So let me describe my problem and y'all experts can tell me if my clutch is slipping... And what I should do.
When I start off easy it seems fine until I get to the shift point at which point I start to get some light "chunking" sounds. If I start off like I'm trying to get out of the way I've gotten a much Lowder chunk and not the acceleration to go along with it.
Same for when I'm at the top of 3rd before I let OD engage.
I think when I hit the torque band the clutch slips.
What started me down this path was when I was going up a hill and added power. Then the slipping started. I added fluid the other day and no luck. There's no way there's too much in there... When I changed it last fall when I got the car it was empty. I think I spilled about half of the 6ozs I tried to add. I've driven about 300 miles since then and that is when the problem started.
At first I thought it was an OD problem not engaging. But now I think the clutch is slipping.
Probably just need to drain it and start over as step 1?
Also, I just checked and I was using Dex/Merc and is the recommended Dex III?
And I posted this in the wrong place and could not figure out how to move or delete it! It's been a rough week just today.
1954 Hornet 4dr...manual
Thanks
Nathan
You need to flush the clutch with kerosene, and then re-fill with Dexron 3, or proper Hudsonite. if still slipping, the clutch plate is worn out.
Based on your "sound effects", check your center dtive shaft supports. These , if broken will produce the effect you described.
Geoff, thanks for the advice. I've got some kerosene in it now. Gonna rotate it for an hour, manually, then drain it.
I only got about an ounce out. I'd like to know if it's leaking, but the underside is pretty well saturated with fluids as it is so it's pretty hard to pinpoint where all my leaks are coming from. I just tell myself that being covered in oil helps prevent rust.
Also, I enjoy your WTN articles. I don't understand about a quarter of it, but I like the stories in spite of my ignorance!
Nathan
Fred, thanks for the info. I checked it when I had it jacked up. Seems ok at this point.
Nathan
Well, I hope my Hudsonite comes in soon... And I hope it works a miracle.
Taking out the clutch looks like quite a job for an amateur with a small garage... Remove the seat, raise the engine, move the transmission. Just reading the instructions made my head swim!
Nathan
Nathan,
I had a clutch which would slip when I floored the gas, but not with moderate gas. It also shook when I started from a stop, no matter how careful I was. When I took it out, I found that it had no corks left at all!
Thanks to the removable floor panel, it was not too hard to remove the transmission, however the car did not have overdrive.
Per
Per,
Thanks for the encouragement. I was dreading starting it tomorrow but now it's like a bit of the weight has lifted.
Nathan
Well, I took me about 6 hours to get down to pulling the clutch cover. It was my first time ever taking off a transmission or tearing into a clutch. And, about 2 hours of that was reading the instructions and asking myself what the heck I just read. And another hour was just staring at bolts thinking, "I hope I'm doing the right thing."
But then I pulled it off and my work was vindicated... I need a new clutch. It only had about 10 pieces of cork left.
Now I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I can get it all back together.
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