Who has problems with their M6?

[Nightrage]

Alright, i hate to post because i never have any useful information but i need to ask this. Who else has problems driving their M6? My car is confusing me. I release the clutch and get on the gas the same way every time i need to start off in 1st gear yet my car responds differently every time. If i stop at a red light, the light turns green, i let the clutch out to it's release point (or so i believe) and get on the gas and the car doesn't go smoothly. When i drove the Viper, i hopped in it for the first time, treated it just like i would my car and it went nice and smooth. My brothers frind let me drive his Neon today. Again, my first time ever driving this car (and this has a hydrolic clutch which is even newer to me) and i feather it out perfectly. No problems, nice and smooth. My car however, despite the fact that i've had it for nearly 4 months now, i still can't seem to get it going right. I figure that if i can drive other cars and get them going perfectly the first time that i drive them then it must be my car right? I know that the vast majority of 6 speed f-body owners say that they have a difficult time launching their cars but is that just for launching in races or all the time? I'm afraid of destroying my clutch. It feels like i'm on it for too long but when i try coming off the clutch faster, it feels like it's about to stall. When i come off faster and give it more gas to compensate, it jerks a bit. The only day that it's run perfectly is one day when i got real mad at my mom and didn't even care whether or not i stalled it out. Then i was able to feather it out (if i'm even using the right term ). Maybe i should just drive when i'm angry Any ideas, comments, suggestions, anything? Thanks a lot guys.

[casey02ws6]

I can't say I have had that kind of trouble. It can be difficult to be really smooth sometimes but not really a problem. You might want to have your clutch checked - I believe it can be adjusted - or maybe you need a new clutch? Are you sure it has the stock clutch in it?

[Z Ya Later]

Could be a couple things. I know what you're talkin' about, cause I've done it too. One, how many miles are on the clutch? Its hydraulic, so I don't believe its adjustable. Second, if your flywheel is pretty bad, it can cause premature releasing. I'm assuming there's no grinding noises or anything, right?

[Nightrage]

There aren't any grinding noises or anything. Sometimes it drops into second wierd too. I definitely need a new shifter or something as sometimes i have to really jam it into first. 70k on the clutch but we called the previous owner and he said he just used it to go back and forth between Pennsylvania and New York so i'd imagine the clutch is close to new since it's mostly highway mileage. The guy before him was an older guy that took real good care of the car. I don't beat on the car, i rarely downshift so i use the clutch even less, i don't ride the clutch or anything either. My stepdad is real hard to impress and he was shocked at how fast and how well i picked up driving the manual tranny so i'd assume i do a decent job and a few months of driving it should make me near perfect at feathering it out. I guess not.
Steve93Z- are you sure it's a hydraulic clutch? My leg falls asleep in heavy traffic from this clutch (or at least it used to until i got accustomed to working the clutch, now my left calf never gets tired from anything lol). Definitely the stock clutch as the previous owners weren't into modifying it. One thing that confuses me is that i have a big plastic piece that says "Moroso" on it. I guess that's just part of the stock intake as i don't think my car has a CAI. It's not that the car goes really hard off the line, it just jerks a bit as it goes. Sometimes if i just give it a bit more gas, it will rev and then eventually go as i'm even further off the clutch. It just bothers me because this is my car and i've driven it every day for the last 4 months and i guess i still can't get the hang of it yet, i get into a Neon and a Viper and they go smooth for me the first time i drive them. The Neon was nothing. I hopped in that thing and got it going perfectly. I was so proud of myself lol. The only thing about that car is that is had NO POWER. None whatsoever until you hit about 5000RPM's . I only took it up to about 2500RPM's but i've been in the car with my brothers friend when he's ripped on it. My car, i just give it a little gas and you can feel it pull. Thanks again guys

[Z Ya Later]

Pretty sure its hydraulic. It is stiff though, I can tell you that for a fact. For the first couple months after I got my Z I had trouble walking on my left foot lol. It could just be you're off the clutch more than you think, as I'e had that happen many times. The Moroso piece sounds like part of the Moroso CAI...seen it many times on Craig 94 TA GT's car. Your shifter should be fine. Either the clutch is just getting old and in need of replacement or the 1-2 synchro is shot. Doubt the latter, because when I had my clutch replaced that problem almost disappeared on the Z. One note...if you do the clutch, make sure you do the flywheel if it needs it, don't skimp. Sounds like its the clutch to me if anything, but I could be wrong. Keep an eye on it and keep me posted. Take care.

