FWIW I plan on getting this diagnosed at my local indy the
next
time I go in for an oil service (likely
next
month). It doesn't feel like anything's horribly broken yet, and with COVID I don't drive much these days anyway. Just curious if anyone has insight on this before we wind up having to separate the trans from the engine to take a look.
All that said, I've been noticing a shudder in the driveline at low speeds. This happens most notably when the clutch fully engages starting out in 1st. E.g. clutch in, apply a little throttle, clutch out and then a small shudder as the clutch bites and the car takes off. At first I wrote this off as just needing to work on my technique as I hadn't driven a manual in a bit before buying the car, but it really doesn't feel like it's trying to stall out. There's also a
very
faint grinding/rattling noise idling in neutral that goes away when the clutch pedal is pressed. Driving at higher speeds / RPMs the shudder isn't noticeable. I also can't detect any slippage in the clutch when accelerating.
My hunch here is that either the dual mass flywheel is borked, the clutch disc / pressure plate is worn, or some combination of the two. The CV axles and related bearings should be all good - I had the axle boots done this past fall and they checked all that as part of the service. This issue was present at that time, but has gotten a bit more noticeable since.
Am I barking up the wrong tree, here?
Something is happening; following...
@cavediver
I'll update once I get into the shop and have it looked at. Given it's got 84.5k on the clock and a few owners under its belt, it wouldn't surprise me at all that the DMF has been well and truly borked. I'm not an expert, but I'm leaning that direction given that A) it shifts fine otherwise, B) does not at all feel like the vibration is from suspension or chassis components, and C) the engine itself is running like a top (bar a small vacuum leak I've yet to trace...may have them look at that as well if I don't feel arsed to have my girlfriend work the throttle while I chase it).
One other thing to have checked would be the engine mount and transmission mounts. They don't seem to last very long on these cars.
Oh yeah. That was on the list for when I get it diag'd since it'd be a relatively simple check/fix. It doesn't
quite
feel like motor mounts to me, but like I said, I'm no expert and will be happily proven wrong on this one.
Resurrecting this thread now that I have some semblance of news. So my independent shop was adamant they felt nothing wrong with the driveline when I took it in there a while back. I just started moving at a slightly higher RPM and paid more attention to my clutchwork to avoid the shuddering. I did also start noticing some slight clunkiness on gear shifts, especially if I was just cruising and not really trying to get the juice going. Like something wasn't engaging right once I let off the clutch pedal.
In the interim, I was looking through what paperwork I have and found no reference to the transaxle oil ever having been changed (well under on miles at 88k, but my factory gearbox oil would be pushing 15 years old). I just got back from having that done and ... it seems better? Definitely noticeably smoother between 1200-2000 RPM, and all shifts at various rev ranges felt much smoother as well to my butt-sensor. Will definitely be paying attention to it over the immediate future, but the car feels happier overall. This of course may be placebo effect.
Not knowing the ins-and-outs of this particular transaxle, is it even possible that the oil could have degraded enough to cause chatter within the transmission and/or diff? I didn't get any concerning words from the mech after they drained it, so I'm guessing it at least didn't come out looking like bass boat paint.
