It seems when I lower my idle to keep the truck from moving it dies. When it sounds like a nice running idle the truck wants to move foward with some force. I took apart the clutch but the shoes look fine. Could the spring be worn and just too soft? Or does it sound like a different problem all together. Also the engine has 2 1/2 gallons through it and has lost quite a bit of compression. I dont know if that matters in this situation. The engine also seems to have a irratic sounding idle(up in down in rpm slightly). Any suggestions?

Well, if it has a very low compression you might want to get it pinched or rebuilt. A worn motor does not idle as well as a motor with decent compression.
It does sound like your clutch is engaging too early, soft or worn clutch spring could be the problem.

One thing you might want to try though is turning your clutch shoes around to leading engagement instead of trailing engagement. This will raise the rpm the clutch engages at.
So instead of:
(
. ) counterclockwise rotation

You will have
. )
( with counterclockwise rotation

If that made any sense...


If that doesn't help, I say you get a new clutch spring.

maybe a heaver flywheel will help to
keep the rotaiting mass going while lowering the idle