Clutch Chatter?

I've been tinkering with my 68 cj5 with a dauntless v6 since fathers day(the day it came home). First I should mention it's not factory original(that's probably a real shocker). 225 v6 4 speed muncie advanced adapters set up to keep dana 18.

So I towed it home and literally ordered thousands of dollars in parts before ever driving it. I've screwed around in the driveway etc and that's about it. I still haven't driven it really other than tonight about 500 yards round trip. It's a work in progress so don't hate me.

Backing out of the garage it has a weird feel I assume it's clutch chatter. If im going slow and slipping the clutch it's really bad and if I dump the clutch so it's fully engaged it doesn't do it or I don't feel it. All forward gears feel good.

Has anyone experienced this and know the cause? This thing has been the project from hell. I've already dumped way too much money into it fixing the safety issues. All answers and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Possibly dirt, grease, oil, or rust on the flywheel and or pressure plate is where I would look. And, if you just got it, you have no idea what clutch it has, or how much wear it has, or if it ever worked correctly after the conversion.

 

Good point. Rust probably for sure as who knows how long it's been sitting. Registration has been on non op for 6 years. The rest is definitely questionable. Should I run it and see if things improve or am I looking at a new clutch and fly wheel?

 

that sums it up
drive it some more . before you start tearing it apart

 

Does your year and model have or need the cable stay from the bell-house to the crossmember? Prevents feedback in the linkages and mounts, especially in reverse.

http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/97718/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1837708455...52miqLV78eZI20KBeAZpIFh1We|tkp:Bk9SR7zYobzcYg

 

That's the plan more or less. I was wondering things have been sitting for a long time and maybe just need to be used with some fresh oil. No previous jeep experience here so I'm always looking for good experienced owners replies.

 

That's a good question I don't know if mine is supposed to have it but from what I've seen I'm going to say it's not present. I will have to look I to this more. It sounds like people either believe in it or don't. Definitely interesting.

 

Also check your motor mounts. My '69 V6 chattered hard enough to shake your teeth out when slipping the clutch in reverse. Turns out both motor motor mounts were in two pieces. Changing those completely cured the problem. Changing the transfercase mounts at a later date made the clutch engagement even smoother yet.

 

That's sounds like a good place to start. My brain went straight to clutch and rear differential.

I had to take it for a spin after doing the exhaust yesterday. I got in to 3rd gear didn't really want to go for fourth due to neighbors probably getting mad. As long as it's going forward everything feels good in my opinion. Driving this thing definitely feels "unique " lol.

 

I don't think that stay cable does much of anything. My 3B has not had that provision since sometime in 1973 and there has never been a problem with it gone, with both the stock clutch linkage and hydraulic. Do check the engine mounts as Roy suggests but like some of the above posts, I'm guessing there is some rust on probably both the flywheel and pressure plate. Do some more of those 500 yd runs while feathering the clutch before tearing it down.

 

Yup, I’d check mounts as stated. There is an extra mount on the passengers side to counteract forward torque, but the only mount that is effectively fighting torque in reverse is the drivers side motor mount.

Add to that the softness of the factory mounts to absorb the unbalanced nature of the dauntless, and it’s not an uncommon issue. I used to use sections of chain bolted from the engine to the frame on my old racer to help stiffen things up.

 

I had the same problem you are describing and I went through all the same checks mentioned here. Mine ended up being worn out clutches in my powr-lok. I swapped those and it immediately drove perfect. Do you have a powr-lok? It's another thing to add to the list of possible issues.

 

possibly broken springs on the clutch disk?

 

Not sure what is under the diff cover yet. Previous owner did own an arc welder though and my front and rear differentials are locked. My though was always Previous owner did the Lincoln locker mod. I definitely plan on pulling the covers and changing the gear oil soon before it gets on the road.

 

Keeping in mind this has a gm bellhousing and transmission I don't know if I can see that without tearing into it.

I haven't even had enough free time check motor mounts yet. I'm hoping maybe tomorrow I will get a chance to do some investigating. I'm also hoping it's something stupid and obvious.

 

Welcome from Michigan. Everything I know has already been covered by the guys that know, but me I would do what they say first. Drive it more, slip the clutch, try to clean off the the flywheel and pressure plate, it just may be crap on them. It would easy to look at the motor and Trans mounts just so you know first. Sounds like you know what you are doing, just stay the course first, these guys know Jeeps. Good luck. Rick

 

This..

 

Update: (For those curious)I just wanted to say it's been a while and I haven't had any time to do anything except work. I hate googling stuff to read a forum of threads for an hour to not get any updates or answers to whatever it is searching for.

Anyway today I was playing with my jeep for the first time since I posted my question. I actually was tired of not having garage space so I moved my cj5 out to the side yard today.
It almost didn't start and I was about to give up for the day. I need to get to my reloading bench again.

I got the jeep running and drove up and down the driveway and made a loop or two around the cul-de-sac. I put it low so I could run through all 4 forward gears. Backwards forward etc a few times. Parked it and didn't like where it was parked so I got it running again and maneuvered around in some tight quarters into the backyard again.

Long story short it feels pretty good. I didn't notice any weird stuff anymore.

On a sad note though: I have decided to place my jeep for sale. I don't really feel that my heart is in it. The reason I bought it (my son) just isn't working out. He doesn't have any interest in it. My roots are hot rodding and going fast. I don't want to defile my jeep by making a hot rod out of an original dauntless v6 unit. So I have decided to see if incan find a better home for it.

 

Dang!

 

Its the tin foil hat that makes thoughts like that enter the mind