short test drive?

[Big_O]

Hi,

Took the TR6 out for it's first drive! It lasted about 4 miles! Has anybody run into these problems before? First I noticed a sever shake in the chasis (not the steering wheel)at about 30 to 35 mph, the car ran smooth at all other speeds. Second, the clutch pedal was firm when I left the house, but got softer and softer until it would not disengage. Thanks in advance for ant advice!

 

[kodanja]

Did you check your clutch fluid after the ride?
(could be MC or Slave) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

What type of shaking?

 

[John_Mc]

I would second what kodanja said. Also, does your car have the old plastic hose running from master to slave cylinder? Supposedly, those can soften up with heat and then they expand under pressure instead of transmitting that pressure to the slave cylinder. I replaced mine with the braided stainless steel hose and that seemed to help.

 

[Big_O]

Thanks for the info, I did check the fluid level, down about 1/8 inch, but no sign of leakage at either the master or slave. It still has the plastic hose, where can I get a braided ss hose? Could the fluid be leaking past the piston in the master cylinder?
As for the shake, it is hard to describe, but the entire car sort of vibrated at around 30 mph (kind of scarie, like a horse shaking it's head) and then was smooth as can be up to about 60. The vibration seemed to be harmonic rather than speed related, any ideas?

Thanks,

 

[DougF]

Does the vibration occur only when the car is rolling? Try moving forward and backward. Do you hear a clunk? If so, you may have a loose joint in the drive train. I had an out of balance driveshaft that vibrated throughout the car. It wasn't severe, but was bad enough to leave me weak kneed after a few hours behind the wheel.
Hopefully, it is just something loose.

 

[MGTF1250Dave]

Regarding the shake, how your old are your tires? I have experienced the belts delaminating inside the tire and it cause a severe vibration at lower speeds, but will disappear at higher speeds. Unfortunately, you usually can't see any problem with the tire until it is off the wheel.

 

[crj7driver]

As the others have said if the car has been sitting on the tires for a while, they may be out of round a take a while to correct themselves.

Also, one of the wheels was bent on my 6 (the face of the wheel in relation to the rotating disk) when I bought it and it caused quite a shimey/shake. It was noticable enough for other cars/people to comment on. I took them to a wheel shop and they confirmed it...time for a new wheel.

One way to check to see if it is bent is rotate your wheels, if it was on your front..now rear it will be much less noticable and visa versa.

Good Luck