engine/transmission shuddering badly on 1st gear, Not sure if clutch or transmission mounts Options

[HectortheRican]

So this has been going on for a little while to a small degree, but it recently got pretty bad after a short road trip in the car. First gear on flat pavement and downhill is generally ok, but I'm getting very bad shudders when disengaging the clutch and applying throttle when going uphill. It sometimes happens on a flat, but it's easier to modulate the clutch pedal to avoid the shudders in that situation.

Any ideas what it could be? I have a hard time believing the clutch is slipping because I don't smell burnt clutch (30,000 miles since summer 2012). Perhaps worn transmission mounts? I'll have to get under the car and visually inspect. I did a gear oil flush back in February with Pennzoil Synchromesh, but I haven't checked the levels since the shuddering began. These are the few scenarios I'm thinking of.

This does not happen in any other gear - not even reverse while backing up a hill. Only in 1st gear.

This post has been edited by HectortheRican: Nov 16, 2016 - 6:21 PM

[Box]

Sounds like trans mount is starting to go. Unless you do 6K clutch dumps all the time.

[Bitter]

Probably a mount issue, they're under the most torque in first gear. Have a friend watch the engine from next to the car, put it in 1st and set the parking brake and kind of 'dip' into the clutch without stalling it. They'll be able to see if the engine is jumping or lurching.

[HectortheRican]

Thanks guys, I will look into this.
I just tried to fill the transmission with oil and only got less than 1/4 quart until it started spilling out.

Right now, I'm having to start at about 2k to keep from shuddering too much.

I'm I'm Denver right now, so if it's the transmission mount, I think it should hold fine until I get back to ABQ. The engine is otherwise smooth in all other gears and cruising at 60-80mph on the highway.

Are there any aftermarket mounts you suggest? Or OEM? I'd love poly mounts, but they don't make AT200 mounts, to my knowledge.

This post has been edited by HectortheRican: Nov 16, 2016 - 8:51 PM

[Box]

My hypothesis is if it just started getting really bad after arriving in Denver I bet it's a lot colder there than it is in Alburquerque, cold makes the rubber hard and hence the vibration more noticeable.

I'm not sure if they make poly mounts, at least they're not carried on RockAuto that carries the Energy Suspension stuff for most cars. Went through this ordeal on my brother's Maxima, tried aftermarket mounts and they were crap and ended up with the O.E. Nissan mount in the end anyway. Personally I'd go o.e. for rubber, or go to an aftermarket poly.

This post has been edited by Box: Nov 16, 2016 - 9:33 PM

[HectortheRican]

My hypothesis is if it just started getting really bad after arriving in Denver I bet it's a lot colder there than it is in Alburquerque, cold makes the rubber hard and hence the vibration more noticeable.

It's actually warmer in Denver than Albuquerque... for now. It's 80° today, but dropping to ~45° tomorrow. Let's hope that doesn't aggravate the issue too much.
But OE rubber, eh? Well it'll go further in the long run. Thanks for the advice.

[Box]

You could see how much the O.E. is and if it's astronomical could consider an aftermarket, but yeah tried to do the aftermarket mounts since they were cheaper and it was a '98 Maxima with a crap ton of miles so didn't want to spend more than needed but the aftermarket mounts gave out within a week or two. After replacing the aftermarket under warranty and it gave out again, it's not like he was dumping the clutch and beating on it either, was fed up and replaced with an O.E. that gave no problems. Could've been a bad batch of mounts but still, if anything the O.E. mount made it some 20 years and 200K miles and if it's a car you plan to keep it's worth it.

[richee3]

For what it's worth, 3 of the 4 mounts are on the trans. The rear mount is the most likely to go bad, but the driver side mount bears the weight. What brand of clutch is in the car? New, resurfaced, or lightweight flywheel?

[HectortheRican]

For what it's worth, 3 of the 4 mounts are on the trans. The rear mount is the most likely to go bad, but the driver side mount bears the weight. What brand of clutch is in the car? New, resurfaced, or lightweight flywheel?

Clutch is a basic SACHS OE replacement from O'Rielly and flywheel is OEM resurfaced. When the clutch goes I want to get an Exedy Stage 1 and lightweight flywheel..