awesome! glad to hear! I kept thinking it was a rear issue but knew the sound didn't seem to come from back there.
Strange vibration in 3rd gear
- Thread starter keith89
- Start date
awesome! glad to hear! I kept thinking it was a rear issue but knew the sound didn't seem to come from back there.
Happy Thanksgiving! I'm pulling the tranny tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Best of luck with the pull.
Thanks. It was not fun for my first pull. You were right though it was the pilot bearing. The inner race and bearings were gone! All that was left is the outer race. Having problems getting it out. Tried the wet paper towel trick with no success. I suspect sinced only the outer race is left there's not enough surface for that to work. Have to figure out a pulling solution. May need to go to harbor freight in the morning.
On a positive note, it seems I caught it early enough to avoid major clutch damage. The clutch surface is a little discolored in the area that yours was scraped out but the surface is even so it should be ok. Input shaft is fine as well.
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Glad you didn't sustain as much damage as I did. That will save you a pretty penny. I think we can conclude that when people get this vibration in 3rd, they should be sure to have that pilot bearing checked. Odd how when it starts, you really only hear/feel it in 3rd.
Yup everything runs smooth as butter now. The clutch feels much smoother now too. It seems the tranny wasn't installed properly afte rthe engine rebuild. I'm assuming the tranny was pulled in by the bolts and the input shaft wasn't aligned properly the inner race was pushed out the back of the pilot bearing. At least al he roller bearings were trapped behind there and didn't make their way into the pressure plate/clutch assembly.
At least we know a difinitive answer to a specific problem. I have when I do a search for trouble codes but never find a cause or solution. Most don't post their results
Well, now we can offer up our experience to others on the board and hope that they too catch it as quickly as you did and not have to go through the expense I did.
Hello all, I'm having a very similar issue. I'm having a terrible vibration only in 3rd gear and it's only when I am under hard acceleration from 1st, 2nd, and then when I hit 3rd under hard acceleration I get a terrible vibration all the way up to the end of 3rd gear, and if I let off and let the motor wind down while the clutch is engaged, I continue to feel the vibration. ***Note*** I can clear the vibration from 3rd if I downshift and then shift back up to 3rd gear under normal acceleration.
Here is what was recently done to the car (2004 cobra):
New McLeod RXT clutch, McLeod Steel flywheel, McLeod TOB, McLeod TOB Retainer Sleeve, and new pilot bearing.
Prior to the new clutch job I did NOT have this problem. NOTE - I already had a 26 spline input shaft installed many miles ago (on the last clutch job) and never had an issue with it.
Clutch break in steps have been followed and I recently got 550 miles on it so I have been really getting on it and now notice this really strange and bad vibration only in 3rd and only under hard acceleration.
I also must note that I hear what sounds like the TOB beginning to fail (even though it's BRAND NEW!!!) just as user 809 has reported only when the clutch is engaged. As soon as you press the clutch in, this sound goes away.
Another weird thing I've noticed with this RXT is when you upshift and downshift you hear a lot of noise coming from the clutch. Sounds like a lot of loose parts in there. No clutch that I've ever had before sounds like this. I can live with this though, just thought I would mention it because I'm curious as to why this happens?
I really need to figure out what the hell is going on with my 3rd gear though? I am going to take it back to the shop on Monday and let them look into it but I would appreciate if anyone has had this experience and can share their fix/outcome.
Thanks!
I've been having similar issues for a while, 3rd/4th gear vibration on hard deceleration, mine started after i snapped an axle, my vibration DOES NOT shake my car violently but noticieable enough that I know isnt normal. I had the full FTBR kit, Ford Diff cover installed along with DSS Level V axles.
I summed it up to the rear diff because it was not touched during the suspension upgrade. I am planning on having it rebuilt soon, but after reading the entire post above i am skeptical of improper installation of several tranny components? 500 miles into the break in period my TOB and pilot bearing went out? Had everything freshened up with Ford TOB, pilot bearing, clutch bolt kit, and ARP studs for the flywheel. Aside from all the clutch noise as mentioned in the prior post it shifted like butter 1000 miles later my clutch pedal has a slight gritty feel to it like the TOB is going out except I don't have any chirping noises coming from the TOB?
