V6 5-spd clutch problems

[j0hn]

im not sure if this is what your talking about, but when i was trying to better my launching technique i tried to launch at around 13 or so, when i floored it all the way, my whole shook from 2 to about 48, it was a terrible feeling, let me kno if this is wut your talking about then we can try and solve this

[adam2562]

i think u may be talking about wheel hop! lol

[Flipside909]

im not sure if this is what your talking about, but when i was trying to better my launching technique i tried to launch at around 13 or so, when i floored it all the way, my whole shook from 2 to about 48, it was a terrible feeling, let me kno if this is wut your talking about then we can try and solve this

It's called...ease of the gas and feather the clutch.

[Guest]

i have a 99 SEV6 5-speed, and i too have had this problem. i bought my car used and assume that the previous owner abused it. it seems to happen when i accelerate at a slow rate, giving it under 2k rpms. BUT, when i give it a little more gas (2.5-3k) coming out of a stop, and let the clutch linger a little longer when it engages (it almost seems too long like im riding the clutch) the shuddering fades away. i have been driving like this for a couple of months now and no problems. hope this helps

[Flipside909]

. it seems to happen when i accelerate at a slow rate, giving it under 2k rpms. BUT, when i give it a little more gas (2.5-3k) coming out of a stop, and let the clutch linger a little longer when it engages (it almost seems too long like im riding the clutch) the shuddering fades away. i have been driving like this for a couple of months now and no problems. hope this helps

Yep, that's about right. Anything below 2k rpm, you will get that shudder. I have 76,600k miles on the factory clutch.

[j0hn]

well i took my car to the dealer yesterday to see about my shuddering or vibrating achtaully....btw, I know the whole deal about wheel hop, i know the difference....neways, as it turned out they sed that i needed a new flywheel and that it would be changed under warranty. Hope this helps.

[Flipside909]

well i took my car to the dealer yesterday to see about my shuddering or vibrating achtaully....btw, I know the whole deal about wheel hop, i know the difference....neways, as it turned out they sed that i needed a new flywheel and that it would be changed under warranty. Hope this helps.

Great to hear that the dealer is taking care of the fix. Gotta love warranty! I can shift out of first just at or above 1k when the car is running warm, w/o shudder.

[Guest]

Following up from my post (Guest) of Fri Feb 07, 2003 1:05 pm:

Yesterday my clutch was replaced yet again. That makes the 4th new clutch in the past couple of months. However, the one put in yesterday was an "Toyota original style part" versus the previous 3 which were "Toyota remanufactured parts". While Toyota Canada did not say this was a known problem, using an original (new) part was their suggested course of action.

The good news (at least for now) is that the shudder problem appears to be gone.

Just to further clarify the problem I had, the car shuddered under the following conditions:
- starting off in 1st gear and engaging the clutch (letting it out) through approximately the 1300-1700 rpm range
- downshifting and letting the clutch back out with the rpm's going upwards through approximately the 1300-1700 rpm range
It only happens with the revs building up through this range.

So what do I conclude from my experience and the other posts that seem to have a very similiar problem. While I don't profess to understand the mechanical inner workings of a clutch, it would appear that the design in the Solara leaves a lot to be desired.

From my recent experience, it would appear that the Toyota remanufactured parts may not be to the exact same tolerance (or material quality?) as the original clutch. Thus, given the design, this was enough to cause this problem.

However, the fact that other people are having the same problem with original parts scares me. How long is this latest "original part" going to last me. Combined with the fact that the dealers service has been poor, this has been an extremely frustrating experience.

Aside from this (plus the coin box and latch on the console cover), I like the car so I hope I am in for many miles of carefree driving.

In response to other posts, the car is stock and I drive it for commuting. No racing (just by myself when I find a deserted straight stretch of road) which would wear things out. And thanks cdssolara for your kind offer of parts.

If anyone has or wants any additional info, you can reach me at shanekelly@rogers.com.

[cdssolara]

Glad to hear that the problem appears to be resolved. Post again in a couple of weeks to let us know if it's still working all right.