41 Lincoln chatter

[Guest jims41]

Getting a lot of chatter starting in 1st and reverse. Thought maybe the clutch, also was advised that the motor mounts and trans mount could also cause this. Any suggestions/ideas?

Car has 39k original miles, not driven much, maybe twice per year.

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

Oil, surface rust, moisture, all a result of disuse will cause it if it was not there before..

Yes mounts and things contribute, but uneven clutch surface on the flywheel causes it..Think of a brake rotor, you develop a shudder, shimmy..grabbing..call it what you like..it is the same priciple..uneven machine ground surface against a fiberous lining,...the high spots hit first causing the action, resurface / "tru" the rotor or flywheel, and address the cause..the rest just amplify it..

for now.. Drive it ..get it hot...burn the surface off the clutch..it will chatter less.. These cars run better and better if run a a regular basis.

Load up a cooler and go for a picnic 25 miles away...you wont even notice the clutch!!

Edited May 26, 2010 by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history)

[Phil Knapp]

These old Lincolns have the same mechanical design as the Early Ford V8 cars, and are subject to "clutch chatter". The fix for Fords is a strap which bolts to the botom of the transmission and connects to the frame crossmember. It provides a little tension to keep the engine/transmission assembly from moving back and forth while engaging the clutch - causing clutch chatter. I suppose that new, tight motor mounts might solve the problem, but an easier solution is to construct a bracket like the one shown in the attched photos.

The buyer of my 1939 Zephyr was concerned about a little clutch chatter, so I fabricated the bracket shown in green, which fixed the problem.