Help!!!! Big Problem!!! Confused!!!

Im confused. Ill be driving in my 98 lude for about a half an hour or so, when all of a sudden Im in first gear hitting 5000 rpms and going about 5 mph. Same in 2nd. I try to accelerate but cant get past at most 20 mph. Idk what it could be. The problem was first diagnosed by my very reputable mechanic as my clutch, so I had it replaced about a week ago and the problem is still there. I havent gotten a chance to tell him yet. In the meantime can anyone think of any other problems this might be. Thanks.

hmmm... it does sound like a clutch problem... then again, he replaced it. I have one question to ask... is it an SH? or a base model...

Im confused. Ill be driving in my 98 lude for about a half an hour or so, when all of a sudden Im in first gear hitting 5000 rpms and going about 5 mph. Same in 2nd. I try to accelerate but cant get past at most 20 mph. Idk what it could be. The problem was first diagnosed by my very reputable mechanic as my clutch, so I had it replaced about a week ago and the problem is still there. I havent gotten a chance to tell him yet. In the meantime can anyone think of any other problems this might be. Thanks.


sounds like your reputable mechanic is not really reputable. take your car back to your reputable mechanic and tell him he need to redo his reputable work on fixing your clutch.

wait - before you go trashing his mechanic, if he has an SH model, it may be the ATTS screwin up.

homer2nyce, check the transmission fluid in your ATTS unit - if it is low or empty it will not function properly and your power will never get to your wheels - it will just make the gears spin and the motor rev. its like an automatic tranmission - if the ATTS unit has no fluid it forces it into neutral.

If the mechanic was very reptuable then he would have taken the car for a test drive to make sure that the problem is fixed.
But like you said it could be the ATTS. Check the fluid and then if it does not fix it take it back to him.

Kkk... First of all the lude is a base (no ATTS). Second the car WAS test driven by him. As I said in the post, this happens after about a half hour or so, so a test drive wouldnt have covered it.

if you are gonna be like that then i don't know what to tell you.

Kkk... First of all the lude is a base (no ATTS). Second the car WAS test driven by him. As I said in the post, this happens after about a half hour or so, so a test drive wouldnt have covered it.

Ok 1st you could leave the attitude somwhere else. 2nd Like I said before in the post, "if he was a reputable mechanic he would have test drove the car to make sure the problem is fixed." <<-- That mean when you took the car to him you obveously told him that it happened after about half an hour, so he should have made sure that the problem did not come back after half an hour or so. And 3rd It is a lot easier to get friends to help you out than people you pissed off with a bad attitude. :2cents:

In no way did I mean for my words to be taken in a bad way. If any1 took what I said wrong, sorry, didn mean to piss any1 off. Anyway, any1 got any suggestions or tips they can give? Thanks again.

This is an automatic car...? There is a computer for the tranny, if this is the case, and a wire could be loose.

It can't be an automatic if he just had the clutch changed. If it is an automatic and your machanic told you it was the clutch than he is playing you for a fool.

5 Speed Manual Trans.

Maybe it has something to do with the pressure plate. Other than that, there's no reason for the engine to rev without moving the car so I'm lost.

Did he change the whole clutch kit or just the clutch disk? As a rule you should always replace the clutch disc, pressure plate and throw out bearing at the same time.

im sure if he was a reputable mechanic he would have done that... but then again... i had this problem with my camaro on a brand new clutch... and there is only one explanation i can come up with - cheap parts. it was hot as hell and i was driving through New York City over the GW bridge.. clutch started slippin like hell... i was like - wtf!! brand new clutch!!! i pulled over - let it cool off and it was fine - never happened again either. i think it is something similar to brake fade - it gets hot and overused for a short period of time and starts to slip. Maybe you should learn to drive? :-P (these are the jokes my friend)

Im confused. Ill be driving in my 98 lude for about a half an hour or so, when all of a sudden Im in first gear hitting 5000 rpms and going about 5 mph. Same in 2nd. I try to accelerate but cant get past at most 20 mph. Idk what it could be. The problem was first diagnosed by my very reputable mechanic as my clutch, so I had it replaced about a week ago and the problem is still there. I havent gotten a chance to tell him yet. In the meantime can anyone think of any other problems this might be. Thanks.

I think your clutch slip or your pressure plate is not putting enough pressure to hold your clutch.

Ive experienced that problem before and this is how i solved that problem: Cut the flywheel (shaded area with pink line) about 3/16 inch deep where the pressure plate bolt in. See the attached pic below. Cut only the shaded part of the flywheel, its from the outside diameter of the clutch disc to outside surface diameter of the flywheel. With this procedure, the pressure plate will put much higher clamping force on clutch disc. http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/273626/lit240_flywheel_axx.jpg

Well to answer the post b4 the one on top of this one, yes, the whole clutch kit was replaced. Now gettin to the post b4 this one, thanks a lot, I appreciate the diagram too. Ill run that by the mechanic and see what he says. Still dont know exactly what is the cause of the problem tho..:disappoin

Well to answer the post b4 the one on top of this one, yes, the whole clutch kit was replaced. Now gettin to the post b4 this one, thanks a lot, I appreciate the diagram too. Ill run that by the mechanic and see what he says. Still dont know exactly what is the cause of the problem tho..:disappoin

forgot to mention, the cause of the problem could be your clutch pedal.. out of adjustment. make sure your clutch pedal has free play of about 1/2 inch. if no free play clearance, it'll cause the clutch to slip, if clearance is too much, itll cause hard shifting. also you may want to bleed your clutch hydraulic system and replace with new fluid. if everything is adjusted properly and still having problem, do the procedure i mentioned earlier about cutting the flywheel.

