1989 240SX XE - Clutch problem I think...

[Mr. Dustin]

Alright, so the story goes like this:A couple of friends of mine recently bought themselves Z31s and as these are their first RWD sports-car type cars last night we were in a 1/2 gravel 1/2 paved parking lot just south of the city so they could, um, "learn proper car control techniques", yeah, that's it.

Point is, out of all this tomfoolery I managed to screw something up in my car in what we'll call a failed standing burnout attempt. Basically now when I let off the clutch to engage it from a standstill it rattles/stutters/vibrates while it's catching until it is fully engaged. It does it a little bit when engaging into second if i'm going slow and reverse as well but not at all when I am up to speed and going into 3rd,4th or 5th so the key seems to be engaging the clutch at low speeds. It's not slipping any more than usual and I'm driving exactly like how I did before when it would engage smoothly.

Any ideas as to what's causing this and how severe it is or if it'll just work itself out?

P.S.: Save the "ZOMFG SEARCH!!!!!! " rants, I already did, only post replies regarding the topic please.

[MaximA32]

Could possibly be a bad throwout bearing. Does the noise subside when you have the clutch pedal in a certain position?

[Mr. Dustin]

Not particularly, it starts when the clutch starts catching after I begin letting off the pedal and stops as soon as the clutch is fully engaged. Kinda like if the engine were lugging because of not having the revs high enough, except that they are and everything is fine as soon as the clutch finishes engaging.

It does seem to be going away the more I drive so I'm not too worried about it.

[Robi1]

Are you getting any burnt smell? is it cable or hydraulic linkage? If there is a smell like bunrt brakes then the clutch will be glazed. usually means take it out, if its badly burnt it will be shiny black colour. if there is enough material on the clutch plate it can be scuffed with 60 grit sandpaper or coarse file. or there may not be enough pressure on the linkage. if you can let it out (on a cable linkage its a matter of adjusting the cable) on a hydraulic system if you can move the cylider back then fine. if not live with it. or if the heavy right foot on gravel road condition persists then a good quality racing clutch/pressure plate may be a necessity. Factory systems can't quite handle that kind of punishment for long periods.