will know tomorrow.

Thanks
Mike

That was Jake, but I'd start with what he said. If that doesn't fix it I'd review what George said about all the mounts. If those don't work, yeah, it's time to pull the engine and look at the clutch, pressure plate and that's a good idea on the pilot bearing. After you get used to it, pulling the engine is no big deal. In a speedster, it's a one-hour out, one-hour in, two hours messing around affair.

I dont understand how a clutch cable could cause the car to shake. You guys would know though. :-)

Thanks
Mike

If when you push on the clutch pedal the cable doesn't slide through the Bowden Tube smoothly -- if it temporarily catches due to the Bowden Tube being loose or worn out, or the cable is partially binding due to needing lube or the clutch cable is fraid, ergo the clutch won't engage smoothly -- these things could make the car jerk or shutter. I believe that is what Jake was saying. Easy fix if it is.

I just checked all the nuts and bolts and everything looks tight. I also check on the clutch cable and it looks fine too. I did discover something i forgot about. The rear two body bolt down points did not have bolts in them yet. I dont think this is the cause of the shaking so it looks like the motor has to come off. I sure wish someone could come help. :-)

Mike

(Message Edited 10/22/2002 9:59:18 PM)

Pulling an engine is better as a two person job, but you can handle it. Where are you though? We can find you a couple of web sites that describe it well. Also, I'll give you my cell phone and home numbers if you want me to be on call for technical advice, and to reassure you when you have questions. It really is not that tough to do it.

On the shifter alligngment , I found a suggestion from another guy:
If your shifter is also out of adjustment, loosen the bolts where they are only snug. Get a piece of wood and tap the base lightly hitting the wood with a hammer. (Wasn't it 3rd to 4th... in your case tapping it to the left will probably fix it.) Once you have it adjusted nicely snug the bolts down tight.

Jack, im not to the point of taking the motor out just yet but i agree its a two person job for sure. I installed the motor when the body was still off the car so it mas much easier with a cherry picker. I have the car jacked up with the wheels off and when you run the car in 4th gear there is a heck of a lot of rattling going on and im trying to locate it. Im thinking its the gears clanking around but i dont know. by the way what type of trans lube should i use? I want to replace the boots and oil before i start driving it much. Jack, I have your #'s and you bet i will call if i have a question. :-)

Thanks
Mike

I think it's 90 weight gear oil. I haven't had to replace it in the Speedsters yet. I would probably consider going to the purple stuff when I do thoug. That's what we went to in my son's supercharged Camaro with a WC T5. He goes through them like water (one every 9-10,000 miles.) We literally replace clutches with a tranny rebuild.

George runs the synthetic and has provided testimonials...

Synthetic is ABSOLUTELY GREAT but if you have any questionable seals/gaskets it will leak - perhaps copiously. I've switched back to 80/90 GL5 rated gear oil, and GL4 rated should be OK too.

I switched back due to leaks, and now the leaking is either greatly reduced or eliminated.

Well the trasaxle does not leak but the boots sure do. The guy that i got the car from way over tightend the nuts and bolts on the boots and its causing them not to seal correctly. I want to replace the boots and put some good trans fluid in while im at it.

Mike

Mike, I don't know if you found the source of this shaking, but I was experiencing a similar problem. It turned out my front transmission had been installed UPSIDE DOWN! Over time this caused the mounting to crack essentially in half as well. I have a 2000 VS, so I am not sure if maybe there is an issue with the build during this time... just a thought.

Mike, did you ever find the source of your shake? I am experiencing a severe shake at 2600 rpms in 4th gear. Sometimes backing off the accelerator will help to stop it. If I accelerate quickly up to 3000 rpms, I don't notice it. I checked the clutch cable adjustment and Bowden tube. Both OK. Any ideas?

Charles,

Get underneath and get a good look at the front(nosecone) tranny mount. I broke one on my beetle towing a trailer from LA to Massachusetts. It was fine on exceleration but moved significantly back and forth when I let off. I think if it is a stock mount the tranny may have to slide back a bit to replace. Mine was a urethane mount that broke. I replaced it with a stock one. No problems since.

Eric: Thanks for the info. I checked my nosecone mount tonite and it was not broken, but the nuts were about to fall off. I am still getting bad vibs, but not as severe and they have moved about 200 rpms up the scale. I will look further for loose fasteners. Thanks for your help.

Chuck