Clutch chatter.......
01-14-2014, 09:13 PM
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Location: Fallbrook Ca
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Clutch chatter.......
My JK Wrangler Rubicon just turned over 50K miles on the clock. Of course it has about another 70K on it being towed behind my various motorhomes. Other than a shift linkage issue it has been trouble free since it was new in 08'.
About a week ago I started getting clutch "chatter" in first gear, and sometimes in second. At first I thought I was just losing my touch driving a manual shift transmission. It didn't do it all the time, just occasionally. Then I told the DW about it and said I wasn't sure if it was just my driving. Then she drove it for a few days and confirmed that it was not my imagination.
I thought it odd that the clutch would be burned up at 50K, but I guess it is not impossible. I do wheel it occasionally, and have been to Moab multiple times and various places in the western US.
Not wanting to have an issue on the road when we take off in a few months on an RV trip, I decided it was time to bite the bullet. I selected a shop near by my house with a good reputation that I have used before. Their price was competitive (over $500 better than the dealer) and they could do it the next day.
When I dropped it off I told the owner that I wanted to see it when he got it opened up. He said no problem, he would call me when the trans was out. I dropped by the next day about 2 PM and the trans was out and the clutch disk removed. I looked at the clutch disk and it didn't look awful. The inside row of rivets on the clutch was nearly even with the disk material, but they had not started scraping the flywheel yet. I stood by as they removed the flywheel, and then the issue became clear.
The rear main seal had started leaking, and had thrown a ring of oil around the inside of the trans case. When the mechanic pressed the seal with his finger, a bit of oil seeped out. So the reason the clutch was clattering was not the disc digging the flywheel, it was oil getting onto the flywheel and clutch causing the slipping.
Well, I already had a new OE clutch disc, pressure plate and bearing in the box on the counter. Since the trans and all was already on the floor, I just paid for the new rear main seal and $50 labor to change it out. All is back together now, and the new clutch feels so easy to operate that I almost cant feel it.
Still a little surprised that the rear main seal would leak with only 50K on the clock, but oh well. At least we will have piece of mind during the next trip.
Oh yeah, one other bummer that the mechanic noticed while the Jeep was up on the rack. I had new Bilsteen shocks put on the Jeep about 2 years ago. 3 out of 4 are leaking oil
I think this time I am going with a new set of Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. Next month........
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About a week ago I started getting clutch "chatter" in first gear, and sometimes in second. At first I thought I was just losing my touch driving a manual shift transmission. It didn't do it all the time, just occasionally. Then I told the DW about it and said I wasn't sure if it was just my driving. Then she drove it for a few days and confirmed that it was not my imagination.
I thought it odd that the clutch would be burned up at 50K, but I guess it is not impossible. I do wheel it occasionally, and have been to Moab multiple times and various places in the western US.
Not wanting to have an issue on the road when we take off in a few months on an RV trip, I decided it was time to bite the bullet. I selected a shop near by my house with a good reputation that I have used before. Their price was competitive (over $500 better than the dealer) and they could do it the next day.
When I dropped it off I told the owner that I wanted to see it when he got it opened up. He said no problem, he would call me when the trans was out. I dropped by the next day about 2 PM and the trans was out and the clutch disk removed. I looked at the clutch disk and it didn't look awful. The inside row of rivets on the clutch was nearly even with the disk material, but they had not started scraping the flywheel yet. I stood by as they removed the flywheel, and then the issue became clear.
The rear main seal had started leaking, and had thrown a ring of oil around the inside of the trans case. When the mechanic pressed the seal with his finger, a bit of oil seeped out. So the reason the clutch was clattering was not the disc digging the flywheel, it was oil getting onto the flywheel and clutch causing the slipping.
Well, I already had a new OE clutch disc, pressure plate and bearing in the box on the counter. Since the trans and all was already on the floor, I just paid for the new rear main seal and $50 labor to change it out. All is back together now, and the new clutch feels so easy to operate that I almost cant feel it.
Still a little surprised that the rear main seal would leak with only 50K on the clock, but oh well. At least we will have piece of mind during the next trip.
Oh yeah, one other bummer that the mechanic noticed while the Jeep was up on the rack. I had new Bilsteen shocks put on the Jeep about 2 years ago. 3 out of 4 are leaking oil
I think this time I am going with a new set of Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. Next month........
Modify message
