2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Clutch Blown after less than 1000 miles..wtf?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 03:22 PM
  #1  
fc3salb's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Pistons+0 Valves=Happy!
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
Clutch Blown after less than 1000 miles..wtf?

Anybody have any ideas as to what might have caused a new clutch to blow after less than 1000 miles. The clucth was broken in properly. I never took the motor over 4000 RPM. The motor was being broken in, too. The hydraulics are fine. The mechanic took the tranny out and said the clutch was done. Why would this happen? Oh, it's an '87 N/A.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 03:27 PM
  #2  
Parastie's Avatar
Mountain Rotary Mod
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,411
Likes: 0
From: Freaking Poland!!
You sure you're not being screwed by your mechanic?
Was this a really cheap clutch?
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 03:31 PM
  #3  
sar's Avatar
sar
Doin a rebuild.
Tenured Member 05 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 539
Likes: 0
From: Roswell (atl ) Georgia
I'm not trying to insult you here.

It is glimpsey possible that whoever drives your car is a really bad driver and like constantly slips the clutch.

Which makes me think. Maybe you should check your clutch hydraulics.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 04:00 PM
  #4  
boosted1205's Avatar
Rotary Enthusiast
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (9)
 
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,191
Likes: 0
From: west
There's several things to do when changing a clutch. Resurface the flywheel to rid of heat spots and warp, make sure no oil is on the clutch disc and flywheel and adjust the clutch so there's some play.
With the motor running see how much play there is. If there is no play, that would be the cause.
There are so many bad mechanics out is the reason why no one touches any of my cars.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 04:04 PM
  #5  
lokeli54's Avatar
Full Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
From: oak harbor, washington
who did you take it to? i took my 87 gxl to aamco and they just did a overall shitty job. maybe just get a new mechanic to look at it
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 04:13 PM
  #6  
hondahater's Avatar
spending too much money..
Tenured Member 10 Years
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,116
Likes: 1
From: louisiana
yep thats pretty shitty. I never take my car to the mechanic for the same reason. I might have way more headaches this way but at least I know if anything happens to my car it's my doing, not some dumb mechanic. Anyways good luck with it and you should ask him as many questions as possible. what kind of clutch is it? Don't tell me the xtd on ebay I'm waiting for this unit to come in the mail and am going to test it out so hopefully the clutch that blew on you was not the xtd for my sake anyways give us some more detail.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 05:34 PM
  #7  
Rotary Freak
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 0
From: Boulder, CO
ask your mechanic to show you the clutch.

were you experiencing problems with it before the mechanic said that?
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 09:46 PM
  #8  
therotaryrocket's Avatar
PIMP
Tenured Member 20 Years
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,012
Likes: 0
From: Greensboro, NC
what exactly is a blown clutch? what is/was the car doing? and you don't neccesarily have to resurface the flywheel eventhough it is suggested, on my turbo 2 I used this cheap perfection clutch from my work advance auto parts, i didn't resurface the flywheel but then again my clutch disc, pressure plate, and flywheel were still all good just my throw-out bearing was smashed. it could be oil, whether it be gear oil or engine oil leaked on to the clutch disc surface causing slippage even with a brandnew clutch. we need some details here.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 10:22 PM
  #9  
RoTa7's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 588
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco
mayb it was one of those fake clutches off of ebay
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 10:35 PM
  #10  
fc3salb's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Pistons+0 Valves=Happy!
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
As I said in my original post, the hydraoulics are all fine. I don't slip the clutch at all. Dunno what brand the clutch was. It didn't ring a bell, so I didn't remember it. But, either way, a Racing Beat disc and pressure plate are being put in in its place. I just wanted to see what everyone else thought so this same thing wouldn't happen again to this clutch.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 10:38 PM
  #11  
SonicRaT's Avatar
Super Raterhater
Tenured Member: 20 Years
iTrader: (6)
 
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 10,630
Likes: 3
From: NY, MA, MI, OR, TX, and now LA or AZ!
Hondahater: I've used the XTD clutches before, they're OK and hold up pretty good.
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 10:40 PM
  #12  
WAYNE88N/A's Avatar
Lives on the Forum
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,721
Likes: 3
From: Coldspring TX
It could have been just a shitty reman job on the disk you bought (if it was a reman)...

