i purchased my 2001 v6 5speed about 2 months ago, with 60200 miles. the seller gave me a 3000 mile, 90 day warranty for the drivetrain. it's still under warranty for another month or about 800 miles. i took it for state inspections and they said the car ran beautifully. my friend that helped me when i bought it said the engine and all that were perfectly fine.

i've noticed some abnormalities happening more and more. sometimes they'll be there when i turn on the car, sometimes it'll come gradually while driving, sometimes happens all of a sudden while driving, sometimes i wont feel any of the problems at all for the whole drive. lately it's been about 50%. these symptoms usualy happen together:
- rpms take longer to drop when i put it in neutral
- clutch and gas pedals seem to vibrate a little more than usual
- engine sounds louder overall
- when in 1st or 2nd gear, and not on the gas pedal, i hear a kind of repeating cycling sound and car kind of jerks really subtlely in unison with the sound
- there might be less acceleration than usual, but i might just feel that way because it sounds louder

other things: sometimes starting up it sounds different than usual, and there is occasional ticking under the hood after i turn off the car.

anyone have any idea what could be the cause? i suspected a worn clutch but why would it work fine half the time? i'll probably go and get it checked out after the holiday weekend, and hopefully its a drivetrain problem and the seller will stand by his warranty. p.s. drivetrain would include the engine, transmission and clutch right? i'm imagining it could only be those things that could be causing the problems.

thanks

 

The ticking after you shut it off is probably the exhaust cooling down, mine did it for a while after I put on a new muffler. Check for any new looking pipe or muffler. I would check the IAC valve. That could be why it's louder some times and the rpm difference and less acceleraqtion. The plunger in the IAC can stick but it won't throw a code as long as the motor is working. You will need to take it to a shop for that though. They have to connect their computer to the OBD port and cycle the IAC while it's off to see if the plunger is moving as it should.

 

I think thats mostly common, stuff. Sometimes theres a tick, sometimes the rpms dont drop fast enough. The jerking though is becasue your not giving it gas. That happens to me when im going to slow or to fast for the gear.

 

hmm yeah the problems themselves do seem to be minor, but they all happen together. sometimes instantly going from the 'normal' mode to the abnormal mode. and it feels noticably different to even the passengers in the car. thanks for the suggestions. i'll report back when i visit the mechanic.