Hey all,

was just wondering if anybody has the same problem as i have with their car.

When the car has been stationairy or left overnight and i drive it in the morning the clutch shudders quite badly in first gear when pulling away.

The clutch is not worn and it seems to be a differnt problem, once the clutch is warmed up the problem dissapears. I have been able to stop the shudering by bringing the clutch up slower (not that i dump it when i pull away normally). I have to pull out onto a busy road when leaving my street, the road has a 40mph speed limit so sometimes i have to pull away quickly to take the gaps and this is mainly when i get a judder, it only lasts a few seconds but its damn annoying.

Anyway like i said the clucth doesnt judder when its been warmed up a bit and ive been driving for a few minutes and it only judders when pulling away in 1st gear.

My dad and i reckon its a design fault with either the pressure plate or one of the spring set ups around the clutch.

Its not a major problem and like i said i can lessen the affects by bringing the clutch up really slowly

i was just wondering if anybody has identified the cause of the problem and if anybody has managed to fix it.

I dont think its a serious problem but then i dont want to have some catastrophoc clutch failure if its a part waiting to break completely.


Thanks in adavce for any suggestions and info! :worship:


Ricky

Am not sure on the 1.4 however I do know that the Punto 1.2 8v suffers this as a major fault and that it is recognised as a fault by Fiat dealers. Having replaced one for a friend the clutch was less than quarter worn. Having examined the clutch, In my opinion I felt that the release bearing had over time damaged the fingers on the pressure plate.

Only cure is a new clutch kit. this prioblem in lesser cases seems to effect the 1.2 16v engines as well. Would be likely to be your cause.

Is it when your car is cold or is it when the car has been stood for a while? There could be a possibility that you have a slight oil leak that over a period is contaminating the clutch plate. Hence why it goes away once used... Just a thought.

Hello, i have kind of the same problem but mines not the clutch. I have a bravo 1.2 80sx and it judders normally when im in second gear bu does happen in others, its as if it is running low of petrol and is about to cut out. This is starting to happen alot now. The car has just been fully serviced so i know its not that, Can anyone help out or suggest something?

At a guess, a coil pack. Or a fueling problem maybe some injector cleaner would help. Hopefully someone with more experience on the 1.2 engines will come and answer for you.

In the meantime can you supply some more info. Does it do it when cold in particular as in when you have just set off or does it do it constantly under any conditions.

It still could be a clutch problem a warped friction plate possibly. Does it do it just on gear changes?

Okay There are few things you can try.

1) in the morning start the car. Dont put your foot on the accelerator. put the cluch down and select 2nd gear. lift the cluch really slowly until the car starts to get biting point. if it starts to judder before the revs drop about a 1/4 then its more likly to be a warped plate or disk or miss aligned.

2) if it does not judder untill you drive the car. then it could be that the berings in the clutch have eather not been replaced when the clutch were or that the bearings are not installed perfectly straight.

Both of the above are garage jobs.

The other thing to check is before you start the car open the bonnet and check for any play on the clutch arm and cable. if the arm moves easily or moves in the direction the cable does not pull it in then you need a new Clutch arm. Garage fit normally. if the cable moves try ajusting it a little until its taught but not pullin it.

then start the car. and try it.

If you decide to go the new clutch then get a new arm and mounts bearing etc. there only about £20 - 30 for most cars. but dont quote me on that due to my getting trade.

Thanks for the posts everyone. Im pretty certain its not an oil leakage problem.

Sorry i was slightly unclear- it judders when the clutch is cold and not when it has been sitting for a while.

Im almost certain its a problem with the diaphragm springs of the pressure plate or the other clutch springs (sorry dont know the tech term) that absorb the shock if the clutch plate hits the flywheel hard.

I would doubt that the clutch is shuddering due to wear and tear because th car only has 51K on it. Also if the clutch was worn then it would judder all the time.

Thanks Everyone for the helpfull comments, im going to try Falcon II's suggestion because it could also be a problem with the bearings.


Ricky

The punto I had changed the clutch on had done 31k

To look at the clutch all looked fine. It was only a real close look at the pressure plate fingers where they are contacted by the release bearing.

I ve got a similar problem now with my 1.2 80sx brava y reg 59k, my car starts to shudder (only now and again) in first gear. I took it to a fiat dealer and he said I need a new clutch kit and they charge £328 fitted. (I got it for £250 at a fiat dealer)

Do you have to fight to get the car into gear? (sometimes/or all of the time)

Also does the clutch feel heavy?

Hi, my car judders whether it is cold or been running all day, mostly in second gear, and sometimes i have trouble getting into second

yeh i sometimes have trouble finding 2nd and occasionally 1st gear too.

Although im pretty sure thats due to worn synchronisers in the gear box and isnt clutch related. i find if i have the clutch depressed (disengaged from the engine) and the revs drop then it slips right in, the synchros cant seem to handle higher rev shifts anymore so what you can do is when shifting from 1st to 2nd:

- shift into neutral
- bring the clutch up
-allow the revs to drop
- shift into the next gear (2nd in this case)
- engage the clutch again,

this helps everything mesh properly and with a bit of practise can be done in a fraction of a second.

its basically called a "double de-clutch" and its what everyone who drove most old cars without synchromesh gearboxes had to do to shift gears normally.

Anyway im sorry to get side tracked this threads about the clutch problem (i suppose theres always other problems as its a Fiat! )


I cant really afford to have the clutch checked or replaced at the moment and the problem isnt bad enough to be dangerous so i guess i'll have to wait a bit before i can sort it.