Mcleod RXT 1200

I am getting a "clacking" noise when I engage my transmission into first gear. It almost sounds like a clunk or a clack. When the car is stopped and in neutral and I put it into first gear with the clutch still pushed down the transmission or clutch makes the noise. Its very noticeable. Is this a normal sound or could something be wrong with my transmission? Also, when I have the car in first gear rolling at about 5 mph and I give it a little bit of throttle there is almost like a delay before the rear end responds and I get the loud clack from the transmission/clutch. I let off the gas and then give it gas again and it clacks and almost jerks forward. Ive never experienced this before. Otherwise the car shifts good under normal driving. Any ideas or is this normal?

Dual discs clutches can chatter under conditions you described. But not sure if you're slipping however on the 5mph issue especially the jerking attempts to grip.

Yea I have no problem driving around town. 1st and 2nd gear can be a little jerky/chatty which I know is normal with the mcleod clutches. The noise that is concerning me is when I am slightly rolling with it already in 1st gear at like 5mph. It makes a loud clunk when I give it light throttle like there is play in the transmission and it catches up. I dunno its just a weird sound/feeling. I guess all I can do is drive it like I stole it until it breaks. I just dont want something bad to happen at the track Thanks

If I installed a brand new clutch and it made noises like you describe, it would not be acceptable to me. Who did the install and did you use a new clutch slave and throw out bearing? I have the street version of the RXT and mine has never made a clunk or a clack.

I have this clutch, I know what you mean about the "lag" and it is normal. It happens more if you are putting it, for me I notice it if I'm slightly in and out of the throttle a little bit in town. I think this is just an aggressive clutch, it will be different than what your used to. If you smack it , there is no lag, its grip and rip.

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stumbled on this thread but my .02
this is not correct, you may not have enough preload set

How many miles are on your clutch, and did you follow break in procedure?

I have t56 mag (similar to tr6060) with RXT 1200, drives perfect, yours should too

I did the installation with a friend on a lift. Install went fine. im somewhat mechanical so I didnt find it to be that hard. Just removing the heavy ass transmission was the hardest part. Ive had the new clutch installed for about 4000 miles now. Followed the break in procedure for 500 miles. For some reason lethal sold me the 07-09 mcleod rxt clutch and I used the 07-09 slave cylinder. I have a 2011 gt500. Works fine and I know has been used on other installs with no problems. The sound is somewhat new though or at least I didnt notice it before. Im going to record the sound tonight and upload it on youtube. The jerking I am assuming is normal when I am rolling and I give it throttle like Hef said. It doesnt chatter really in the low gears so I know I broke it in correctly. The clunk noise is weird though. It happens when I am rolling in 1st gear and depress the clutch. As soon as I somewhat drop the clutch pedal to re-engage the clutch it makes the clunk noise. If I cycle the clutch pedal it will make the clunk sound every time I re-engage the clutch. Just doesnt seem right.

The throwout bearing, slave cylinder and mcleod clutch were all brand new when I installed them btw

If this is something that just started after 4,000 miles and your clutch is still in warranty, I'd contact McLeod and see what they think.

I've got McCleod with T56, as everyone knows, those clutches will occasionally give you the herky-jerk on takeoff unless you finesse them with love and care, LOL.

First, I'd get under there and just look around. Since you did the install, you are now familiar with the parts. I'd check everything that I could for tightness. Maybe something obvious.... Almost sounds like a u-joint or driveshaft issue, maybe something loose there?

I've been doing this kind of stuff for too many decades now, and I've noticed that many of these strange noises are a simple fix. So hopefully yours will be easy fix too. Good luck, and please post the answer..... thanks

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Almost sounds like a u-joint or driveshaft issue, maybe something loose there?

Click to expand...

Sounds like good advice OP.

I forgot to mention an important piece of info which is kinda embarrasing. There was originally a squeaking noise after the original install. Almost like a small squeek when it was cold. Very light sound but noticeable. It eventually went away after the transmission/clutch would warm up. Eventually it stopped making the squeek all together.
So about 6 months ago my car was up on jack stands as I was changing out pretty much every suspension part with bmr suspension. When I had everything unbuttoned underneath I came up with the bright idea of dropping my transmission and checking the clutch to see why it was making a squeaking noise in 1st gear a while back. Well when I was pulling it I had it trans fully unbolted from the engine, k member loosened with engine titled back and angled down so I could clear the firewall. I had my transmission jack underneath it to support it. I was having trouble pulling it off the clutch so I went inside to look something up on the forums and when I came back after about 30 minutes saw my tranny jack had depressed all the way to the floor and the transmission was unsupported. MY HEART SANK!! Im thinking I damaged my clutch or input shaft when this happened? I ended up not pulling the transmission and buttoning everything back up. Tested the floor jack after and it would slowly decompress even with no load and everything tightened... What a terrible way to find out I had a faulty floor transmission jack!! Did I possibly damage something?

