I don't know if this is a problem or what but maybe you guys can help me out. When I'm drive slowly up a steep grade (2-3 mph uphill), I hear this whirling sound from the clutch. It seems like the clutch is slipping or something but I'm not too sure...as it has never happened with my previous car. The car whould choke a bit when this whirling sound happens but it doesn't stall. I have to drive up this "hill" evertime to garage my car and hope this isn't hurting the car.

This only happens with I'm trying to go really slow where I am still pressing on the clutch pedal...and going up a hill.

I have a 2004 model with only ~700 mile on it...if it is a problem with the clutch then the Z have some weak *** clutch.

 

If it is the noise I am thinking of, it is normal, and my 04 Z did it as well, doesnt even have to be on a hill. The tranny/clutch like to make a lot of noise in the Z, you will get use to it, and its no problem.

Then again maybe I'm not thinking of the same noise...

 

jsn350Z, i'm not sure what the sound is that you're thinking about, but mine only happened when i'm going up a hill trying to go slow i.e. 2-4mph. It's kindda hard to describe the sound.

It's like the sound you get when your trying to stop a drill, wheel from spinning but can't and the drill, wheel slips from your grip. kindda like that but not exactly.

i odn't know... maybe you're right and i'm just worrying for nothing

 

I don’t have a Z yet, so I can’t say for sure – but – On many cars reverse the lower gears use straight-cut teeth because of better power transmission and they’re easier to make. The upper gears are helical cut and quieter. So it would be normal, and expected to hear some sort of whining gear while driving very slow.

 

Dude, if it happens when you still have your foot pressing on the clutch pedal then YOU are slipping your clutch. If you don't want the clutch to slip, then engage it fully by releasing the pedal. This is a good way to wear out your clutch very quickly. Also, if you are in too high of a gear for you RPMs going slowly up a hill (in third gear or even second sometimes) you will hear some abnormal sounds. Let the clutch out and give it some gas, man! You're burning the clutch away by your description.

 

that's perfectly normal. if you pop the clutch a little early you will have a little clutch chatter in this car. nothing to worry about.

 

"Dude, if it happens when you still have your foot pressing on the clutch pedal then YOU are slipping your clutch. If you don't want the clutch to slip, then engage it fully by releasing the pedal."

The problem is that i need to go very slowly because my garage entryway is narrow... maybe only an inch or so of slack on both side... if i release the clutch all the way i'd have to go faster than i want to as to not stall the car. If I am slipping the clutch .. then the clutch is a piece of crap... i had a honda prelude and drove up the same driveway the same way and never had that happen.
I guess I'll be replacing my clutch in the near future...but not because i want to.

 

I know what you mean...I got my last month and it has 4000 miles on it. Whenever I'm taking off from a stand still I have this "wobbly" sound from the drivetrain. I have several other manual cars and this problem doesnt exist in a single one.

ah well...i hope someone can explain what's happening.

 

When you don't release the clutch fully you are slipping the clutch like FLY BY Z said. This is not a problem with your clutch this is a problem with your foot. If you need to go slowly into the driveway and not stall then maybe you do have to slip the clutch.

You're just hearing some noise because our tranny is a loud one. If you did the same thing in the Honda Prelude (not releasing the clutch fully) then you were slipping the clutch in it too you just couldn't hear it because it probably has a quieter tranny.

 

I have to do the exact same thing, except I don't park on a hill. I have to slip it a little but I quickly disengage when I get the friendly roll (into the narrow confines of the garage).

 

"You're just hearing some noise because our tranny is a loud one. If you did the same thing in the Honda Prelude (not releasing the clutch fully) then you were slipping the clutch in it too you just couldn't hear it because it probably has a quieter tranny."

I don't think that's true.. because on the prelude when i don't release the clutch on the prelude and it starts to wobbly, all i have to do i gas it some more and it'll stop wobbling and start going. This is with the clutch still only half releases.. however, with the Z when i hear that sound and it starts to wobble and i gas it, it just wobble even worst...until i either release the clutch all the way or press it in all the way or let off the gas completely. never has this happen with the prelude.

I don't doubt that i may be slipping the prelude also but they sure do act differently.

 

Why do you ask a question then dismiss everyone's response? YOU are slipping the clutch because YOU cannot enter or exit your garage with the clutch out. What is your problem specifically? The noise the car makes from you slipping the clutch? or the fact that you cannot enter or exit the garage with the clutch out? Are you saying you didn't need to slip the clutch to get the honda through your garage? If it's the noise that bothers you get used to it, it's a sports car and you will feel and hear much more through the tranny. I think you are confusing the term clutch slip. Clutch slip when you are at full throttle and accelerating with the clutch fully engaged is indeed bad and would be the sign of a "piece of crap." Clutch slip with the clutch partially engaged is the designed purpose of the clutch. I just read your sig and notice you still have low miles maybe your clutch is still a little grabby from being new and it's not slipping as you are used to on your old honda?

 

My problem is that my car makes a noise while slowly going up a hill....and this is an unusual noise that i have never heard before... all I'm trying to do find out what is causing the noise and if it's a problem that'll hurt the car. Therefore, while I may be disagreeing with someone's diagnoses as to the cause of this noise, I am certainly not dismissing it. And this is only because I'm trying to narrow down the options and find out what it truely going on.

And yes I'm saying that it never 'slipped' when i was getting the prelude through the garage. However if it does happen with my prelude it sure doesn't sound the same nor doe it act the same as the Z. And that is why i question the quality of the clutch.

and yeah i may be using the wrong term but then again i don't even know why it's making that sound.

No, I'm not too concern about it.. but it'll be nice to know exactly what is going on.

 

It doesn't sound the same because it's not the same car/manufacturer/make/year/tranny/clutch pressure etc.

Just because a clutch sounds different doesn't mean it's worse or better than another. If you didn't only partially release the clutch, you wouldn't hear that sound.

Accept it, our tranny is noisy I'd make a bet that the stock Z clutch has a lot higher holding power than a Prelude clutch.