What would you folks make of the following problem with my 2.3-16V:

When driving at a relative low rate of speed (usually around 20mph), if I quickly engage the clutch (usually in second gear) while depressing the gas pedal, the car will begin a back and forth jerking motion which gets worse and worse if I keep the clutch engaged or keep my foot on the gas. If I give more gas, the jerking gets much worse much quickly and gets rather violent. Giving less gas lessens the jerking intensity but not frequency. If I disengage the clutch (i.e., depress the clutch pedal) the jerking stops.

This doesn't happen all the time, but I can generally make it happen, at will, and it will happen if I do just the wrong things all at once. One more thing. The jerking movement can be initiated with strong acceleration from a standing start over a very bumpy road.

Given that disengaging the clutch completely stops the movement, would you guess that I have a clutch problem?

Any insight would be helpful.

John

[This message has been edited by revbond (edited 06-15-99).]