First gear lurch/lag

[The Flash]

"...if I lug it down below 500rpm"

You managed to get down to 500rpm without stalling the engine?


How on Earth did you manage to do that??

At the threshold directly below 900rpm my engine is fighting the clutch hard: there are vibrations galore - kinda similar to clutch chatter - and if I allow it to dip below the 800/850rpm mark it will stall for sure.

At that low rpm I will have to disengage the clutch, go to neutral or give it gas to prevent a stall.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Yeah, mine will creep along at 500rpm in first gear. As stated above, any slower and you'll either stall it or it adds throttle to maintain idle speed.

[The Flash]

My trusted mechanic came to see my car on May 28th.

He ran diagnostics and did a hands on check -- found the issue: faulty ignition wires.

In fact, the wire running from running on cyl. #4 was the culprit: had an almost severed end at the plug connector, plus the internal isolation at that end (which looks like bakelite) was done: it fell out in crumbles when he examined it.

He switched the wire for cyl.#2 to run current on cyl#4 (since he had to cut a put a new cap and end on that wire) and also had to take off the heat shield as the cable became shorter, but its an efficient and by-the-book repair until the new set of wires arrives.

I've been running the car since then -- about three weeks now -- and evrything runs O.K. : no hesitation, no stumbles, no "pulsating" feeling under acceleration.

He explained that when the engine sensors detect faulty ignition and/or non-burnt fuel occurring as continuous or persistent events, the LS3 defaults to a series of restraining/protective measures to preserve the engine, hence the multitude of symptoms.

Live and learn!

Hope this helps you guys as well. Happy trails!.