Is my clutch going???? Please help!!! 98 GT.

[sasscuba]

I have 69,000 on the stock clutch and it feels like it is slipping in every gear when I rapidly accelerate. The car will just jerk mostly when it tachs over 2500. I also noticed in 4th gear cruising at 40 mph it feels like you are on a rough road but it is lightly jerking. Car is stock, 5 spd and have had no warning at all of clutch going. I had a 88 5.0 and it would not bark the tires and the rpms would go way up before it would catch. This 4.6 will still bark but the car jerks. I can tach the engine to redline in neutral and the engine runs smooth, only problem is in gear. Shifts great and transmission has been changed under warranty about 30,000 miles ago. Any comments, questions or help is much appreciated. Thanks Scott.

 

[98stangyellow]

i had a similar problem, i was lucky, i jacked the car up and it was my tranny brace mounts that were loose, i tightend them up and alla good,
i hope its something simple like that for you,it sounds the same,under no stress in nutral it goes into gear nice and under stress it runs and a bit of a bitch to get into gear,

 

[White96GTinFla]

I have this EXACT problem... thanks for the tip...

Where exactly are these braces you talk about? Maybe a diagram or explain it to me, that would be awesome

 

[sasscuba]

I have this EXACT problem... thanks for the tip...

Where exactly are these braces you talk about? Maybe a diagram or explain it to me, that would be awesome

What exactly is yours doing? Mine jerks while it is being driven.

 

[98stangyellow]

its the suport brace that holds your tranny up, it has a rubber block with two bolts going threw it, them two bolts sometimes come loose, the brace goes from the front drivers door to the passenger driver door,
jack your car up, you cant miss it, theres only one suport holding your tranny up, it will be pretty clear when you see it,

 

[sasscuba]

its the suport brace that holds your tranny up, it has a rubber block with two bolts going threw it, them two bolts sometimes come loose, the brace goes from the front drivers door to the passenger driver door,
jack your car up, you cant miss it, theres only one suport holding your tranny up, it will be pretty clear when you see it,

Well it is not the support brace. Jacked it up and they are tight as can be. Could not tighten them with an impact so any other ideas? Thanks.

 

[White96GTinFla]

What exactly is yours doing? Mine jerks while it is being driven.

Studders around 2500 and feels like a rough road slowing down in 4th (shakes the shifter handle pretty darn good.

 

[sasscuba]

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[sasscuba]

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[sasscuba]

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[White96GTinFla]

mine too....is that only when you engage the clutch or no?

The shuddering and stuff happens when its IN gear and driving, when I engage the clutch, Im pretty sure the problem goes away...

damnit dude, now u have me confused

 

[sasscuba]

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[sasscuba]

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[White96GTinFla]

holy **** bro, chill with the post count bumps, someone will eventually answer your question.

 

[Kyle-02GT]

Yeah, my car just recently started jerking when shifting at higher RPM's quickly, I think its the clutch slipping but its only has 14K and I think it might be a bit early for that to be going.

As for your question have you had anyone adjust your clutch? Could be just out of adjustment.....don't see how idling down in 4th would be caused by a clutch problem though unless the clutch is engaged....

 

[DB96GT]

I have 69,000 on the stock clutch and it feels like it is slipping in every gear when I rapidly accelerate. The car will just jerk mostly when it tachs over 2500. I also noticed in 4th gear cruising at 40 mph it feels like you are on a rough road but it is lightly jerking. Car is stock, 5 spd and have had no warning at all of clutch going. I had a 88 5.0 and it would not bark the tires and the rpms would go way up before it would catch. This 4.6 will still bark but the car jerks. I can tach the engine to redline in neutral and the engine runs smooth, only problem is in gear. Shifts great and transmission has been changed under warranty about 30,000 miles ago. Any comments, questions or help is much appreciated. Thanks Scott.

What you are describing could be a ton of things, related or not to the transmission. Can't you find anyone that works on cars to go for a ride with you? I'm sure I could tell what it was in 10 seconds.

I'm thinking U-joints, but it's hard to say from here.

 

[GulfCoastMustang]

Stangscuba, did you ever figure this out? I'm having almost exactly the same problem. My clutch started slipping at around 50k miles and I also got that jerking hesitation feel when cruising at 2k rpm. Especially when I would be going down the road in cruise control, hit the brakes, and then press "Resume". The engine would try to accelerate and it would jerk.
I changed the clutch, thinking it was shot, but it turns out that it still had a TON of meat on it. I resurfaced the flywheel because it looked like it was wearing only on the outside. The problem went away but after about 10k miles, it started slipping again.
Now I've got 110k miles and it is slipping big time and the hesitation is more and more noticeable.
I'm thinking about getting a firewall adjuster for the clutch cable. Think that might help?

 

[kerryt1]

I'm resurrecting this thread. I'm experiencing similar issues, and this thread seems to be the most similar to my problems.

Did anyone ever shed light on this?

 

[DB96GT]

a couple of ideas

I have had problems similar to a couple of different people in the thread:

1. Vibration at 2500 RPM (any RPM for that matter) or so: My drive shaft was bent. Get this checked out quickly as this rattled apart my transmission by ignoring it. When you disengage the clutch it will go away a bit as it disconnects the offending drive shaft from at least part of the drive line. How did it get bent? My Eibach shocks drooped over time and every once in a while my drive shaft would 'bottom' against the drive shaft tunnel causing it to slowly bend.

2. Acceleration 'jerking': Typically the few times I had this was after washing my car. Water can leak down inside the spark plug boot and cause shorts, lasting for days. Also, I had a VERY slight oil leak coming from somewhere above the boot that caused oil to get down in there too. Don't worry about it now, that car is long gone. Wish I could be in the car, but there's little doubt to me that this is a misfire caused by an ignition or fuel pressure problem.

My solution: sell my damn car and get an Acura. 141,000 miles and NEVER a hint of any problem whatsoever. Seat belts even still retract. Wouldn't mind having a newer Stang though.

 

[98COBRA281]

when my stock one was going 99k miles it would slip for a secound when i hit 2nd and 3rd hard i couldent even chirp 2nd