My clutch has this weird problem that comes and goes on it and I have no idea what it is or why it does it. Sometimes when i let out the clutch (at normal speed im not just bucking the car) it makes the whole car vibrate until the clutch if fully engaged and I have no idea why. It usually is only when im starting up from a stop sometimes it does it a tiny bit when shifting to second. Any ideas what it might be? I dont think its a problem in the tranny itself becuase it was rebuilt about 4000 miles ago and the clutch was replaced as well. I really have no idea whats going on here. My car is a 1988 firebird with 305 TBI and the T-5 tranny if that helps at all to diagnose it.

 

Sounds like clutch "chatter" to me. The main causes for this are oil leaking from somewhere and getting onto the flywheel, or installing a new clutch without resurfacing the flywheel. Both of these allow hot spots to form on the flywheel where the clutch grabs a little and then slips as you're engaging it...this causes the shaking you've described (others please feel free to add to or correct my description if needbe). Was the flywheel resurfaced when the new clutch was installed? Do you have any oil leaks that might be letting oil get into the bellhousing and onto the flywheel? I'd check into those areas first. It's not a HUGE issue, but it is really annoying and somewhat hard on the drivetrain if it's really bad. Good luck!

-Paul

 

I'm almost positive that the flywheel was resurfaced when the clutch was put in so its most likely the oil. It seems like my engine probably has a lot of leaks because sometimes when i start up my car (especially if it is hot or has been sitting for a while) that white smoke sometimes comes out the tailpipes which usually means the engine is burning oil. So i wouldn't be real surprised if it were leaking it in more than one place. SO if it is the oil leaking how can I fix this? would an engine rebuild fix it (and the tailpipe smoke)? or would I have to do something else?

 

An engine rebuild would certainly take care of leaks and the tailpipe smoke, although tailpipe smoke doesn't necessarily mean that oil is actually leaking into the bellhousing area. Blue tailpipe smoke on startup is usually an indication that the valve seals in the engine are getting tired and allowing oil to seep into the combustion chamber when the car sits for a little while. It wouldn't be surprising though if you had a few leaks that were allowing oil into the bellhousing area, especially if the car has high mileage. Keep an eye out for oil spots where you park the car and see if you can tell whether it's leaking or not. Dunno if that helped much, but good luck!