Drivetrain is shaking!

[92ShoOff]

Okay so here's problem 1,028: I had the tranny rebuilt at a local AAMCO, and also had them install my Fibertuff clutch and everything for me. My rear motor mount was broken, so I also had both mounts replaced with reinforced mounts. All work was done by AAMCO. Well after I got the car back the car seemed to be driving fine... but now everytime I start off from a stop or a very slow roll the car violently shakes. It's really hard to tell where it's coming from... but I'm almost positive it's the transmission/drivetrain. It just shakes the whole car so that makes it kinda difficult. But the car seems to be shaking almost from side-to-side rather than front-to-back.

I don't think I have a bad tranny mount.. but I could be quite wrong. Could this be an axle issue?? Or even a differential issue? I haven't tried starting off in second gear from a stop to see if it still does it... but I'm very sure it's not a bad 1st gear after they just had my tranny open. It drives fine after I get going in first... and all other gears are fine while cruising and accelerating. It's just the first few seconds while the clutch is still engaging the it vibrates. To be more precise it actually starts the vibrating after the car has started moving and when I've almost completely let off the clutch. As soon as the pedal is released completely it's all fine. I guess they could have also done something wrong when putting the clutch back together. I just seems the load when starting off in first is the issue... but I've slammed the **** out of all the gears after the tranny and clutch were broken in and everything seems well. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!,
Andrew

 

[masho95]

There's nothing wrong with the car. It's the clutch being grabby. The fact that it's not a full faced clutch will give you that chatter. As each puck starts trying to grab the flywheel you get the chatter. You just need to get used to engaging the clutch just right. The 9-puck fibertuff clutch can be really tough to get used to, especially during stop and go traffic. Just give it some time to get used to driving it.

 

[Bizzy]

I agree with masho95's analysis that it's the clutch disk being grabby. Best thing to do is to learn not to feather the pedal. Try to get it rolling slightly and then let the clutch pedal out all the way.

Good luck!

 

[92ShoOff]

Dammit! Haha this is gonna be great! Now I gotta learn how to not let it grab like that. That makes it even more fun when my clutch doesn't grab until my pedal is almost completely released. Oh, and is the clutch pedal supposed to stick out further than the brake pedal?? Mine is like that, and I thought they were supposed to be about even on all cars. And does only the Fibertuff do this? If so.. I'm going with High Revs next time lol. Thanks you two!

 

[Cobraii976]

I'll agree with the rest and then toss in that my Kevlar faced Zoom does the same thing. Wife screamed at me for doing a "holeshot" with it after I got it back together. It was a "holeshot" but it was an accidental one.

 

[masho95]

Dammit! Haha this is gonna be great! Now I gotta learn how to not let it grab like that. That makes it even more fun when my clutch doesn't grab until my pedal is almost completely released. Oh, and is the clutch pedal supposed to stick out further than the brake pedal?? Mine is like that, and I thought they were supposed to be about even on all cars. And does only the Fibertuff do this? If so.. I'm going with High Revs next time lol. Thanks you two!

The clutch pedal shouldn't be grabbing that high. I recently saw Jason's (Blown-By-U) car and the clutch pedal not only feels weird but it's grabbing really high. It should start to grab about halfway up on the release of the pedal. And yes the clutch pedal should be slightly higher then the brake pedal. IIRC it's the same with stock clutches too.

I still find myself chirping the tires daily without even meaning to.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Dittos on all the above. Those clutches are really grabby, and just not that friendly on a daily streeter. FWIW, skip the "Hi Revs" next time and just do the HD pressure plate with a stock disc.

In the meanwhile, lots 'o gas, and slip the **** out of it.

 

[92ShoOff]

Yeah I really need to figure out why my clutch is grabbing where it is. And after a lot of trying today... I finally found how to release the clutch just right to avoid that vibrating. Just like Chris said... lots of gas. Damn tires chirped just about everytime I release quickly... but MUCH better than all that damn vibration. So I'm guessing now pretty much ALL performance clutch discs are grabby like that?