[TraceZ]

I'd guess that with 70K and having it behave grabby it might be time for a new clutch. It's a weekend job if you have the tools. I did mine myself last year and I'm just a weekend warrior.

[RocKin1967]

man u should try a clutch on a 4speed muncie, talk about rock hard lol. maybe u should let some1 else drive ur car and see if it does the same thing to them, maybe u need a lil more practice? but i doubt it, 70k does seem a lil high, well just a thought good luck.

[WICKED LT1]

Your clutch is hydraulic. There is a slave cylinder at the trans, and a remote resevoir under the hood right behind the brake master cylinder for fluid. So, it self adjusts. It will take up it's own slack just like brakes do when they wear.

You kinda have to be careful comparing cars with man trans to each other. There are a lot of variables. For instance, the weight of the car plays a huge factor in clutch feel. So does flywheel weight and size. Your run o' the mill F-Bod weighs about 3600 pounds or so. That is a lot of mass to get moving from a stop. Because of that the flywheel has to be big and heavy from the factory to let rotational inertia help start the car off the line. Also, the LT-1 makes a large amount of low end torque, so it is going to jump a little if you get it into it's powerband and try to feather the clutch. I would think about having the clutch replaced and the flywheel inspected, as 70K seems to be getting close to the life span of a factory clutch. I would also, check out the trans mount. They are notorious for going bad and allowing the trans to move around under load. HTH


-Paul

[Injuneer]

The clutch shouldn't be "heavy".... at least not the stock one. It also shouldn't be "grabby", and after 70K miles, if they were easy miles, it shouldn't be anywhere near "worn out". I ran nitrous and raced my car when it was the stock 6-speed, and at 65K miles when I pulled the clutch out for something beefier (McLeod Street Twin) to back up the stroker motor, the original clutch still had most of the lining.

Is it possible that the problem you are feeling when trying to get the car rolling from a stop isn't a hesitation, or "stutter" of the engine? The low speed stutter coming off idle can be one of the early signs of an Optispark distributor failure. Does the engine stumble, miss or surge at any time?

The clutch linkage is definitely hydraulic, and the clutch it a unique "pullback" design, that limits your choice of replacements quite a bit.

[Nightrage]

I think i got it. Everybody says i overreact to everything so it's probably mental. The motor never surges or anything and the car always runs great. Starts right up every time. It feels weird that i can't get it to be perfectly smooth all the time. I think it's like casey02ws6 said- It's hard to get it to go perfectly smooth every time. If i come off the clutch nice and slow then it goes smooth. If i come off the clutch any faster, it jerks for a second. That really worried me because i figured after havng the car for so long, it should go great every time. Today i tried coming off the clutch different ways and i seem to have it down now with just a minimal jerk when i'm fully off the clutch. My shifter is definitely a pain in the @$$ though. I know this guy Nick with an 89 Camaro that he swapped a carbed 350 and a Tremec T-5 into. His shifter feels MUCH smoother than mine. I guess i'll ask my grandma to get me that Pro 5.0 shifter for Christmas or something lol. Thanks again guys. Hopefully some day i can post something useful lol.

[Z Ya Later]

If you want a short-throw shifter, check out the SLP one. $80 cheaper than the Pro 5.0 shifter. Just a thought. Take care.

[Nightrage]

Really? Excellent, thank you. I'll definitely look into it. Anyone else have suggestions for a short throw?

[Z Ya Later]

One note though - it doesn't come with the knob. You can pick up the leather SLP knob (just like the OEM Hurst knob only with SLP on it instead of the big "H") for ~$35, so its still cheaper than the Pro 5.0 shifter. Check out www.lmperformance.com as they have a whole line of shifters and such. Take care and have a great day.

[Nightrage]

Wow, that's cool. I definitely need something new. I'd prefer something......different as a shift knob. The stock leather knob and the Hurst knob and stuff bore me. I really like the Pro 5.0 and the SLP short throw but i've never felt either. I think i'd better start saving up for a new clutch though. Maybe a nice Centerforce or something.