I'm not a mechanic, and I've butted heads with some elite wrenchmen over
this, but, while there could be several causes, including a straightened
Bowden tube, bad motor mounts, oil on the clutch, among others, my
feeling is that the most common culprit is a worn throw-out bearing
yoke.  This is the part that actually makes contact with the T/O
bearing.  The contact surface should be a nice, even curve.  When they
get worn, they develop an angle, and will tend to rock as they make
contact, hence the chatter.

Karl WOlz

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
Behalf Of
> Donald Adams
> Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:26 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Clutch chatter when starting out...?
>
> I'm trying to help a friend with an 81 westy air cooled troubleshoot a
problem.
>
> When the van has 4 people and luggage, and has been driven an hour or
> so, there is very noticable "clutch chatter" when starting out in
> first gear.
>
> The clutch feels fine the rest of the gears and the transmission feels
> fine too.  When the van is cold and only one person it never seems to
> chatter.
>
> Any ideas?