Trying to diagnose clutch chatter - 1st gear only ??????

[vector1]

Originally Posted by jwd

Sounds like a contaminated disc. The lack of a pilot bearing would not cause a chatter to come on gradually after 2000 miles, it would be right away.

Jim

unless the pilot bearing gradually went bad. either that or i agree, contaminated disc surfaces. either way, brace for a teardown.

[Roush #1]

Mike,
I have heard of several others who have experienced the same problem...
clutch chatter in first gear only after a couple of thousand miles.

Several have narrowed the problem down to clutch adjustment and improper slave cylinder mounts, ie. the slave cylinder mounted to the frame and the engine and transmission moving a bit from initial torque causing the clutch to slip or chatter a bit when the engine moves on initial take off in first or any other gear. Slave cylinders work best when mounted to the engine or transmission.

The first thing I would check would be clutch adjustment and slave cylinder mounting location.

Just my $.02 worth.

Hope this helps.

Jody

PS....just curious why you replaced the slave cylinder - the same folks who have the cylinder mounted on the frame experience frequent slave cylinder failures due to tension placed on the rod on the moving end of the cylinder when the engine torques over.

[CHANMADD]

More often than not it is not the clutch but some play somewhere in the driveline. A worn universal can do that ,so can a rear hub bearing,it could also be that the driveshaft is not properly aligned. I would check for play inthe driveline first before taking things apart.. imo