My clutch seems to be running into issues.

Slipping in 6th rarely, in fact only once after its been sitting for 4-5 hours.

All other gears are fine and I think I have some miles left on it. I still feel it may not be the clutch itself but a stuck TO bearing.

I plan on bleeding it this weekend and seeing what that does for it.

It used to grab very hard at the top, now its grabbing near the middle which is why I think it may be hydraulic related.

How tough is it to remove?

I have a hoist in my garage and can pick up a trans jack.

I just ordered the Bentley manual for it. If its not a massive job I might pull it out just to check things out.

Clutch only has 12K on it and it gave zero indication of a problem, then POOF...and actually 2 days before hand I did feel like the car lurched getting into the freeway. I discounted it because the MAF was bad at the time.

Wonder if one of the springs broke in it.

I have a hoist, all the air tools, etc...instead of spending 2 weeks screwing around with it, then pulling the trans, I'd rather spend the time pulling the trans and making sure its right.

 

Your symptoms are those of a worn out clutch, slipping in higher gears. In your case it is just the beginning, but it won't get better. Since you are doing the work yourself and seem to have the right tools you will be just spending on a new friction plate. A new TO bearing would also be a good idea since you will have access to it and the cost for the part is minimal.
You indicate that your clutch only has 12 k miles on it. It is possible that the current TO bearing is having issues, and should have been replaced along with the clutch... Another possibility is oil contamination from either the engine or the tranny. Again you will find out what the deal is when you disassemble.
Best of luck, and please take lots of pics!

 

I had it up on the hoist tonight and looked carefully around the inspection holes, no signs of any wet area's.

I still can't believe its the pressure plate itself. I've driven manuals for a long long time and road race and drag raced manuals for the past 10 years.

Its not me

TO makes more sense because of the jerky motion of the clutch engagement.

I've had cintered iron and bronze clutches before, they act like switches but this feels different.

I need to bleed it first but for that I need the special torx they use for the axles. I'm not contorting myself to get to the bleed screw. I'll just take off the axles and heat shield and gravity bleed it.

Thanks for the info.

 

Usually a hydraulic problem causes problems with cluth release not engagement. 12K miles suggests a bad rear seal or something is broken. Since you don't see oil the seal is probably OK but be ready to deal with it when you take things apart.

 

Have you done any mods to the car? Slipping in fifth indicates too much torque for the clutch, which can be accomplished both by lowering the torque treshold of the clutch (worn or oil coated) or by increasing the torque output of the engine (chip, exhaust, ...).

Bob

 

Well I'll find out soon enough.

My idea behind hydraulics was possibly some air trapped not allowing the TO to disengage all the way.

No oil that I could see and I'd expect smoke or a smell with the heat.

I plan on taking it apart next Thursday night and doing it over the weekend.

I'll still bleed it this morning.

If it is a rear main seal...if the clutch isn't soaked I could not have to change it?

 

New thought!

Rear main seal...I forgot I changed the oil.

I put in 7qts of 0W40. Capacity is 6.8 or 6.3 depending on the filter. If I got a 6.3 filter, put in 7 qts and assume there is at least .5 quart in the system already I could be way over.

It happens once, when its cold, when oil pressure is highest.

Pressure would be higher due to the increased oil...maybe the seal is marginal at a spot and its pushing past?

Just a though because one day it worked, next day it didn't. And it only happens once when the car is cold.

I might drop 1/2 a quart out of it tonight, bleed the clutch and see what happens.

No problem spraying down the flywheel with brake clean right?

 

Ok I think I found another problem.

I took the cap off the brake master and it was FULL. I took the secondary cap off and could not put it back on without it spilling fluid.

So I do think that what might have happened is the resovoir was full, changed the brakes, didn't take off the cap and screwed in the pistons. That put a slight preload on the clutch and it was never fully engaged.

Bled the brakes, took some fluid out, dropped 1/2 a quart of oil out of it and the clutch seems fine.

Engagement is better, pick up point is better and the car just overall drives smoother than before.

Never know for sure, its 85 and humid so I'm probably off a good 20-30 ft lbs of torque due to weather.

The car just feels better all the way around and it always felt like a lack of engagement.

I did not bleed the clutch...I took the axle off from the diff and needed to move the upright to get it completely out of the way. I felt confident enough in the fluid being too full as part of the issue that I put it back together.

Had the clutch not felt as good as it did then I would have bled it anyways but it was way too hot in the garage to screw around with it.