My manual transmission is acting like an automatic

[Solorange]

Hey I noticed on the way to work yesterday when I was coming out of a turn i press the gas pedal down pretty far and I noticed the car accelerate hard and then it back off like it was switching gears even though I never shifted it. Then today when i was leaving work and heading to school, when I was merging on the express way I notced it did it again. This time I saw my tach when it did it and I was in 3rd and saw that my tach was around 3000rpm and it dropped about 500rpm and accelerated back up again. I then shifted into 4th gear and floored it and the same thing happened. I started to mess around with it and I even got it to do it in 5th one time. Again when the car is accelerating you feel a little pause like its shifting gears like an automatic. My question is, is this a sign that my clutch is slipping and that its on its way out? Other info about the car is that it has 101k on it now. As far as I know it is the original clutch. Temperatures are around 0 degrees. Thanks in advance. ~ Chris

[Solorange]

A buddy of mine who is into cars told me today at school that he had this problem with his civic. He couldnt remember exactly what sensor caused it, he thinks is was the mass air flow sensor. But he said to clean that and see if it fixes the problem. Is that another possibilty? I also tried real hard to notice if the rpms go up and no acceration occurs at that point but it happens so fast and I also am trying to keep a good distance from the car in front of me at the same time that it makes it hard to tell. But the clutch does grab well when I engage it from a stop in first gear. Anybody???

[netherland24]

throttle body might be dirty if it dips? or idles low.

[SolaraBlue]

i recently had a problem which sounds VERY much the same as this, even though i have an auto.... id hit the gas and the rpm's would drop then a few seconds later, pick up again. i had no idea what the problem was untill the check engine light came on, turned out it was a bad ignition coil. $350 later, problem fixed.

hope you get this fixed soon.....

[Mole]

it could be air delivery or fuel delivery.

[Solorange]

I played with the throttle a bit more today and I noticed that it only does this from 3000rpm up to about 4000rpm. Also last friday I had my valve cover gaskets replaced at the dealership. I wonder if they did something to the intake when they had to remove it. I just feel like an idiot taking it back to them because last time i did that the problem wasnt there fault. Which was them having to replace my valve cover gaskets.

[hskrsolara]

you will definitely know if its your clutch...try downshifting, then upshift and open up the throttle, if your rpms jump way up but your car doesnt seem to be going much faster then it is the clutch...I replaced mine at 85k miles.

[Solorange]

you will definitely know if its your clutch...try downshifting, then upshift and open up the throttle, if your rpms jump way up but your car doesnt seem to be going much faster then it is the clutch...I replaced mine at 85k miles.

What would downshifting do if im supposed to shift back into the gear I was just in and hit the trottle? Im just trying to understand what downshifting will accomplish.

[hskrsolara]

I was assuming a test while already in motion, ie: highway driving.

Mainly just getting your rpms up...by slowing down and then hammering it you will put a lot more stress on the drivetrain, forcing the clutch to either stick or let loose.

if you dont want to do this, just try from a dead start with a hard launch, if it slips and revs high then its shot, but chances are this method wont give you much to work with in trying to drive to a shop.

IMHO, it is pretty damn obvious if your clutch is going out, but I've experienced it a couple more times than most...both with my solara and also pickups.

[Solorange]

I tried your method on the highway and it did not slip at all. i also tried punching it in first and it didnt slip either.

I think i may just let it go until a check engine light comes on or if the clutch just goes out Ill know for sure. I just dont know. From past experiences when I tried to fix something that im not totally sure I end up replacing something that wasnt the problem.

I had my clutch go out in my camaro but I knew that was going out when I could smell it cause it slipped so much. I let it go until it stranded me lol. I guess ill just pay attention and if the clutch starts to slip more and it becomes more obvious then Ill take it in. I dont even want to work on it. I dont mess with transmissions lol. I think when i find time i may try cleaning the mass air flow sensor too.

But FMI is there any clutches out there that are sportier. What i mean by sportier is a clutch grabs a little better than stock. I not looking for a racing clutch cause I will never need it but just something a little more fun than stock.

[hskrsolara]

sigh of relief for not having to replace the clutch...for now that is.

I have the spec 2+ with the fidanza flywheel...it totally changed the drivability of the car. It grips sure as hell, but you really have to feather the throttle on restarts. My wife refuses to drive my solara now...which isnt always a bad thing.

If I were you, I would talk to that1mexguy (rene), he has the south bend clutch which is a little cheaper but not quite the drastic increase in gripping power as my 2+. He sounded very happy about it and i believe they sell them at horsepowerfreaks.com. Good luck!

Oh yeah, if you remember from your own experience, the horrid smell of a burnt up clutch, then you will have no problem identifying it again!

[Solorange]

Yeah I havent smelled any burnt clutch yet but based on my tach it was looking like it was slipping. Its still doing what I explained but I have no clue at this point so I guess I will know when it actually breaks. I just hope it doesnt start a chain reaction and cause other stuff to break.

I drove it hard all the way through 1st and 2nd today and it drove normal. No slipping at all. Ill probably wear the clucth out driving the car hard to figure out the if the clutch is bad so I should stop now lol.

Anyway the clutch you have sounds like a bit more than what I want. I dont and any plans for engine mods even though I am very sports car oriented but a sportier clutch would be fun if I have to replace it anyway! Do you know if TRD makes or made one?

[bronzemaxell]

mine does the same thing as you described, i think it is just normal engine braking.

[hskrsolara]

yeah trd made one...was it an exedy? i think maybe "too bzy" had one? i remember someone having one a long time ago and they had some problems getting it...there was a big thread about this guy on sg and eventually we found the scammer and threatened him and i do believe the clutch was shipped.

I would seriously look into that south bend clutch, seems like a reasonably priced unit with slightly above average performance. A couple guys have ACT clutches also, but I haven't heard much feedback there. Talk to dat about his spec stage 2 for sale.

[Solorange]

yeah trd made one...was it an exedy? i think maybe "too bzy" had one? i remember someone having one a long time ago and they had some problems getting it...there was a big thread about this guy on sg and eventually we found the scammer and threatened him and i do believe the clutch was shipped.

I would seriously look into that south bend clutch, seems like a reasonably priced unit with slightly above average performance. A couple guys have ACT clutches also, but I haven't heard much feedback there. Talk to dat about his spec stage 2 for sale.

Thanks for the info I will look at all of these and see what i may get.