I have a 1970 Baja beetle, the one in my avatar. For some reason, when Im starting out in 1st, if i let out the clutch too fast, or im starting off on a hill, the whole car shakes, bad. I can see the tail pipe shaking left to right a good 6 inches or more in the rearview. It's shook so hard it slips out of gear a few times. Once I get started it shifts fine into the rest of the gears, even if im rockin through them. I dropped the engine and took apart the clutch assembly and for the most part it looks ok, i think. (i'll post some pictures of it if needed). I did notice when removing the engine, that one of the top bell housing bolts was missing, but i souldnt think that would cause that bad of shaking. the rubber blocks under the bell housing are in good shape. I have no idea where to go from here to stop the shaking.

here's a photo of the rear end before removing the motor.



Im new to VW's so if any of this seems noobish, im sorry.

and thanks in advance for any help

-Bob

Typically a chattering clutch means a dirty clutch. Time for replacement. Even a fingerprint can cause havoc, and as far as I know, there's not much you can do about it.

Kyle

Check your trans mount bolts.

OK, Mounts and a bad clutch can cause this, but in my experience the first thing that needs to be addressed is the clutch cable and the tube it runs through. First make sure that the tube that runs inside the tunnel hasnt broken the welds that hold it. In a baja you should be able to pull the inspection plate off of the front (right on the frame head between the 2 beam tubes) and shine a light down in there and have someone press the clutch and see if the tube moves, if so you will need to cut a couple of holes in the side of the tunnel and re-weld the tube back in place. Next make sure the bowden tube (flexible tube that goes between the trans and the floor pan) has a droop down about one inch, if not you can install washers on the end of the bowden tube on the trans side to make the tube bow like it should. Then check your mounts, especially the front mount. And lastly check the clutch itself if none of the above fixes the issue.

Thanks everyone for the advise. i'll check the cable and such. meanwhile, here's the pictures of the clutch plate and flywheel..

YUP,,TIME FOR A NEW ONE!!

The flywheel should be ok though right?

clutch looks like it is the worst...

You'll have to have it resurfaced, if it isn't thick enough you'll have get a replacement.

I have a horrid chatter on my P/U and the flywheel looked similar to yours and I didn't have it resurfaced, well ya, not good. I thought sanding it would work, but didn't.

You might check your timing, that can cause the engine to shake under load.

I've got a lathe, havnt checked to see if the swing is big enough to fit the flywheel. if not i have access to a bigger lathe. do you think .001" would be too much?

edit:
wait, that's prob. hardened isn't it? if it is, that could pose a problem.

If the surface is fairly smooth just sand it and go. If you end up turning it on a lathe, just make sure you turn the step where the pressure plate mounts also, this will keep the correct pressure on the disc.