It would help if you could tell us EXACTLY what was wrong with the clutch (rivets popped, glazed over, throwout failed, etc...)
Reply
Old Mar 7, 2005 | 11:25 PM
  #13  
hondahater's Avatar
spending too much money..
Tenured Member 10 Years
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,116
Likes: 1
From: louisiana
ahhh thanks sonic, I've been looking for good feedback on these clutches. How long did you have it? Anyways sorry to get off topic. I don't know I just wouldn't trust the mechanic until I saw the clutch in person and got a few oppinions from people on this site. Good luck with the racing beat setup I've heard nothing but good stuff about it.
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 12:18 PM
  #14  
fc3salb's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Pistons+0 Valves=Happy!
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
Well, it wasn't some clutch off eBay. I know that much. It was remanufactured. I was driving last Monday, it started feeling more and more difficult to get the car into gear. Then, it just stopped going into gear altogether. It went into gear fine with the motor off, but wouldn't go in at all with the motor running. It acted like I wasn't stepping on the clutch pedal at all. The shop I took it to is a rotary-only shop called Rotary RX. Everyone out here says nothing but good things about the shop. And just to be absolutely safe, the throwout bearing is being replaced, too. The last thing I want is to get a new clutch, then a few days later, the throwout bearing fail.
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 12:40 PM
  #15  
SureShot's Avatar
Seduced by the DARK SIDE
Tenured Member 15 Years
 
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 7,323
Likes: 2
From: Orange Park FL (near Jax)
At last - symptoms.

Ruling out what you’ve checked, that leaves the pilot bearing or a clearance problem at the clutch disc.

A clearance problem might be a bond or rivet failure in the disc face material which would be a defect in materials/workmanship.
If there is any foreign debris stuck between the disc & the pressure plate, that would be an installer problem.
Either of those problems are reasons for a serious warranty discussion.
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 12:42 PM
  #16  
Nick86's Avatar
Yup, still here
Tenured Member: 20 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 2
From: Ottawa
Whenyou changed it last time, did you change only the disk?

What about the pressure plate?
Throwout Bearing?
Needle Bearing?

If the PP was weak, it could have been responsable for the previous disk to burn out. By replacing only the disk and leaving the faulty PP, it was bound to wear out the new disk quickly - but 1000 miles is suspect in my mind. I'd see if that disk has some sort of warantee with it.

As a general rule, whenever the trani is off the car, replace the TO and needle bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace while the trani is off.
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 12:58 PM
  #17  
FC_mania's Avatar
Senior Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
From: kansas
whats a needle bearing? is it the same with the TO and pilot bearing provided if you were to buy a new clutch kit?
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 01:11 PM
  #18  
Nick86's Avatar
Yup, still here
Tenured Member: 20 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 2
From: Ottawa
Originally Posted by FC_mania
whats a needle bearing? is it the same with the TO and pilot bearing provided if you were to buy a new clutch kit?
Sorry, the needle bearing is the pilot bearing.
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2005 | 02:42 PM
  #19  
fc3salb's Avatar
Thread Starter
0 Pistons+0 Valves=Happy!
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
Just the clutch disc and the pressure plate were replaced. This time around, everything's getting replaced, however.
Reply
Old Mar 11, 2005 | 04:57 PM
  #20  
2slow4stock's Avatar
The waiting game......
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (18)
 
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,275
Likes: 3
From: North Aurora
On the subject of ebay clutchs lol why not just get an OEM. They work but make sure you get it for what car you have S4 and S5 are not the same **** but the clutch disc. Everything Pressure plate, throwout bearing and i'm not sure about pilot bearing are different.
Reply
Old Mar 11, 2005 | 07:34 PM
  #21  
hondahater's Avatar
spending too much money..
Tenured Member 10 Years
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,116
Likes: 1
From: louisiana
what did you just say? the reason why people (me included) get ebay clutches are because they handle more hp then the oem clutches and from the reputation of the xtd clutches I've heard they are not that bad for the money.
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
whinin
Introduce yourself
17
Mar 30, 2019 07:53 PM
HalifaxFD
Canadian Forum
126
May 9, 2016 07:06 PM
cooldude
West RX-7 Forum
5
Oct 3, 2015 09:17 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:11 PM.