Duetto: Clutch Shudder in Reverse Gear

[canguro]

My Duetto has recently developed a good amount of clutch shudder when I slowly release it with the gear lever in reverse. I'm not experiencing similar problems when moving in any of the forward gears, so I'm guessing that the clutch is not the culprit.

I did a quick search on Alfa Digest (nothing found in this forum), and came across some old posts describing what appears to be a similar phenomenon, and attributing the problem to the transmission mount. Since I had only recently replaced that part, until I started reading those posts, I had presumed that that was not the cause.

Has anyone ever experienced a similar problem? Could the problem be with the transmission mount?

Here are the links to the Digest posts re: the problem:
Digest Link #1 Digest Link #2 Digest Link #3

[borrani]

That would be my first guess, exactly.

The '67 Duetto with its mechanical clutch linkage would have come with a more stout transmission mount, unavailable until recently from U.K.

The '69 Duetto with is juice clutch used a much more spindly mount. Typically I've had to use this spindly mount and beef it up with heavy heater hose or whatnot.

You can probably just slide under the car, drop that rear transmission member down, and stiffen that mount as much as possible and see an improvement.

Having the right tool to remove and replace this big bushing is a big plus. Try to find a person who's made one or has one you can borrow.

Good luck,

Steve S.
Seattle, WA

[canguro]

Thanks for the input Steve. Are there replacement mounts now available for the pre-'69 models? If so, where can I get them?