Car vibrating when idle...any ideas?

squeaky

maniac886 wrote: »

Hi All,

I have a Ford Focus 1.6LX(02 reg) and I have noticed something strange happening over the last few weeks.

When I stop at the lights I put the handbrake up and press the clutch pedal down with the car in first gear. However for the last week or so I have noticed that the car is vibrating, I think the vibration is coming from the engine, its only a small vibration but still noticeable. I don't think its reving as such as the counter remains static!

Any ideas what this could possibly be?

Thanks in advance! :money:

Yep!

Your fault.

When you press on the clutch the mechanism pushes on the thrust bearing to move the clutch plates apart.

With the engine running the thrust bearing has one side turning, and is under pressure. This kinda tends to wear it out a whole lot quicker than normal usage.

The system is designed to be used for the short period involved in a gear change - not to be used while sitting for however long at traffic lights.

If you stick to putting the car in neutral and not riding the clutch it should keep going for quite a while longer.

maniac886

squeaky wrote: »

Yep!

Your fault.

When you press on the clutch the mechanism pushes on the thrust bearing to move the clutch plates apart.

With the engine running the thrust bearing has one side turning, and is under pressure. This kinda tends to wear it out a whole lot quicker than normal usage.

The system is designed to be used for the short period involved in a gear change - not to be used while sitting for however long at traffic lights.

If you stick to putting the car in neutral and not riding the clutch it should keep going for quite a while longer.

Oh dear thats how my instructor taught me. When you stop at lights handbreak up clutch down and stick it into first gear..didn't know this would screw my motor! :mad:

deltic_2

Conor wrote: »

A lot of money, virtually all of it labour. You'd be as well putting another £60 to it and getting the full clutch changed as well.

Good advice.

On the basis that its a small vibration and only in limited circumstances, I'd be inclined to leave it for a while until it gets worse or noisier.

Then when it does need doing have the whole clutch assembly replaced with a new clutch kit. Look out for clutch kits as they are often cheaper then the the individual parts i.e. clutch disc, plate and thrust bearing.

squeaky

maniac886 wrote: »

Oh dear thats how my instructor taught me. When you stop at lights handbreak up clutch down and stick it into first gear..didn't know this would screw my motor! :mad:

Check to see if his brother owns the local garage

maniac886

Can I just ask whats the best way of testing the clutch?

goldspanners

when stationary put it in to a high gear like 4th or 5th and try to pull away,if it does pull away then the clutch is slipping,if it stalls then the clutch plates have plenty life left in them.

Tesla

goldspanners wrote: »

when stationary put it in to a high gear like 4th or 5th and try to pull away,if it does pull away then the clutch is slipping,if it stalls then the clutch plates have plenty life left in them.

This is completely false. If your clutch was slipping it would be a real struggle to pull away, espescially in such a high gear.

The actual test is to put the car into 4th or 5th and with the handbreak applied pull away. It will require a few more revs but if you pull away then the clutch is pretty much ok.

If revs increase with clutch out but no movement of the vehicle then the clutch is slipping.

Inactive

maniac886 wrote: »

Oh dear thats how my instructor taught me. When you stop at lights handbreak up clutch down and stick it into first gear..didn't know this would screw my motor! :mad:

Your instructor was teaching you to pass a basic driving test, not teaching you to drive.;)

Poor driving style will cause premature clutch failure.

maniac886

Well I tried the test this morning. I stopped the car on level ground, put handbreak up and put it into 4th gear... gave the car plenty of gas and released the handbreak. The car did move forward but very slowly but it did not stall.

No ideas what this means..hopefully you guys will be able to tell me!

Jamp

Your problem sounds like the clutch's thrust bearing, not the friction material, so that test was of no real use. Unless your car has been treated very harshly then it shouldn't need new a clutch friction plate for at least another 50k miles. If, however, you do have to replace the thrust bearing, you might as well replace the friction material at the same time, as mentioned above.

Has the problem come on suddenly or built up over time? I would improve your driving style/mechanical sympathy and see what happens over the coming weeks. When you're going to be stationary for more than 30 seconds, put your handbrake on, change into neutral and release the clutch pedal. Since in the UK we have the amber traffic light for "get set", there's plenty of time to engage first gear and move off when the light goes green, if you're paying attention Plenty of people don't know the damage they might be doing though, and always have the clutch to the floor as you've been doing. Plenty of people also ride the brake pedal at traffic lights, dazzling anyone sat behind them in a low car :mad: