Transmission problem?

[Koenig Viper]

Hello all, my name is Rick, I live in Plano, Texas, and have had my '93 3000GT VR-4 for a few months now. This is my 2nd 3000GT VR-4, my 1st being a '98 VR-4.

Well, I love the car. I fell in love with my 1st one, and am loving my 2nd one. But over the past few days, a problem has been occuring during shifts. I was driving down Plano Parkway when I shifted into 2nd gear...well, the RPM needle started its way back to its idle position...well, it got there and then stayed there. What happened was I put the car into gear 2, but it took about 3-4 seconds before the car actually got into the 2nd gear...and during those seconds, the car just coasts.

In other words, the car's response to me putting her into 2nd is getting slow. My friend suggested I had a bad clutch.

Any help from fellow 3000GT owners would be appreciated.

[Mikelb]

ok... VR4's came in 5/6-speed manuals... this was a 1st gen, 5 speed AWD right??... ok... now when u shifted into second, the needle dropped (tach)... were u giving the car gas? it sounds to me, like u were waiting for the car to "fall" into 2nd gear, then gas it, is that correct?... if so, that can be the clutch, b/c it's not catching and that means u should replace it...

To clear a couple of things up (in my head)... the car hasn't surged or stalled any has it? it's a '93, how many miles are on the car? When was the last time it had a tune-up, and did it ever have the timing belt changed/60k(intervals)?

[Koenig Viper]

Well, the 1st time it happened, during the "shift time" I didn't know what was happening and I thought it was stalling, so I put accelerator to the floor only to find out a sec. later that it wasn't stalling.
But during my time of flooring it, the tach barely started to raise. It would only raise maybe, a cm, and then stay there until the car shifted.

But yes, that's correct.
It hasn't stalled during my time owning it.
This '93 has just climbed a bit over 42,000 miles. I think its about 42,700 right now.

The only time it's been in a shop was when I was having headlight problems. And the timing belt hasn't been changed, nor should it have since that would mean the dealer didn't give the me full history of it.

[Mikelb]

Wow, that's really low miles... huh... well the flywheel could be glazed over or the clutch disk worn out... bad pressure plate,who knows... if it weren't stalling... I'd lean towards the clutch...
I'm gonna leave my opinion there... I don't wanna say anything that is above my expertise (which is really limited anywayz)... please let me know what u find...

[Koenig Viper]

Originally Posted by Mikelb

Wow, that's really low miles... huh... well the flywheel could be glazed over or the clutch disk worn out... bad pressure plate,who knows... if it weren't stalling... I'd lean towards the clutch...
I'm gonna leave my opinion there... I don't wanna say anything that is above my expertise (which is really limited anywayz)... please let me know what u find...

Well, I had her taking to a mechanic earlier today, and he said the clutch needs to be replaced asap otherwise, its gonna get worse.

He thinks the needle is due to faulty wiring. He wasn't saying but he said there could be a problem that the engine isn't responding either during my revs, but he doesn't think that's it exactly if it responds a second later. He thinks something during the shift is interfering with the revs.

The dealer is offering to fix it between $2,000 to $5,000.

[Mikelb]

huh... I'd do the clutch work myself, u'll save a ton of money... but as far as the rest of it... I'd go somewhere other than the dealership... they charge out the butt for stuff...

[Koenig Viper]

Originally Posted by Mikelb

huh... I'd do the clutch work myself, u'll save a ton of money... but as far as the rest of it... I'd go somewhere other than the dealership... they charge out the butt for stuff...

Alright. My friend suggests I replace the clutch with a racing clutch though. If I do, will there need to be anything else installed to help the racing clutch?

[2old]

Yeah... Buy the clutch off the net like 3sxperformance.com ($300 for a stock clutch and $400 for a lighweight flywheel) and look for a transmission shop to change it out if you don't want to do it yourself (should be around $300 in labor)

[Mikelb]

Ok, I don't know how much money u've got... or anything like that... but if u're running stock... u don't really need a heavy-duty clutch... definitely not a puck type... they're bad for everyday driving... my understanding anyway... I'd throw a Exedy Stage 1 clutch in it... they give u a 27% increase in holding capacity... and they're no heavier on your foot...

You will also need to either have your flywheel resurfaced, or buy another... I would suggest if your going for serious performance, a lightweight flywheel... this allows the engine to rev much faster, and hit boost faster... it also takes away weight from the end of the crank shaft and reduces engine bearing wear... they're also just fun... you can pick up a lightweight (Fidanza, like mine) off e-bay for $345 s/h included... you can also find the Exedy clutch up there pretty cheap... just be weary of the cheap e-bay rip-off clutches... buy from a respected store, and you shouldn't have any problems...

[Koenig Viper]

Originally Posted by Mikelb

Ok, I don't know how much money u've got... or anything like that... but if u're running stock... u don't really need a heavy-duty clutch... definitely not a puck type... they're bad for everyday driving... my understanding anyway... I'd throw a Exedy Stage 1 clutch in it... they give u a 27% increase in holding capacity... and they're no heavier on your foot...

You will also need to either have your flywheel resurfaced, or buy another... I would suggest if your going for serious performance, a lightweight flywheel... this allows the engine to rev much faster, and hit boost faster... it also takes away weight from the end of the crank shaft and reduces engine bearing wear... they're also just fun... you can pick up a lightweight (Fidanza, like mine) off e-bay for $345 s/h included... you can also find the Exedy clutch up there pretty cheap... just be weary of the cheap e-bay rip-off clutches... buy from a respected store, and you shouldn't have any problems...

Money isn't that big of a concern right now.
Now I'll admit, I'm a newb in terms of tuning a car up. As in the right parts and all. Next year, I'd like to have the 3000GT runnin' maybe 400Horses.

But I'll invest in those parts 2old suggested.

[Mikelb]

ok... (I've had somewhat good experiences with them, and they're cheap, that's why I recommend them... I'm not biased against any brand at the moment... just I'm poor)...

I'm not sure a/b the stock clutch... not if u're looking for 400hp... I'm not very well learned in the area of the VR-4's... I usually do small mods to the local cars, rice'm out and a couple of basic mods here and there...

I've only recently gotten into the internals of my transmission... I wish it were warm here, b/c if it was, I'd go back in and look at mine again... I'm almost certain it's the damn synchros on mine...

Wait until some other people post in here... I'd like to see what they say a/b 400hp on a stock clutch... that's a/b an 80 hp increase... I don't think it'll hold... but then again, what do I know...

[2old]

At 400HP you would probably running around 400 ft-lb or torque which is more or less at the limit of the stock clutch...

I would probably go with stage 1 or a stage 2 clutch... Anything over is overkill and would probably be harder for you to launch anyways.