High clutch pack and tranny mount???

Well I took my '96 SVX w/47k to my local Subby dealer to have them check out my tranny mount and rear diff mounts. I've been feeling some slack on/off throttle in 3rd around town. Instead of checking what I asked, I believe they checked the "shifting" of my tranny and came back with "99% sure your high clutch pack needs to be replaced". Cost of quote $100, I hate going to dealers.

So my first question is, anyone know what the symptoms of a bad "high clutch pack" are? I have the small car kit and besides an abrupt 1st-2nd shift now and then, it seems to shift fine.

Second, since I don't think they checked any of my mounts, I'm still wondering if any of them need changing. So here are my symptoms:
1) slack with thump, on/off throttle in 3rd around town
2) same but not as much, when locked in 4th on highway

But, it doesn't seem as severe as some other posts I've read. Like it never thumps from a dead stop. But it will sometimes on abrupt "rolling" stops. It never thumps when going from Park to Reverse or Drive. It never thumps when not locked into a gear.

I'm thinking my tranny mount might be tired, but not completely torn. Is that possible? How about the rear diff mounts? Can they start to go bad or will they just fail?

If I do nothing, since it's not that bad and I can easily avoid the thumps with a smoother right foot, can I do more harm to other components?

Thanks in advance!!!

[lee]

Originally posted by rount5
So my first question is, anyone know what the symptoms of a bad "high clutch pack" are? I have the small car kit and besides an abrupt 1st-2nd shift now and then, it seems to shift fine.

Really bad high clutch and it starts slipping with acceleration in 4th eventually slipping in 3rd too. Just starting to go bad and the shift quality to 3rd & 4th is degraded. Have you noticed any difference?

Originally posted by rount5
Second, since I don't think they checked any of my mounts, I'm still wondering if any of them need changing. So here are my symptoms:
1) slack with thump, on/off throttle in 3rd around town
2) same but not as much, when locked in 4th on highway

The transaxle mount is normally found bad by giving it a bit of gas in reverse. That causes the torque reaction to lift up on the transaxle and you get a thump sound when it falls back down after letting off the gas. Not sure what constitutes a bad rear diff mount symptom.

Hmm, I don't think I have any issues in 3rd or 4th gear. Especially no slipping issues. Still very confused as to how this dealer came up with "99% sure it needs high clutch pack replaced"

I was thinking the small tranny kit may have fooled them, but that would be the opposite symptoms, correct? Should I be concerned because my dealer said so??? Sucks because part of me says the dealers trying to make a few bucks off of me, the other part is somewhat paranoid that I have some sort of "high clutch pack" issue. Anyone else ever have this issue?

I'm gonna give that reverse test a try and listen for a thump. My feeling is that it's the tranny mount, maybe on the verge of going bad. But sounds like the only real way to check is to remove it. Thanks for the tip!!!

[lee]

Here are the symptoms of a failing high clutch (per ATRA). Of course this isn't the only thing that can be wrong, just symptoms that involve a high clutch failure.

Acceleration is poor when select lever is in “D”, “3” or “2” range (normal stall rpm).

Acceleration is poor when select lever is in “R” (normal stall rpm).

No shift occurs from 2nd to 3rd gear.

Odor is produced from ATF supply pipe.

Slipping occurs from 2nd to 3rd gear.

You might want to look at the transaxle manual, part I, in my locker (for a trouble symptoms table). There are also some tests anyone can run, like the time lag test. But I should warn you, I'm not a tranny technician, just some slob who collected a bunch of info as my second tranny in 30K miles started failing.

[oab_au]

Gid'ay mate, I reckon the dealers high clutch, diagnosis is about as accurate as the $100 replacement cost.

From what you say, I would not think the high clutch is the cause of the problem. With only 47k, it should not see any gear box problems for the next 100k.(fingers crossed ).

It does seem like the mounts could be slack to do it, but it could also be caused by the over run clutch, being applied late, when you lift your foot. This could be caused by the throttle sensor setting, or by the shift kit adjustment. I would try disconnecting the kit, to see if it removes the thump.

I am 99% sure that the box is ok.

Harvey.

The $100 wasn't the estimate to fix anything. They charged me $100 to NOT check what I asked them to check, and instead handed me a 'high clutch pack' problem on an SVX w/47k.

Well I just got back from some additional testing. I disconnected the small car kit which also disconnected the resistor as well. It was the first time trying the 'resistor mod', kinda liked the way it shifted. It felt like it shifted smoother and crisper. 1st to 2nd was less harsh, and 2nd to 3rd wasn't harsh at all. Nice until I let off the gas in 3rd, what, no engine braking, weird. Put it in 2nd, no engine braking, switched to 'manual' mode, still no engine braking. No thanks, don't like it.

Came back, did some searching and it all sounds normal. Went back out, connected the resistor but bypassed the small car kit. Go to start and the ATF temp light starts blinking. Gasp, never seen that before. Blinked for a few secs then went out. Hope I never see that again. Guess all the heat from no engine braking caused it????

Went out for a ride, resistor w/o small kit, everything seem normal. Well all except the minor to moderate thump on/off throttle when TC's locked and rolling stop/starts. That never went away regardless of resistor or small kit setup.

I did do one more test. While in the garage, I put it 'R' and gave it a little gas with the brakes on(so not moving). Well I can hear some movement in the rear, like crunching movement, but not so harsh like metal against metal crunching. Put it in 'D', give a little gas, no noise. Back to 'R', little gas, same sound. So it doesn't sound very solid back there. Oh, I also tried putting it in 'R' and giving a good blast of gas without brakes on, no thump. And yes the garage door was open.

So I checked out the rear diff mounts, the 2 above the plugs. They look to be ok. I'm now thinking rear strut mounts? Any other mounts or bushings back there I should check?

[oab_au]

You might check the lower trailing links. There the small ones that run from the body, to the bottom of the hub. They could allow the hub to move, as you go on and off the throttle.

Harvey.

I think I fixed the slack problem, but not sure why.

I reconnected the small car kit after testing and decided to adjust it to firm up the shifting. I turned the interenal screw one full turn in, or clockwise. I noticed a slight increase in firmness of 2-3 shifing.

But the real difference is that the slack I was feeling during on/off/on throttle has diminished. I'm not sure how the two are related, but the improvement seems real. Still a small amount of slack, but it now seems more normal for awd. I'm gonna try turning the screw in further to see if it improves some more.

Any idea why adjusting the small car kit would help this? Those that have adjusted their small kit, how may turns have you adjusted?