synchromesh/check valve removal did the trick

 

get a new clutch/

 

No ****, really?

But what I want to figure out is why do these things have clutch problems like that? Is there a clutch/flywheel combo that normally fixes this issue?

I was told the flywheel is sprung on these motors, instead of the clutch.

 

Its not the clutch, but it will eventually be. The issue is the slave cylinder has a check valve in it, that prevents the clutch from fully engaging immediately. That's that little slip you feel, is the check valve slowly releasing. I have no idea why they put that in there, but there must have been a reason.

You can take it apart, and remove the check valve, and you won't have that issue.

There is a good thread on V6Performance about this. Go read up, and see if that's something you want/can to do. I did it, and even just normal driving of the car was significantly improved for me. But then again, I've been driving manual transmissions for 30+ years, and this car was the worst to drive until I did this mod.

 

I was just reading about this last night on the carcomplaint website, I was browsing all the problems to expect, or check and prevent. There was a few complaints about this exact issue. Every time you take it in they will say it occurred from user abuse, not from faulty design. I'm definitely going to have to write this issue down, and as soon as the weather breaks give this a try. As if the faulty 3rd gear synchro wasn't enough of a pain, now I have to worry about replacing the clutch every 30k miles.