I think my RPM's are a little high....

[fieval79]

Not sure on this, since I've always had the 4cyl mx3.....but I think my rpm's are high.

At 45mph in 4th gear my rpm's are at 3grand
At 55mph in 5th gear they are at 3500

and the car seems very sluggish...

Is this normal? If not, how do I fix it? LOL


I tried searching, but could find no answers except get a new transmission from and mx6/probe......

<small>[ June 10, 2004, 04:40 PM: Message edited by: fieval79 ]</small>

[mdavis]

I have a v6 but that sounds right.. It's not uncommon for me to run at 5-6k on the freeway..

-Morgan

[UoMDeacon]

You run 6k on the highway??? 4k on my V6 is 80mph...

[fieval79]

I haven't had the 3 up to 80 yet.....just got it on the road (legal) 2 days ago. It has been in my garage since I bought it a month ago.


I know that in my old 3 (94 Rs) that at 45mph in 4th gear it was at like ~2100rpms.

Never had a v6 though (all other cars 4 bangers.)

[RoundTop]

I can pull 50mph in 2nd gear on my v6 at about 6500. XD

[tical]

yeah, im doin 80 at 4 grand, ive been up to 135 and that was at about 6300rpm in 5th, i dont like to go past 6500. if what your sayin is correct, U BALLIN.....lol

[perhapsadingo8yerbaby]

Originally posted by fieval79:
Not sure on this, since I've always had the 4cyl mx3.....but I think my rpm's are high.
At 45mph in 4th gear my rpm's are at 3grand
At 55mph in 5th gear they are at 3500
and the car seems very sluggish...
Is this normal? If not, how do I fix it? LOL

Sounds like a slipping clutch on it's way out which is just "gone" enough that you're seeing the effects only in the upper gears--pretty typical. If so, you'll notice the same effect soon in 3rd. Might be time for a replacement clutch, but not necessarily time for a whole new tranny.

[fieval79]

that's what I thought at first. But then had second thoughts because it engages good into gear.... iunno. I was thinking about putting in a new clutch with my swap anyways. Now I'll definetly do it.

[perhapsadingo8yerbaby]

If it is your clutch wearing out, engaging it should become progressively weaker fairly soon... like any day now so that'll tell ya more. My first worn out clutch behaved the same way, would seem to engage ok in all gears, but once engaged (in 4th & 5th) rpms would spin up without the car picking up much speed or would take a while to get up to speed. Within several days (in 4th & 5th) the rpms would spin up when engaging & I would pick up no speed at all. That was when I noticed same symptoms developing in 3rd that were happening before in 4th/5th.

Sounds like a good idea to replace it with your swap. Don't know when ya have that planned but meanwhile, go real easy on the clutch to keep it functioning a bit longer. You may even find you need to ride in a lower gear sometimes because it gets too weak to hold firmly in the upper gears. This can be most noticeable when going up hills (even slight upgrades), or trying to pass, and when the car has been running awhile at normal operating temp. I've successfully babied a dying clutch ok for 2-3 months on an MGB but also had less than 2 weeks before my Celica clutch became practically useless. G'luck.

<small>[ June 11, 2004, 04:44 AM: Message edited by: perhapsadingo8yerbaby ]</small>

[IanL]

There's just a chance you may be able to get a bit more out of it, if its a weak spring rather than the lining worn completely. It depends where it bites. If it's high up, you can try adjusting it. The free play (amount the pedal can be moved by hand before resistance is felt when it starts to move the clutch) is supposed to be between 0.2 and 0.6 inches. You slacken the locknut on the rod which the pedal arm pushes through the firewall, then turn the rod to increase the free play to at least half an inch, then tighten the locknut.

It is possible, if you leave things too long, to damage the flywheel surface beyond repair with some clutches. The rivets on the disk lining can gouge the surface once the lining is worn down sufficiently.

[fieval79]

I am doing the swap within the next month. Got a 2.5 kl03 I'm buying for $250. I was going to get that exedy clutch kit just because. I've heard it's a decent one (it's cheap).

These symptoms are nothing like my last clutch when it died on the RS. That one wouldn't work in lower gears. In fact, my wife couldn't even drive the car because she couldn't get it to move in 1st or 2nd gear. I was the only one who could drive it. I made that one last 2 months.

I wouldn't want to damage the flywheel.....those things are pricey!!!

[Golliwog]

Yeah those numbers definitly seem high to me as well, I have both the RS and a GS, both 94's and the GS tends to be around 3300 or so @ 60mph, and the RS tends to be at around 2800 or at the same speed.

[xXdaveXx]

Originally posted by RoundTop:
I can pull 50mph in 2nd gear on my v6 at about 6500. XD

wth.. i pull 55mph in second gear @ 6200rmp with my slow sohc ... guess u aint revin it up too much .. v6 cuts at what? 7000 rpm?

<small>[ June 13, 2004, 04:48 AM: Message edited by: xXdaveXx ]</small>