Rough clutch engagement after driving long distance

icantshift

Member
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2002 Protege5 5spd
I recently had my first long (3hr ~300 km) trip in my car and noticed a strange clutch issue. I first noticed the issue when I got off the highway and into town after crusing in 5th for a few hours and came up to the first stoplight. I started in first as usual but noticed the clutch was engaging rough (car jerks forward instead of smoothly accelerating). Once the clutch is fully let out it doesn't slip or anything and shifting is buttery smooth. I didn't smell any clutch either. I continued to notice it only starting in 1st gear from a stop. I parked for a few hours at my destination and the car cooled down. When I started driving around town after the car rested it felt fine, and continued to feel fine driving people around town all night. On my way home I noticed it again but it wasn't quite as bad. The highway was busier and I hit more stoplights closer to my home town and the problem had almost completely gone away by the time I got home. Weird. Car has 112000kms and is on the original clutch.

Do I need a new clutch? Or is this normal after driving for long periods of time.

Thanks
 
Haha, your name is icantshift...

In all reality though, clutches act differently in different temp ranges. Mighta been hot, but it could have just been you. I sometimes have a moment where my car somehow feels different than usual. I also tend to hear things that dont exist sometimes. A bad clutch wont grab very hard at all and will tend to slip
 
112,000 kms is about 70,000 miles, low mileage. i just replaced the oe factory clutch on mine at 149,000 miles (about 5,000 miles ago for me) it maybe the clutch going out however as stated above a bad clutch wont grab hard and will slip.
 
112,000 kms is about 70,000 miles, low mileage. i just replaced the oe factory clutch on mine at 149,000 miles (about 5,000 miles ago for me) it maybe the clutch going out however as stated above a bad clutch wont grab hard and will slip.

Yeah I definitely felt like it was grabbing harder than usual, opposite of slipping. It was weird because my whole engine would shake violently a few times causing my shifter to shake and my exhaust to rattle.
 
hm, check your slave cylinder, it maybe sticking. check your brake fluid level as well.
 
Not sure if it's the same problem you are describing but cracks in the accordian hose caused my car to lurch. I also replaced 3 of 4 engine mounts (the rear isn't done yet) and that helped make the car smoother.
 
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