Clutch shudder?

mustangGT90210

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Hey guys, I'll start this by saying I am new to owning manual transmission cars. I'm a Ford certified automatic transmission tech, and I work on Lincolns almost exclusively. I have basically zero working knowledge with manuals at this point in my career lol

I own a 2012 GT 6MT with 102k miles on it. I've had it for a couple months, and put about 1500 miles on it. I have started to notice that when I leave the garage in the mornings, it feels like I'm getting some clutch shudder as I pull out of the driveway, and also after taking off from the first stop sign down the road from my house. After the first couple stop-and-go's, I have no issues and don't feel this light shuddering for the rest of the day, until I park the car overnight. Then the next morning, the shudder is back. It only happens right when the clutch is probably 80% to 90% engaged, and I have zero clutch slippage under power.

Is this a normal thing, and I'm chasing a ghost? Or is this the beginning of the clutch telling me that it's on its last legs? Hopefully I can learn from some of you guys with manual trans experience!
 

redfirepearlgt

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It may be that the car has an aftermarket clutch in it. A stock clutch exhibiting a problem of concern would IMHO be getting worse as it warmed up rather than getting better if there was an issue (typical of hot spots on flywheel or pressure plate or both). You really won't know unless you take a peek. What you are describing IMHO sounds like a common symptom for an aftermarket clutch running a semi metallic clutch disc. They are more "on - off" with less slip at engagement and often have been known to exhibit shudder early in engagement. If it isn't slipping and this goes away as you say this would be my guess. I always stayed with organic clutches for better street manners.

I wish I had your 6R80 knowledge in my head...assuming you work on them.
 

WJBertrand

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My ‘13 GT with 75K on it will start to shudder a bit if I get stuck in a lot of stop and go traffic when it’s hot out. This is still the OEM clutch. Once I get rolling again it settles down. No problems when cold though.


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mustangGT90210

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It may be that the car has an aftermarket clutch in it. A stock clutch exhibiting a problem of concern would IMHO be getting worse as it warmed up rather than getting better if there was an issue (typical of hot spots on flywheel or pressure plate or both). You really won't know unless you take a peek. What you are describing IMHO sounds like a common symptom for an aftermarket clutch running a semi metallic clutch disc. They are more "on - off" with less slip at engagement and often have been known to exhibit shudder early in engagement. If it isn't slipping and this goes away as you say this would be my guess. I always stayed with organic clutches for better street manners.

I wish I had your 6R80 knowledge in my head...assuming you work on them.

Thanks for the reply. I wish I could speak to what clutch was in this car. I want to believe it's stock, but I'm not going to pull the trans to find out! The car is lowered on BMR springs, has Corsa axlebacks, and most likely had an intake that was removed before it was sold. I can say I've never missed a gear or been locked out of anything except 1st while sitting still. The car was registered with RMR with one of the prior owners, half of me wants to see if I can get in touch with that guy on their forum to get some history.

Assuming stock clutch, I was thinking maybe it was friction material imprinting on the flywheel, that gets burned away after a couple starts. I don't know if that's a thing, but I'm just comparing the clutch to brake discs at this point.

6R80 is not a trans I have experience with, which probably speaks to its quality. I've diagnosed and rebuilt many 4R70s, 6F35/55's, 8F35/55s, and 10R60/80s, but never more than a fluid and filter change on the 6R80. If you ever have any questions about the theories of operation, I'm sure I can answer those.

My ‘13 GT with 75K on it will start to shudder a bit if I get stuck in a lot of stop and go traffic when it’s hot out. This is still the OEM clutch. Once I get rolling again it settles down. No problems when cold though.


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Very interesting. Thanks for the reply! I always thought it was kind of weird this clutch seems to get smoother the hotter it is. I'm in south Florida, so traffic down here is extra brutal due to the temperatures.
 

redfirepearlgt

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Thanks for the reply. I wish I could speak to what clutch was in this car. I want to believe it's stock, but I'm not going to pull the trans to find out! The car is lowered on BMR springs, has Corsa axlebacks, and most likely had an intake that was removed before it was sold. I can say I've never missed a gear or been locked out of anything except 1st while sitting still. The car was registered with RMR with one of the prior owners, half of me wants to see if I can get in touch with that guy on their forum to get some history.

