my p5 shakes when I let the clutch out to go into second gear. is this a motor mount issue or am I just a horrible driver. my other gears seem fine. also if I downshift into second then ease back into the gas it shakes a couple of times. I did the search thing but couldn't come up with anything

 

could be a few things

#1. weak engine mounts.

#2. flywheel shudder

 

for the motor mounts what is a bad one going to look like?<--(Pictures) from reading everyones posts it sounds like they will be completely shredded and what else can you tell me about flywheel shudder. I have 54,000. miles on the car and just bought it the other day. seems to get noticably worse everyday.

 

flywheel shudder comes from high and low spots in the flywheel... I knew that why did I ask it's 5:41 in the morning and i'm about to get off work that's why

 

the stock motor mounts have gaps in the rubber. They are not solid even when new. This causes a real wobbly engine but smoother ride. When you replace the engine mounts you pick up all the vibration inside though.

The flywheel shudder in a protege is real noticeable when it's cold outside.usually after they warm up they don't shimmy as much. Is this case with yours?

AWR sells a front motor mount that should be easy for you to install. Buy the "automatic" mount even though you have a manual. It's a little softer durometer.

 

Even I installed the AWR very easy! - 3 bolts and you are done... - now the rear.... thats a PITA

 

well considering that it's like -10 degrees outside and dropping every day i'm sure that doesn't help. I did look at the mounts and the front one looks like it has some cracks in it. the others looked fine. that back motormount did look like a PITA. If I were to put a new flywheel and clutch in the car will it just start doing it again? I don't want to replace it if it's only going to do it in the winter time.

 

i have the exact same problem. started when i went through the 1st winter with the car. it barely had 7000 miles on it. i thought i was just inexperienced with the clutch. i took it in for mazda to look at last month and they did nothing. they look at the other problems i was experiencing and didnt bother to tell me if they looked at the clutch or not. this only really happens in the cold weather, so im sure it is the cold clutch chatter that people have experienced & is documented in http://web2.airmail.net/theman/protegefaq. i'll bring it in soon when the weather is really cold for them to look at again.

now i am experiencing horrible wheel hop when launching. this & the clutch problem are 2 different vibrations. launching hard feels like the motor is jumping around in the engine bay and the wheels do the scooby doo thing. it spins, loses traction, gets grip, loses traction, etc, all while going nowhere. i dont really "launch hard" on a regular basis, but when i try to accelerate faster than usual, it really starts to shake & hop. i hope its not the engine mount...is that something that can be covered by warranty?
-meGrimlock

 

Grim, your "horrible wheel hop" or shudder, is the motor mounts...The shudder is the engine shaking, thats why it makes so much noise and makes the whole car shake.

 

^ what he said, motor mounts *mostly* fixed mine.. still wheel hops "some" (mainly depending on road now though)... - but i figured out i can actually go faster when launching @ 2 instead of much higher (4or so)... and i can catch 2nd better.. usually end up *bogg'n* 2nd... i.e. - launch @ 4 spin.. rev.. shift @ 6, bog down to 2! but.. if i launch @ 2, very little spin... shift @ 6, bogs down to 3700 or so.. much faster

 

wtf! i dont push this car hard. i do some quick driving; some fast corners, but its not like i drag race it on a daily basis. im gonna bring it to mazda, im trying not to buy any upgrades until next year.
-meGrimlock

 

i was with you up to "fixed mine.."

 

hm.. let me rephrase... if the road is a "rough" road, i get wheel hop...

and

i launched 2 ways:

1) launch @4500, shifted @6000, rpm dropped to 2300... (lots of wheel spin/hop)

2) launch @2500, shifted @6000, rpm dropped to 3700-3800... (minimum wheel spin)

make more sense? - guess this has to do with my light flywheel?

 

hmm...i guess it makes sense. btw, while we are on the subject of motor mounts, what is the difference between motor mounts inserts sold by rr-racing and just motor mounts by awr? as far as i can tell, awr also sells inserts. so confusing...it reiterates my favorite rule; let someone else do it. what should i look for under the hood for tell tale signs of broken motor mounts? thanks.
-meGrimlock

 

I looked at mine (by the radiatior) and one side had a couple of cracks in the rubber, almost like weather cracked tires. and on the other side of the mount it had one gigantic crack so hopefully mine is mostly motor mount problems. When it was still warm in alaska not a lot of jerking but with the really cold temps lately it feels like i'm riding a bronco(horse). is this a winter problem only and it will be better in the summer or do I need to do the clutch?