On 24 Jul 2005 15:25:48 -0700, "Vin" > wrote:

>I have a Grand Cherokee (1994) with 70K on it. It's one of the last
>stick shift Grand Cherokees made, and I've owned it since it was new.
>I've developed a shimmy in the drive train that feels like the engine
>and transmission want to fall out of the vehicle. It's so bad that
>I've had to pull over to the side of the highway in stop-and-go uphill
>situations and wait for the traffic to clear. Before you suggest the
>obvious, here's what I've done: new clutch (including pressure plate
>and flywheel), new shocks all around, had the motor and trans mounts
>checked - twice, plus the universals, and the brakes are new. The
>brakes are not the problem because the vehicle rolls easily on even a
>slight grade. Here's the last bit of the puzzle: when cold, it acts
>perfectly OK: no shake at all. When I've been on the highway for a few
>miles and then try to start up a hill (even a small one, like my
>driveway), then the problem shows up. The car doesn't want to move and
>the whole underside of the motor/trans shakes like crazy. When I'm
>having this problem, I can hold the car with the emergency brake and
>try the clutch - no shake at all. I've taken it to various shops and
>no one can figure it out. Any ideas out there??

If I'm following this, it only does this shake while you are starting
up from a stop and only does it when it's warmed up. To me that
sounds like a clutch/pressure plate problem, perhaps they are
contaminated with oil or brake fluid (if you have a hydraulic clutch)
and it only gets "grabby" after it warms up. Lots of "good" clutches
have a slight shudder on start up so a contaminated one might have a
lot. It could also be that the clutch is binding on the transmission
shaft but again, only when hot.