Assuming stock clutch, I was thinking maybe it was friction material imprinting on the flywheel, that gets burned away after a couple starts. I don't know if that's a thing, but I'm just comparing the clutch to brake discs at this point.

6R80 is not a trans I have experience with, which probably speaks to its quality. I've diagnosed and rebuilt many 4R70s, 6F35/55's, 8F35/55s, and 10R60/80s, but never more than a fluid and filter change on the 6R80. If you ever have any questions about the theories of operation, I'm sure I can answer those.



Very interesting. Thanks for the reply! I always thought it was kind of weird this clutch seems to get smoother the hotter it is. I'm in south Florida, so traffic down here is extra brutal due to the temperatures.

Given the age and miles on the clutch assuming it is stock your theory may hold water. I have never personally ran a clutch for that many miles before upgrading the clutch or trading the car. So while I have never experienced that phenomenon it may still be possible pm higher mileage setups. If its not bothering you I would just drive it, given it goes away after some heat gets into the setup. There are clutch protection strategies on the stock tune that help protect the clutch so unless the car has been tuned and those strats turned down or off, they can add a lot of life to the clutch especially on a stock or mildly modded N/A setup. Thanks for the offer on the trans theory. Will keep that in mind.
 

WJBertrand

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Thanks for the reply. I wish I could speak to what clutch was in this car. I want to believe it's stock, but I'm not going to pull the trans to find out! The car is lowered on BMR springs, has Corsa axlebacks, and most likely had an intake that was removed before it was sold. I can say I've never missed a gear or been locked out of anything except 1st while sitting still. The car was registered with RMR with one of the prior owners, half of me wants to see if I can get in touch with that guy on their forum to get some history.

Assuming stock clutch, I was thinking maybe it was friction material imprinting on the flywheel, that gets burned away after a couple starts. I don't know if that's a thing, but I'm just comparing the clutch to brake discs at this point.

6R80 is not a trans I have experience with, which probably speaks to its quality. I've diagnosed and rebuilt many 4R70s, 6F35/55's, 8F35/55s, and 10R60/80s, but never more than a fluid and filter change on the 6R80. If you ever have any questions about the theories of operation, I'm sure I can answer those.



Very interesting. Thanks for the reply! I always thought it was kind of weird this clutch seems to get smoother the hotter it is. I'm in south Florida, so traffic down here is extra brutal due to the temperatures.

My previous car, a 2002 Lexus IS300 manual acted like your car. Pretty bad clutch judder when cold and impossible to pull away smoothly. It was even worse if it was damp or wet out. I used to deliberately slip it excessively to get it hot to make it stop doing that. I think the OEM friction material of that clutch tended to absorb moisture and become grabby. Always parking in the garage vs. outside at night helped too.


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Juice

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This may not be your issue, but I had a mild clutch chatter that was caused by the tune itself.
You could reset the KAM, and see if it has any effect.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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I own a 2012 GT 6MT with 102k miles on it. I've had it for a couple months, and put about 1500 miles on it. I have started to notice that when I leave the garage in the mornings, it feels like I'm getting some clutch shudder as I pull out of the driveway, and also after taking off from the first stop sign down the road from my house. After the first couple stop-and-go's, I have no issues and don't feel this light shuddering for the rest of the day, until I park the car overnight. Then the next morning, the shudder is back. It only happens right when the clutch is probably 80% to 90% engaged, and I have zero clutch slippage under power.

Is this a normal thing, and I'm chasing a ghost? Or is this the beginning of the clutch telling me that it's on its last legs?

After 102k miles on the original clutch, I think it's a pretty safe bet that the friction plate has worn out. Don't leave it too long 'cause if the rivets are already protruding from the friction material, you'll end up needing to resurface the flywheel as well.
 

Midlife Crises

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Replace the clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing and resurface or replace the flywheel. All at once. You won’t have to mess with it again.
 

mustangGT90210

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Thanks for the answers guys. This sounds like one of those "don't mess with it until I'm ready to put a clutch in it or it gets worse" kind of situations.
 

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