j.stoltz

Hello fellow 7th gens, I'm wanting to know someone's opinion/expertise on an issue I've been having that's progressively been getting worse. I have an 03 Civic manual transmission with about 175k miles.

Whenever I am starting off in first or am in reverse, I notice that the engine shakes noticeably (especially in reverse) when letting out the clutch if I don't give it enough gas. I'm almost positive it's one of the motor mounts going bad, probably the one underneath the slave cylinder, but I know there's a possibility it could be the pressure plate that causes the shudder.

Here's a video I took (watch in HD) without giving it much gas. I know that's rough on the clutch, but wanted to get the full effect for you guys to see.

bsmiley

You know it already. The front mount & very likely the rear tranny mount too.

j.stoltz

Thanks for the reply bsmiley, I was almost positive it would probably be the front mount, but I know a bad pressure plate can cause chatter as well.

I'm going to replace the front mount since that one is the easiest to get to and hope that fixes the problem. Will be back with an update next week!

ezone

You slowed that waaay down, I don't think I've ever watched how much a drivetrain moves while a clutch is chattering. Neat to see it in slo-mo.

I'm inclined to vote clutch job. I guess you'll know more after you change the mounts.

j.stoltz

Thanks for the reply ezone, that was in the back of my mind that it's the clutch. And I hope after I change the mount it will stay in the back of my mind and not the front.. We shall see!

Reverb2005

My vote is also with clutch. I had the same problem when letting the clutch out in my 05. I changed the trans fluid and it seemed ok for a few weeks then started up again.

Did the clutch with the input shaft bearing and it never came back.

Not to say your engine mounts aren't also worn; that clutch chatter as ezone put it perfectly, causes the engine to move around all over the place.

j.stoltz

Thanks for the reply reverb, I also changed my transmission fluid a couple weeks ago. It was pretty dark compared to the new stuff, but I didn't notice any change in clutch chatter afterwards.

I've noticed this clutch chatter since I bought the car (about 30k miles ago) but it's gotten progressively worse.

Did you get the flywheel replaced too? I'm curious as to how much it would cost to get the full clutch assembly replaced.