My 6MT Coupe is going back to the dealership.

Just before the holiday, they replaced my clutch pressure plate and release bearing. This seemed to cure the rattling my clutch was making when disengaged. But, it did not cure the "bogging" in first gear. This problem has been widely reported on this board. For me, it is much more noticeable when starting uphill (like my driveway) and is really a pain.

I will let you all know how this trip turns out. I do not want to have to start taking action under NJ Lemon Laws - That would be a complete hassle. I really like this car but this crap is getting under my skin.

 

Describe 'bogging..' I've been reading here a long time and I'm not familiar with 6MTs bogging in first gear. I'm familiar with the drive train issues, but not 'bogging..'

 

Imagine the sound your engine/tranny makes if you try to ease off of the line without giving it enough throttle. Duh-duh-duh-duh is the best impression I can do online. A lighter version is what my car does during most 1st gear starts. It is very noticeable when starting up a hill.

 

Ummmm is the car actually 'stumbling' like it is going to stall or is it 'chattering' like it the clutch doesn't engage smoothly? I too am interested in this 'bogging' as you have described, never heard of it.
When I hear the term 'bogging' in the context of automobiles I think of a condition where the engine does not have the power to perform the task asked of it. Like a truck trying to pull a load that is way over what it is rated for.

 

did the dealership replace all of that under your warranty? Cause I think I might have to have my pressure plate replaced and bearing as well..... my car seems to make this constant scratchy kinda noise with in neutral.....sounds like the bearings, if I press and hold down the clutch, it goes away....but when I disengage its there.....

 

The 'scratchy' noise is quite probably the throwout bearing. It is normal. Still want to hear about the 'bogging'

 

It is more chatter than stumble but there is some of both especially going up hill.

If I stop on a hill and then go to start, I can hold the car in place without a problem and even creep forward slightly. But, when I go to accelerate the car won't move much at first then it will start up the hill but this bogging/chattering starts and the car does stumble a bit. I even tried to take the revs up this weeked and dump the clutch (with VDC off) and I still had the same problem.


To me, bogging is the sound/feeling you get when you let the clutch out without giving the car enough gas. I guess stumbling is a good description too.

This problem I am having is a little hard to describe. What it really feels like is not all the engine power is being transferred.

I have driven a number of manual cars (both Japanese and American, front and rear wheel drive) and the only other time that I encountered this problem was with a Dodge Stealth. I had the fuel injectors cleaned and the problem went away. Turns out, the engine was not getting the proper fuel mixture at the low RPMs so it would stumble/hesitate on me. I am not sure if this could be the problem here or not.

Any further thoughts?

 

Yes, it was all done under warranty. My car only has 700 miles on it. When I brought it to the dealership the first time it had about 500 miles on it. This is definitely not a wear and tear issue.

The rattle that you are describing is likely being caused by your release bearing. All manual cars make this noise and it gets worse as your bearings wear down. When the dealership replaced my release bearings, the neutral rattling went away.

 

Hummm sounds like a clutch/flywheel interaction problem. One is not allowing smooth contact. Did your clutch get replaced when they did the pressure plate/throw-out (release) bearing work? In your original post you say "they replaced my clutch pressure plate and release bearing". I guess there is an implied comma after clutch. If so then I would suspect the flywheel. There is a brief breaking period for a clutch.


T: Why is clutch break-in so important?
S: We recommend 200 to 300 miles of mellow usage for our street discs. The purpose of breaking in a clutch is to engage the disc in a controlled, consistent manner to ensure the disc, pressure plate and flywheel all make full surface contact. It's also a chance for the friction material to experience normal heat cycles.


from: Linky



Good luck!!
Let us know what they find!

 

I guess this is more of a reason to break in our cars and not "drive it like you stole it" when you bought it new I'm still confused to what he means by bogging. Also, he said there are alot of instances on these forums on it, I wonder if he can't link to one for us?

 

Lets forget I used the word bogging. I think in my larger post a describe it pretty well.

The work order says "replace clutch disk pressure plate and release bearing". I guess there must be a comma in there but that is a good point.

As for linking, I just searched for transmission problems and you find a number of people complaining about these transmissions.

 

But I have a feeling you'll soon be tops on that list

 

I know, I am starting to feel like a whiner so I am dropping this topic until I have something productive to add (instead of just complaining).

Thank you all for the advice and for listening to my rants.

 

That's okay the transmission does suck, but I have a feeling yours is just normal which means bad like mine and all the rest

 

I am starting to get that feeling too.

Makes me miss my 1985 RX-7 transmission. Actually, makes me miss my 1996 Corvette transmission, although that was a ZF......