We have hydraulic clutches don't we? Why don't you check where your fluid level is at in the slave and master clutch cylinder.. Also check the level while it's hot..

forgot to mention, the cause of the problem could be your clutch pedal.. out of adjustment. make sure your clutch pedal has free play of about 1/2 inch. if no free play clearance, it'll cause the clutch to slip, if clearance is too much, itll cause hard shifting. also you may want to bleed your clutch hydraulic system and replace with new fluid. if everything is adjusted properly and still having problem, do the procedure i mentioned earlier about cutting the flywheel.


i thought hydraulic clutches didn't need to be adjusted because it was "self-adjusting"
:screwy:

i thought hydraulic clutches didn't need to be adjusted because it was "self-adjusting"
:screwy:

yes, youre right. hydraulic type doesnt need adjustment. i was thinking too many things and got all mixed up with the cable type. actually i was getting ready to make corrections but i guess i was too late for that. at least i know somebody is reading my comments, thanks for the feedback.

The hydraulic system on hydraulic type clutches are non adjustable. But proper free play clearance on clutch pedal is still needed or it will cause problems..see the pic below for adjustment specs.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/273626/clutchpedal1.jpg

If the clutch system is low or out of fluids it will not cause the problem he is having. When it is low or out of fluid the slave cylinder will not put enough pressure on the clutch fork to release the clutch.

As for the cutting of the flywheel, I would rather not do that. You should not have to modify the flywheel to fix the problem. You need to find the faulty part and replace it or find the problem and fix it.

I just want to say thanks to ludegirl for the helpful comments on machining the flywheel. My wife had clutch slipping problem on her nissan sentra. Because the clutch slip, car overheated and burned the disc. it also screwed up the pressure plate and throwout bearing. We replaced clutch twice in 3 months. Yesterday, we again took the tranny off the car to find out whats causing the problem. We could not figure out til today when I saw ludegurl's comments. We then took the flywheel off the engine and brought it to Kragens Autopart to have it machined. They used their brake lathe machine to cut the flywheel just like ludegurl described it. They charged us $20 for the labor. We then re-assembled the car and installed new clutch and the modified flywheel. The car now runs perfect. It can even do burn out with no clutch slip.

Thanks Ludegurl

I just want to say thanks to ludegirl for the helpful comments on machining the flywheel. My wife had clutch slipping problem on her nissan sentra. Because the clutch slip, car overheated and burned the disc. it also screwed up the pressure plate and throwout bearing. We replaced clutch twice in 3 months. Yesterday, we again took the tranny off the car to find out whats causing the problem. We could not figure out til today when I saw ludegurl's comments. We then took the flywheel off the engine and brought it to Kragens Autopart to have it machined. They used their brake lathe machine to cut the flywheel just like ludegurl described it. They charged us $20 for the labor. We then re-assembled the car and installed new clutch and the modified flywheel. The car now runs perfect. It can even do burn out with no clutch slip.

Thanks Ludegurl

Yes but like I said in my previous post, that is not the root problem. So by fixing it that way you are ignoring what is really wrong with it. Do what you want but if it were me I would find the actual problem and fix that. :2cents:

Yes but like I said in my previous post, that is not the root problem. So by fixing it that way you are ignoring what is really wrong with it. Do what you want but if it were me I would find the actual problem and fix that. :2cents:


they said they fixed their clutch problem. maybe it work for them but may not work for your car. i guess it depends on what kind of car.

anyway, what root problem are you talking about and where to find them? i am interested to know because i also have a little problem on my clutch.

they said they fixed their clutch problem. maybe it work for them but may not work for your car. i guess it depends on what kind of car.

anyway, what root problem are you talking about and where to find them? i am interested to know because i also have a little problem on my clutch.

What I was tring to get at is that there is something that is causing the clutch to have the problem. Now instead of modifing another part, just find the actual problem and fix that. And I can't tell you what the "root" problem is because I am not there to actually look at it. But I can tell you that the flywheel thickness is not the problem, maybe they put an aftermarket clutch kit in and the pressure plate is too deep. Maybe they bought just a clutch disk and did not replace the pressure plate. There are many things that could have cause it.



What kind of problems are you having with your clutch?

Yes but like I said in my previous post, that is not the root problem. So by fixing it that way you are ignoring what is really wrong with it. Do what you want but if it were me I would find the actual problem and fix that. :2cents:

i talked to some transmission shop thats been around over 30 years and they said some flywheels are made just like ludegurls flywheel. also they said its an old school drag racing trick.

i talked to some transmission shop thats been around over 30 years and they said some flywheels are made just like ludegurls flywheel. also they said its an old school drag racing trick.

Yes that may be but the fact is that you are still fixing the problem without finding what is really wrong with the car.

Ludegurl,

can you please email me at predude@excite.com i just got a question about a M2F4 tranny. thanks

predude

what if it has nothing to do with the clutch?

does it do it in all gears? just 1 gear? it could be a bad rail. you could of ruined an actual gear. could be a syncro, could be bad bearings, low fluid, or whatever. the problem sounds like a clutch deal, but it doesn't always mean that.

oh one totally random problem that i've seen twice on honda's personally (you had the clutch changed so this isn't it) but honda's have issues with the clutch wearing to the point of hitting the three springs to the inside of the clutch, and breaking them. the hunks get caught up in the clutch and you can't fully engage in any gear. it's f'ed up.

Well everyone. The problem has been diagnosed and its been fixed. What was it? LOL After all of the possible problems and possible solutions given, it turns out all it needed was a clutch pedal adjustment. Hehe.. Who woulda thought that? Anyway, Id like to thank everyone who replied and voiced their thoughts. 0o Btw, I also have another post up right now, but I guess ill just say it here too. I have a hi flow cat in my car and its setting off a catalyst code of course. Any1 know where I can get a cat that set a code? If so, give me a website or something. Thanks again.