ok so i have this 88 GXL n/a, 5 lug, 5 speed, 85k original miles. ever since i bought the car i was having this problem. the clutch would grab and engage fine within the first say 45 minutes of driving the car, then after it started to get pretty warm when it was engaging i would get this hardcore chatter, so i thought it was the flywheel warped a little or something clutch related. this weekend i went ahead and put a racing beat aluminum flywheel in with a 4 puck racing beat clutch with a factory pressure plate (for streetability) drove it to work a couple of times and it worked great (10min commute) then last night me and a bunch of friends went up to kent to spectate at the races, and sure enough it started to do the same horrible chatter. when i was in there i also did the pilot bearing and throw out bearing too. but now i am just dumb founded. i made sure not to get any grease on any of the mating surfaces and sprayed them down with brake cleaner to make sure. i put new polyurethane tranny mounts in too, so where i am at now is just dumb founded. it works great until it gets real warm (30-45min) could it be the slave or clutch master? anyone experience this problem too? HELP!!! oh and i also put dot5 fluid in and blead the system.

Check your motor mounts. A torque brace for the motor solved my problem. I got mine from racing beat.

Dave

I'll check the motor mounts tomorrow, but i would think if it was the motor mounts i would have the problem all the time not after 45min.

motor mounts are fine... any other thought? i read that if your front U-joint is going out you get a shutter when starting out... any thoughts though?

Might be slave cylinder is weak. I assume you replaced the pressure plate? All rubber in drive line is solid. Heat sounds like the main issue, how does the pedal feel when this happens?

its at the top... its pretty high always though....

I have the same problem. Once it start shaking its pretty scary. Feels like its rattling apart! I figured I needed a torque brace as well but looks like I have to change my slave and master anyway. My Clutch engages really low to the floor so I'll do it all in one shot.

Are you using any fluid at all in the system? Pull back the dust boots to see if either cylinder is wet.

im not using any fluid.

in an unrelated note about your choice of using DOT5.



You're going to have a problem down the road, DOT5 is not compatible with ANY other fluids. unless you replaced the master, slave and clutch lines there will be a mix of DOT"whatever you had before" and DOT5, which is not good.



as for the chatter issue. If it was your ujoints it wouldnt feel like chatter, it would be a loud knock, also on these cars if the ujoints go, generally the rear one will go, plus youd be able to feel it without having to shift.



I'd consider new engine mounts as a possibility especially since it seems to be connected to heat.



kevin.

He's right about the Dot5, I assume you rebuilt the system before you used it. Anyway U joints clunk pretty good loose and by then they make noise and vibrate too most of the time. I am leaning to the above post also motor mounts. Put a block of wood under the oil pan and a jack. Don't try and lift the car! Just start to unload the suspension, see if you dont have a broken mount or mounts.

is it a brass button clutch?



Looking at your post i think it is.



Brass button will shudder when they have been glazed/slipped. Or when you are riding it too much.



If your not doing the above, once you have fully released the clutch does the shudder continue or does it stop?

It stops once I release on mine. The shutter happens when the power is transfered. After that, riding smooth. If that makes sense...

Hey I am pretty sure I know the fix, one guy touched on it with the brace but that's extra weight. My 87 n/a I just started dealing with the same problem, not as severe but hot sometimes had to feather the clutch out. Fresh clutch as I just put the car together. Anyway I had the car on my lift (yeah I have a lift) and tranny mounts were sagging. Well found this site www.banzai-racing.com ordered up the poly mount set motor and tranny. Talk about a change of attitude! The mounts are supposed to soften a bit and it's pretty solid right now, so I hope they do. It's amazing how much more power the car is putting down right away and it shifts better. Before it felt notchy and slow to up shift and drop a gear. I switched to synthetic in the tranny and rear two weeks ago. I built this car for mileage so it's running the 3.91 lsd out of the auto car and I started turning tires pulling off a corner! Took it out and drove it like I stole it, clutch works great! Buy the way it's getting 20 mpg to and from work 87 pump and hope to see 26 true hwy.

Give it a couple hard launches. Your clutch could be beginning to glaze as someone suggested.



Was there any evidence of a leaky rear main seal?