Clutch Slipping?
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Raleigh, N.C.
Clutch Slipping? I have a 2002 Pontiac Firebird T/A with about 97,000 miles on it that I believe has a clutch that is slipping. It will jump into 2nd and 3rd gear sometimes really hard and occasionally will over-rev when taking off in 1st. The weird thing is that when I'm at a stand still it feels like it wants to cut off on me. I can depress the clutch and the rpms pick back up. When I then give it gas there is a little lag and she goes. Now as I get out of 1st and I'm putting a good load through each gear there is no problem. The big fear is 1st gear, once I'm rolling I really don't have any problems. Keep in mind I do drive my car like I'm 16 sometimes and use the clutch to slow down instead of my brakes! Any thoughts?
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Joined: Nov 2005
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When my clutch was going, if I was low in the rpm then floored it in 1st or 2nd, the car would accelerate, but it felt inconsistent. It'd be like pressing and releasing the gas very quickly, if you looked at the rpm, the rpm climb would spike and the speedometer would do the same.
What cinched it for me was when I wanted to overtake a car off a light due to my lane ending and giving it a good amount of gas amounted to no significant acceleration or wheel spin.
It never did fail the 6th gear WOT test or 5th gear for that matter. Where basically you go like 30mph in 6th then floor it or similarly in 5th, slow speed go WOT etc.
What cinched it for me was when I wanted to overtake a car off a light due to my lane ending and giving it a good amount of gas amounted to no significant acceleration or wheel spin.
It never did fail the 6th gear WOT test or 5th gear for that matter. Where basically you go like 30mph in 6th then floor it or similarly in 5th, slow speed go WOT etc.
A good way to tell if your clutch it slipping:
Put car in 4th going about 45 mph. Press the brake enough to slow down a bit, while holding down the brake a bit press the gas to the floor. Increase brake pressure immediately enough to hold the car at a constant speed (45-50 mph). Watch your tach and speedo. If your RPM goes up then your clutch is slipping. If the car bogs and you are able to decrease your RPM's with increasing brake pedal pressure and the gas still to the floor then your clutch is ok.
Put car in 4th going about 45 mph. Press the brake enough to slow down a bit, while holding down the brake a bit press the gas to the floor. Increase brake pressure immediately enough to hold the car at a constant speed (45-50 mph). Watch your tach and speedo. If your RPM goes up then your clutch is slipping. If the car bogs and you are able to decrease your RPM's with increasing brake pedal pressure and the gas still to the floor then your clutch is ok.
