Over the past few months I have been hearing a slight grinding noise on clutch take up. I attributed the sound to a bad TO bearing - nothing major at this point in time. While driving around Sunday the car began to buck under acceleration. At first it was only in the upper (3rd and 4th) gears. As I drove it longer it got worse and was happening in all gears. About 10 blocks from home it got to the point of almost being un driveable. I was having to feather the gas and slowly and steadily accelerate to keep it moving forward smoothly.

It definitely felt like a driveline issue at first - trans or clutch related. Initial consesus seemes to be bad clutch, slipping intermittently.

The car also leaks a fair amount of oil. Having never experienced an oil-soaked disc, could this be a possible cause?

Any ideas beyond replacing the clutch? Fuel pressure / filter also seems to be on the list. Any ideas / input is greatly apprciated before I tear into the trans.

TIA

where does most of the oil leak from? back of the motor? out of bell housing?

The oil leaks from all over the place (unfortunately). However, I have inspected it closely and it seems to be coming from (predominantly) the front of the engine as well as where the jugs meet the case. It does not appear as if the rear seal is leaking (at least not very much).

QUOTE (BMartin914 @ Jul 5 2005, 10:29 PM)

I attributed the sound to a bad TO bearing - nothing major at this point in time. I was having to feather the gas and slowly and steadily accelerate to keep it moving forward smoothly. It definitely felt like a driveline issue at first - trans or clutch related. Initial consesus seemes to be bad clutch, slipping intermittently. The car also leaks a fair amount of oil. Having never experienced an oil-soaked disc, could this be a possible cause? Fuel pressure / filter also seems to be on the list.

Ben,

Seems you have several issues. Sounds like your throw out bearing is shot and needs to be replaced.

Have you tested your clutch? On a slight uphill grade put it in 4th gear @ 2k rpm and floor it. If the clutch is weak or oil soaked, it will start slipping allowing the engine rpms to increase without accelerating the car faster.

There is also the stall test. At a standstill with either the handbrake fully on, or the brake pedal depressed, rev the engine and let out the clutch with it in low gear. If the engine stalls, the clutch is holding. If the engine revs up a bit, the clutch is slipping.

When you were nursing it back home and it was "bucking", was the engine intermittenly increasing it's rpms? If so, you've got a slipping clutch.

If the engine is not revving up, the "bucking" could be fuel or spark related.

You might try the clutch tests and report back.

Bucking under acceleration seems to be a fuel management problem.
slipping clutch is more like tach revs up and car doesn't go faster.
oiled up clutch disk will shudder like a bitch when driving away from stop.

oil in the vicinity of the jugs could be the oil pressure switch or the oil cooler seals which leak down in the jug area...I replaced my oil cooler seals and pressure switch and there was tons of oil residue on the tranny and motor (before I changed them)...I used 20 cans of brake clean to degrease my engine and tranny. when I detinned my engine there was an obvious oil leak from the pressure switch.
good luck
Joe

Joseph,

NICE POST!

good points Ben,
if its motor bucking then it might be F.I or something else.

If motor is running normal but it feels like an automatic tranny that is slipping (or in other words motor revs up and tach revs up but car doesn't accelerate correctly) then that is a clutch issue....

you may not want to pull the motor/tranny out until you are certain that you need a clutch.

brant

I'm going to do some of the tests Joe mentioned before I get crazy with it. It just felt so much like a transaxle / drivetrain issue and it will only do it under load.

If it were to be a F.I. issue, does anyone have any suggestions on what they would check first. I am thinking I might want to put a gauge on the main line into the engine compartment and check my pressure to begin with.

Tested the clutch by holding the brake, revving the motor and letting out the clutch. Stalled immediately.

So...I am starting to believe that this is a fuel or spark issue, but...the plugs, cap, wires and rotor have less than 5K miles on them. I have a nearly new Bosch blue coil on the car with less than 1K miles on it.

I have yet to get my hands on a fuel pressure gauge but will try to do that this weekend.

Any suggestions on the fuel / spark side of the equation? I don't know what would cause this type of beahviour unless it was maybe a clogged filter or fuel pump issue. Tests on these?

TIA

Does the whole car jerk violently when you get on the throttle hard in 1st or 2nd gear? Does the gear shift lever move much under braking? Does the engine move much if you put a jack under the sump and try to lift it a half-inch or so?

If so, then you have sheared the rubber motor mounts on your 73+ car. They harden and crack when they get oil-soaked (eventually), which leads to all kinds of bad behavior. They can also crack if you remove the rear transmission mounts, leaving the back of the trans supported on a floor jack, which sags overnight. (Done both of those.)

--DD

My car did what Dave describes except I'd call it more of a BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. I'd have to put in the clutch and start again. I installed new transmission mounts (911 sport engine mounts acutally) and the problem went away.

I probably need to change the engine mounts as well but I'll leave that job for a day when I need to pull the engine for something else.