Weird throttle problem, Clutch?

[brainerj]

I am about 90 percent sure this is my clutch going out.
My car in any gear has a definite power loss upon initial acceleration (when you first give it ANY gas. It just doesn't seem to be as ballsy as it usually is either. Maybe a boost leak or other problem? I just don't want to fork out almost 2 gs right now for a clutch if that isn't the problem. My redline has about 36000 mi. Anyone have any guesses or further questions?

[theneelster]

Originally Posted by brainerj

I am about 90 percent sure this is my clutch going out.
My car in any gear has a definite power loss upon initial acceleration (when you first give it ANY gas. It just doesn't seem to be as ballsy as it usually is either. Maybe a boost leak or other problem? I just don't want to fork out almost 2 gs right now for a clutch if that isn't the problem. My redline has about 36000 mi. Anyone have any guesses or further questions?

Hmmm...the easiest way to tell is to take it on the highway get to speed in 4th and hit the throttle, if the rpms go up quickly but you aren't getting any additional speed then your clutch is slipping.

You can't really tell at low speeds because we have a problem with wheel spin/hop especially in 1st. I don't think it's a boost leak because boost is limited in 1st to begin with...plus you'd probably be throwing some code.

Just looking at your mods, you're getting close to the threshold for the factory clutch (which I think is 300ish) so it's probably the clutch.

[RailHomie]

I would definitely make SURE that it's the clutch because it should last longer than that. My car has 116K miles on it now and it still has the stock clutch. Of course, it has a lot to do with how you drive it too...

[brainerj]

The clutch has not been abused badly, by any means. The weird problem that makes me think its not the clutch is that the rpms don't shoot up real quick like you would expect if it was slipping. It just seems like it is taking the car a second to get settled before everything is in place to accelerate properly. Anyone have something like this?

[Watts-Up]

Yeah you would definitely know if it was the clutch. It would hit the rev limiter and you would go nowhere. And it would stink and smoke really bad.

[silversatrn]

prob with your tune??

[OEM_Reject]

could just be a dirty throttle body or air filter. the car tends to take a nosedive when you stab the throttle with either of these problems. super easy to fix too. check the maf too.

[brainerj]

Just did a full service on my TB, MAF sensor, and AEM filter. Unless I somehow screwed that up, but it ran fine for months after that. Vacuum leak maybe? Is it possible I am just in the beginning stages of needing a clutch? I guess I just need to take it to Saturn to check it out. Plus my interceptor hasn't read a single code.

[OEM_Reject]

this may be asking a dumb question, but what rpms are you shifting at before you stab the throttle? If its lower than 4000 to 4500, then you'll see an initial nose dive in power because you are out of the "power band". theres plenty of guys on here who could explain it much more technically than me, but lets say you shift from 2nd to 3rd, when you go into 3rd, you're at 1700rpms and you stomp the gas pedal. This will cause a hesitation before you get any power. The computer has to compensate for the drastic change in airflow when the t/b is wide open. Hope that makes sense.