hi all,
I know its not a tintop area as such, but was hoping you fine people can help...
since today, have noticed a problem accelerating in the tintop. if i floor the gas quickly, the rev counter goes up but the car doesnt accelerate that
much, if at all. seems as if the power isnt being transferred to the wheels. cant hear any odd noises or whines. the car is fine picking up speed if i
do it really gently, but not on harsh acceleration. i know i dont need hard acceleration most of the time, but needed it today at one point and it
didnt happen. any ideas?
car is a 1998 Vauxhall Corsa.
on a sidenote, it might be just in my head, but i 'think' the clutch is now needing a higher biting point than before. not sure if this is
contributing to above problem, is its own issue or may just be in my head.
thanking you all in advance.
edit: at first i thought it was just gear 5 causing the problem, but then tried gears 3 and 4 and same problem.
[Edited on 18/9/08 by mads]
probs slipping clutch.try pulling away from rest in 2nd or third gear.if revs rise and engine doesnt stall then theres your proof
my usual way of testing is to put the car in 4th at about 25mph (ie it will take lots of effort to make hte car go faster) then press the accelerator,
if hte engine speeds up then its likely to be the clutch.
Once you suspect this, don't keep doing the test. Be really gentile and nurse the car - that way it will last a few days while you get it booked
into a garage.
My test is sit still with the hand brake on, top gear and try to pull away. See what happens?
Is it just no acceleration or more of a surging sensation as if the car hesitates then goes then hesitates then goes and so on?
From your description it is certainly the clutch
It's the clutch slipping. Only answer is a new clutch. Try and avoid slipping it as it'll soon give up completely that way.
Dumping the clutch when stationary is not the best of ideas to test it. If its only just starting to slip then this will just put huge loads on the
transmission and not prove a lot except make it worse! Drive up a hill in 3-4th, press the throttle hard and start to dip the clutch, as it starts to
slip (revs rise rapidly/car doesn't accelerate) let the clutch off and see if it bites or slips (If it slips then the revs will continue to climb
and not accelerate; If it bites then the opposite happens).
adrian
quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
my usual way of testing is to put the car in 4th at about 25mph (ie it will take lots of effort to make hte car go faster) then press the accelerator, if hte engine speeds up then its likely to be the clutch.
Once you suspect this, don't keep doing the test. Be really gentile and nurse the car - that way it will last a few days while you get it booked into a garage.
quote:
Tried this and yep, its the clutch. I thought as much. However, I can now pull away in 5th gear, lol. Dont worry, i wont be doing that again. Thankyou to everyone for your replies
just been ringing around a couple of garages and getting quotes of £200+. This sound about right? Had one "Kwik-break" garage say they dont
replace clutches at theirs because its specialised and needs special tools =o/
anyone ideas on how long it will take on average to do myself? I dont have a ramp... only axle stands.
[Edited on 20/9/08 by mads]