7 replies to this topic

[pusb]

I seem to be getting the occasional clutch judder when pulling away in 1st or reverse. Sometimes its really bad, sometimes it doesn't do it at all, and sometimes its somewhere in the middle! If I rev the engine up to 1500 revs when pulling away then its fine.

 

Reading through the forum, the general consensus is that oil on the clutch is the reason for this, and a tell tale sign of that happening is oil leaking from the split pin at the bottom of the clutch. However the split pin on mine is bone dry. 

 

Also my engine mounts seem fine as well, so what else can cause a judder when pulling off?

 

 

[Corey96Williams]

I'm curious as well. Happens to me sometimes. I have violent clutch slip on rare occasions too, not sure if it's associated? 

[Cooperman]

This can happen with a new clutch. I had it with a Mk.2 Cooper 'S' on which the clutch always juddered after I changed it.

Then, later I removed the engine to do some work on the diff, fitted a new clutch plate & the problem was gone.

[pusb]

It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and it never seems to slip.

 

About 15 months ago I had a problem with it sometimes not fully disengaging, so I tried to change the clutch fluid. It was absolutely filthy (looked like oil!), and despite running two bottles of clutch fluid through it, I never could get it to come out clean when I was bleeding it. I gave up with that (as I had no dot 4 left!), but it seemed to fix the disengaging problem so I never did get the clutch fluid clean. Could it be that bad fluid could cause clutch judder? 

[Cooperman]

It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and it never seems to slip.

 

About 15 months ago I had a problem with it sometimes not fully disengaging, so I tried to change the clutch fluid. It was absolutely filthy (looked like oil!), and despite running two bottles of clutch fluid through it, I never could get it to come out clean when I was bleeding it. I gave up with that (as I had no dot 4 left!), but it seemed to fix the disengaging problem so I never did get the clutch fluid clean. Could it be that bad fluid could cause clutch judder? 

Very unlikely. Can't see how it could.

It will be either a very small amount of oil on the plate of a plate which varies in thickness slightly. Try 'burning it in'. Hold it in the brakes, select 1st gear and put some revs on whilst letting the clutch up until you can feel it 'biting' against the engine revs. Hold it like that for around 10 seconds.

[pusb]

 

It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and it never seems to slip.

 

About 15 months ago I had a problem with it sometimes not fully disengaging, so I tried to change the clutch fluid. It was absolutely filthy (looked like oil!), and despite running two bottles of clutch fluid through it, I never could get it to come out clean when I was bleeding it. I gave up with that (as I had no dot 4 left!), but it seemed to fix the disengaging problem so I never did get the clutch fluid clean. Could it be that bad fluid could cause clutch judder? 

Very unlikely. Can't see how it could.

It will be either a very small amount of oil on the plate of a plate which varies in thickness slightly. Try 'burning it in'. Hold it in the brakes, select 1st gear and put some revs on whilst letting the clutch up until you can feel it 'biting' against the engine revs. Hold it like that for around 10 seconds.

 

 

Thanks Cooperman, I'll give that a go.

 

The most ridiculous thing about this problem is that it has also started happening on my daily Fiat Punto now! What are the chances of owning two cars and both of them developing the same issue!?

[Cooperman]

I had a BMW 325 which I bought with low miles. It had a slight clutch judder all the time I owned it, which was almost 5 years. It never got any worse and was not really a problem. I sold it to my next-door-neighbour and told him that there was a slight clutch judder and to expect to have to change it eventually. Over 2 years later he still has the car and the clutch is still the same.

If you change the centre plate it will probably cure it, but it's a lot of work.

[Spider]

Oil on the Plate is the most common cause for sure, however some other causes can be (or a combination of);-

 

Thrust Bearing (though 999 times out of 1000 you'll hear it and you'd possibly be asking a different question),

Worn Primary Gear Bushes (this can also cause oil dripping from the split pin breather at the bottom of the housing),
Stretched Flywheel Drive Straps,
Loose Flywheel  ,
Worn Clutch Plate - although usually you'd be noticing it slipping first,
Flywheel in need of machining

 

If when you remove the Clutch Cover, you find Oil in there, you need to look carefully at where the oil is, if it's on the outside of the flywheel (the side you see when you remove the cover), then it's likely Primary Gear Bushes, if Oil is found on the Transfer Cover inner, 'spraying out' from the Primary Gear then it's likely the Seal.