Judder in first...and second.

[Waspy]

I've got a judder when setting off in first, so I shift quickly into second which settles it, but still a little juddering until third. The judder gets worse the harder I set off.

This has happened before, or similar and it turned out to be a split inlet hose. But I don't think its that this time. A search of the internet suggests:

- Engine Mounts
- Clutch
- Driver Error ...
- Fuelling (lift pump)

Anyone else had this? The only one I can really exclude is driver error, as I don't think I have suddenly started driving differently.

If its the mounts (how do I test them?) does anyone have any recommendations?   

[Sgt_Lemon]

Can unplug the lift pump and try pulling away, if you have enough fuel it should still run but struggle more.
Is the clutch sticky at all?

[Waspy]

What would that lift pump test tell me?

The clutch seems okay, every now and then I get the feeling it might be slipping, but nothing major.

Noticed today it really hates hills at low speeds. I turned off a drive onto a hill (so not a hillstart, just slow) and it went crazy. I was helpless haha, just had to throttle through it and hope for the best.

[sparkplug]

when my front mount went ,with the car in neutral & engine off
rock the engine front to back by hand, you should see if its got excessive movement
 

[Waspy]

Wow, surely it would have to be REALLY bad to be able to rock it by hand? I'll give it a go though! Thanks

[sparkplug]

well it was only 5mm movement at the mount , but you could see & feel it by rocking the motor

[Waspy]

Ah right, I gave it a go last night and I could move it a little bit. But it felt kind of natural if you see what I mean. More like I was rocking the car on the springs instead.

I'm commuting about 60 miles each was atm, so I have plenty chance to try and pinpoint some triggers. Today I noticed that if I ride the clutch for longer before fully coming off its a little better.

I don't want to go ahead replacing things that might not fix it if I can avoid it. I already have a clutch lieing around and mounts arnt expensive... But you know

[Sgt_Lemon]

If the lift pump was dodgy I was thinking the main pump may struggle when all the fuel sloshes backwards. A test for clutches it to get a steep hill, chuck it in a reasonably high gear and gun it. If it revs up fast them the clutch is slipping the jerkiness sounds more like the cable or something though being sticky. Auto clutch cables might get water inside the adjustment mech and freeze causing it to be a bit jerky.

[Waspy]

Ahh I see. Good point on the cable though! I very recently changed it. Although 'twas a manual cable, still, any reason a new cable would be sticking?

Other news, I was at about 80 on the motorway today and it started juddering a bit. Obviously not as violent as when setting off, but could that indicate anything? (The fact it does it at speed too now sometimes). Guess that eliminates  the clutch.

[sparkplug]

are you sure its not the HT leads or coil breaking down ?