mine also has the noisy; RXT twin disc clutch/alum flywheel
-26 spline input shaft
-Lethal performance sleeve
I summed it up to the rear diff because it was not touched during the suspension upgrade. I am planning on having it rebuilt soon, but after reading the entire post above i am skeptical of improper installation of several tranny components? 500 miles into the break in period my TOB and pilot bearing went out? Had everything freshened up with Ford TOB, pilot bearing, clutch bolt kit, and ARP studs for the flywheel. Aside from all the clutch noise as mentioned in the prior post it shifted like butter 1000 miles later my clutch pedal has a slight gritty feel to it like the TOB is going out except I don't have any chirping noises coming from the TOB?
mine also has the noisy; RXT twin disc clutch/alum flywheel
-26 spline input shaft
-Lethal performance sleeve
***UPDATE*** I am now noticing some slight vibration in 2nd gear under hard acceleration and deceleration. Not nearly as bad as 3rd gear. Also under normal acceleration/deceleration I have no noticeable vibrations (in any gear).
It seems like the clutch is not engaging properly under hard acceleration which is causing the vibrations but I am not sure. What's weird is under hard acceleration when I shift into 3rd and I get that bad vibration, if I disengage the clutch then re-engage the clutch while still in 3rd(and let off the throttle completely) the vibrations go away.
So you had your TOB and Pilot bearing fail into 500 miles of your new clutch job?
So you have an RXT and it's very noisy between shifts as well too, right?
You also say that you get the vibration in 3rd and 4th but only under DECELERATION and not ACCELERATION?
BTW, what is your opinion of the FTBR IRS kit? I have mine sitting in boxes in my garage, going to be installed this week!
I would also like to comment on clutch pedal pressure. When I first got the car back from the RXT clutch job, the pedal pressure was super light, I'm talking like a hydraulic clutch. Now that it's broke in, it' s not nearly as light. What I also notice is the pressure changes depending on how I'm driving. For instance if I'm in a lot of stop and go traffic, or driving the car hard, it seems the pedal pressure is much higher. But not matter what, the pedal pressure has never been what it was when I first got the car back from the RXT install. Not sure what that means..
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1) Yes my TOB and pilot bearing failed at 500 miles
2) yes I have an RXT, not noisy between shifts, but when I put it in 1st and 3rd gear with the clutch pedal depressed while sitting I here a noise from the tunnel? Its also has a finicky engagement at times it can be chattery
3) my vibration is on decal only, that's why I believed that my rear diff was the problem?
4) FTBR IRS kit seems very solid, but don't expect it totally cure the wheel hop. the wheel hop depends a lot on the sidewall and air pressure of your tire.
5) my clutch pedal pressure is soft but high engagement.
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who did your clutch install? its possible that they destroyed the pilot bearing when they reinstalled the tranny. that's what happened to mine. I ended up having to do it over myself. Not fun but it was a good learning experience.
Interesting...
As far as your wheel hop and tire selection what tire do you run?
As far as engagement point, my clutch engages at the very end now which I do not like but I am starting to get accustomed to it. I did order a Mcleod adjustable pivot ball to try and fix this. Engagement is also chattery for me if I don't have at least 1200 RPM during engagement.
As far as the noise that is bad news that this sounds like it's not normal. I am wondering with the noise and the vibration that the job wasn't either A) done incorrectly, or B) a bad clutch or other component that was changed.
A local shop did my clutch install. I don't know if they destroyed the pilot bearing or not but I am going to have them take it apart and find out because something is not right for sure. do you also have an RXT? If so is it noisy between up and down shifts?
no, i have a spec 3+
Sorry for the delay response didn't get any notification?
Speed shop RWR motorsports in Denver, did my clutch the first time, second time was a local shop EDP in Colorado Springs and like I mentioned previously freshened it up with new Ford Pilot bearing, Ford TB, ARP hardware, and lethal performance sleeve.
I am currently running Toyo R888 305-35-18s @ 29psi and it seems to really minimize the hop when getting on it hard.
I too believed that it was a bad install, but it was done a second time, and still feels kind of crappy to me again. The shop that did it the second time said the clutch did not look bad at all. like I said the clutch pedal feels soft but kind of gritty when engaging, like the TB is going bad again? but if you depress while car is off it is silky smooth?
Interesting, I am wondering if either I have a bad clutch or that's just the nature of this McLeod twin disc unit.
29psi wow, how are you achieving that amount of boost?
Lol..
my tire pressure is at 29psi to help with the wheel hop. As far as the McLeod Clutch some love it and swear by it and others seem to have the same noisy, chattery issues?
Lol that one flew right over...Lol..
Must be differences in their manufacturing processes...
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