So I took a video recording of me tonight cruising at 10 mph in 1st gear. I give it a little throttle a couple times and you can clearly hear the clack each time. Its pretty loud. Let me know what you guys think. It will also make the noise when I put it into 1st gear as I start to let go of the clutch.

After the video I dropped the clutch at about 3000 rpm and rowed it out to the top of 3rd gear. No weird sound then but its hard to tell at near open throttle with long tube headers. Under a load shifting gears in spirited driving its fine. Mechanically it seems to be operating great. Very weird and honestly kinda disheartening.

I also now have a spherical bmr upper control arm instaled. I thought maybe it was just the bushing making the clacking noise but it definitely sounds like its coming from the transmission area though.

I looked under the car before I took it out and everything felt tight and no loose bolts or anything.

Any input is appreciated. Not sure how concerned I really should be or if it is even worth pulling the transmission to check it out.

Thank you in advance guys for taking the time to read my post.

The video clip is short, so hard to tell if it is consistently periodic with speed, or only when you give it gas. Rear end issues(wheel bearing) or maybe interference on engine torque someplace(Exhaust).

The vid is not that revealing .... I listened three times.... exactly at what time on the vid does the noise occur???

Are you racing or something that absolutely requires a spherical bushing?? Those things are gonna be very bad for NVH factor (noise, vibration, harshness).

I don't really even like poly bushings (just because of NVH), but I am using them. They are creaky though, and yes, I greased them carefully, LOL.

One other comment for you... you mentioned replacing lots of suspension components... did you install them properly? Lots of folks bolt suspension components on while the car is on jacks, then they tighten up the mounting bolts, and let the car back down... WRONG! Typical suspension parts installation involves initial bolt-on, snug the bolts loosely, then lower car to ride height, then do final tighten to torque specs.

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If you listen to the clip you can hear the clack at :04 :06 and :08. Its easy to hear it if you have headphones. I am giving it a little throttle each time it makes the clack on the clip so its happening at low speeds in gear when I give it throttle.

I installed my suspensions correctly. I used 12" race ramp wheel cribs so I could preload my suspension to tighten the necessary bolts under load. I also followed the directions to a T and was meticulous during the install.

Im really thinking I damaged or bent something when I left my transmission literally only supported by the input shaft of the transmission. Could I of possibly bent something? Weird thing is like I said it shifts fine and mechanically seems to work great.

I went with the spherical bushings because I plan on doing alot more road racing. Im gearing it more towards a race car than a weekend queen. Also, I heard like you guys had mentioned that the poly bushings crack all the time. I am willing to trade NVH for more response from the rear end. I also have solid motor mount bushings installed. Removing the back seats and installing some race seats will be next. The clack noise is more than NVH in my opinion.

I just wanted to find out what the noise is. Its very concerning. I know I will eventually need to replace the tranny but I just dont want to have a disaster at the race track.

Im going to unbutton the driveshaft and see if I can identify any issue underneath. Seems to be coming from the clutch so Im not sure if I will be able to find anything wrong. My buddy doesnt have his 2 post lift anymore so I will have to rent one or pay a shop just to check it out.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to the video. Any more ideas would be greatly appreciated. I guess in the end Im going to have to just drive it and start saving now for a T56 or built 6060. I just dont want to damage my engine or anything.

Whether it is drivetrain or suspension noise, it does not sound normal. I recently replaced my clutch assembly, so the transmission removal and install are fresh in my mind. Were the transmission alignment dowels still engaged in the transmission housing, or was the transmission slid back when your jack failed? If your transmission input shaft was partially seated in the pilot bearing when your jack failed, I do not see how you would have not damaged the pilot bearing. If the input shaft was fully removed from the pilot bearing, then your clutch discs and/or clutch diaphragm spring fingers would have supported the full weight of the transmission. I do not see how it is possible that you did not at least tweak something out of shape or alignment inside the clutch assembly. You should have continued removing the transmission, at least to inspect the clutch assembly.

Have you tried this?
- Engine ON at idle, transmission in Neutral
- Press clutch pedal in… does it clack?
- Release clutch pedal… does it clack?

If the sound is present while cycling the clutch pedal with the transmission in Neutral, then you can rule out the driveshaft and suspension.

Spherical bearings transmit NVH and even good ones make noise. I have always had a little gear slop in the differential resulting in some occasional clunking from the rear end when loading and unloading the driveline. It was more apparent when I installed poly suspension bushings, and even more so now with spherical bearing rod end LCAs; however, I was expecting it and it is still tolerable to me for my application.

Great idea. I will try that when I get home with the car rolling in neutral. I think you might be right. I dont know how I could of not damaged something. Ugh. Not sure what would make the clack noise. If i bent the pilot bearing I think I would have some vibration. Im not an expert with clutches. What is weird is if its already engaged why is it making the clack with just the throttle. If the clutch was damaged you would think that it would make the noise every time I engage my clutch and not when I give it throttle. Thanks for the input