Got my tranny in but it slips to hell!
 

I just finished installing my new S/S clutch, S/S pressure plate, Racing Beat 12# aluminum flywheel, and all kinds of seals and fluids along with a Mazdatrix short shifter.

I took her around the block a few times being sure to baby her and be real slow and careful but when I do try and give her some gas to accelerate just a little more quickly she slips on me a lot. I have heard this is typical when u r breaking in a now clutch. Is this so? And should it really be slipping this much?

Another thing is that she wil0l idle alright about 60-70 percent of the time but then the other 30-40 percent she will struggle and finally die on me...should I adjust my idle to be higher? I hear this rougher idle is also typical of a new aluminum flywheel as well.

PS the Mazdatrix shortshifter feels soooooooo fucking good!!! But I am alil worried about the rest....

Any advice or reasnsurance that u guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance - Lee

88 GTU N/A stock (except for the mods I just performed) 90,000 miles on her and she is in great shape.

you're supposed to be taking it easy on it when you're breaking in the clutch aren't you?

my clutch didnt take time to break in but maybe an upgraded clutch may take time. umm it makes sense about ur flywheel affecting ur idle.
is ur car kinda spitting and sputtering? if u have the plug wires wrong that can lead to a blown engine after a while from what i hear.
jack

Even if new, it shouldn't slip like that. Did you clean off flywheel/pressure plate surface? Do you have enough free play in the clutch pedal? Just want to make sure the pressure plate is clamping fully on the disc.

While doing all the "fluids" you didnt spill any on any part of the clutch did you? That can make it slip also...

Nick

No I didn't get any fluid on the clutch at all. I am hoping that it is the break in period.... dear god please be the break in period....

I dont think that there is much free play in the clutch pedal at all actually....

Heh, I had a RB aluminum flywheel once. I installed it with a brand new clutch and pressure plate. Car drove nicely but I noticed it would slip a little when redlining the car. After a month or so, the slipping got SO BAD that the car was pretty much un-streetable. I would be driving in 5th gear at 40mph, put the "pedal to the metal" (I feel so cheesy saying that) and the RPM's would skyrocket. Mad slippage. New clutch, new lightened STEEL flywheel solved my problem.

I REALLY hope this doesnt happen to you because I get he impression that you've spent too much time working on the clutch and tranny just to pull it out again and get different parts. The local rotary shop told me that alot of people complained about the RB aluminum flywheel. I don't know if this is true or not but I was one of those people complaining :p:

Yeah this is the first time I have ever done my clutch and it took me a week and a day to get by all the problems with various parts and the disconnection of so many items. I will not be able to do this again for sure....at least not for a few weeks. I am perfectly fine until I hit probably 3000 rpm and then it starts to slip a bit....and then if I give n e more gas I would say that it is about 50 percent efficient and slips where u can hear it..... Man the whole reason that I did this myself was to save about 400 bucks that a mazda technician wanted to pull everything for (and I payed 450 bucks for the aluminum flywheel from Racing Beat so I dont really want to get in to a war with them and end up destroying their business and credibility on this forum)

Bah I guess only time will tell....and if I have to give this flywheel back to Racing Beat there will be hell to pay.

PS IF--there was some type of lubricant that accidentally made its way on to a clutch component it would eventually burn up and correct itself....even if it left imperfections in the disk right?

oh come on.. even if it is a problem.. it's a RWD car, clutches/trannies/etc are easy to change on these things.

Try doing it on an MR-2.. oh man.. that's a weeks job

hey not everyone is a great mechanic, cut the man some slack

Mr-2's are RWD ;)

lol good catch there Rxmfn7 :)

On the clutch plate the it didnt say which way was towards the flywheel.....I put it in where the thicker side was to the transmission...that is correct right?

mid rear engines and front wheel drive engines are still a bitch and a half to change something in the drivetrain

Capn....the side with the hub or springs facing out more is the side that goes to the pressure plate the totally flat side is the flywheel side

Cool then it is in right......I was driving to work this morning and I can hear that when I have the car in neutral and my foot is off the clutch at lights that there is friction because my rpms go down and I can hear just a little bit of slipping disk.....Is this because of the flywheel being so light?.....at this point it should be flush with the flywhee and pressed against it, just not in gear.

So I guess it is one of three things wrong then:
-Either it is just the break in period and I am overreacting
-I didnt torque something to spec
-I have some prob in the throwout bearing or clutch fork or slave cylinder not allowing me to fully engage the pressure plate

I am starting to think that it is the third possibility that is the prob.....

have you ever seen how cramped an mr2 is, itd look like its harder than a fwd car

when we did my buddys clutch in his tII it went on only one way. it didnt let the pressure plate fit on the flywheel or something like that. i get to do mine this winter, i smoked it racing a VNT daytona, i missed 3rd and went to 5th smoking clutch and all and still walked by him, he had the move and then 2 lenghts

As I stated earlier check that clutch free play. Adjust the pedal to where there is quite a bit of play, just to try it. You can always adjust it back up.

i heard there is such thing as a clutch break in period but the clutch should not slip while breaking in at all..

There is really only a few things this could be.

First is oil or grease on the friction surfaces. You should ALWAYS clean the flywheel and pressure plate's friction surfaces with brake cleaner before installation. Even brand new, they usually have some oil on them to keep them from rusting while in storage. I usually hose down a rag with brake cleaner and thoroughly clean both.

Second is a problem with the clutch hydraulics. If the clutch isn't fully engaging, it WILL slip. If you've played with the adjustments on the clutch pedal, you will likely have to re-adjust it with a brand new, thick clutch. There should be a little bit of free play at the end of the clutch pedal's travel before you start to push on the hydraulics. If the clutch is partially engaged, it's like you're driving around with your foot half down on the pedal. This will slip the CRAP out of the clutch.

Finally is a problem with the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel itself. If you bought it all from Racing Beat brand-new, I kinda doubt that would be the problem.

BTW, I put a Shane Racing aluminum flywheel, ACT heavy pressure plate and full-face disc in my 300+ HP TII a while back. I was making full power runs the DAY I put the clutch in, and I've NEVER had it slip.

Dale

Wow this is amazing.. I have never heard of anyone driving a new clutch without breaking in the clutch surface first.


I was always told 500 miles.. city driving and this was directly from Mazda..No reving over 3000 and dumping clutch..

As usual, Dale right on.
When I did a lot of drag racing, never needed to "break in" a clutch. Came off line @ 5,000 and shift @ 7,500 big block. Went to 9,000/9,500 with 383. No clutch problems when new as long as flywheel/pp good condition.

9,000 rpms on a 383....?


Clutches should always be broken in. this gives the 2 new surfaces a chance to rub against each other and this allows for the two surfaces to conform to each others surfaces and thus allows for better bite on the each other.


Clutches are the same as brakes. They all should be broken in, or they will not last as long...


Race cars should get a new clutch every race anyways..
If your race car isn't needing a new clutch every 3 or 4 passes, then your not really racing it anyways...

Capt"n Has the SS model clutch. He should be doing a break in with his setup.

This is copied directly from ACT Website


Do ACT clutches require a break in period?

For organic street discs “00 and SS” we recommend breaking in the clutch for 200-300 miles with mild engagement such as stop and go city driving prior to racing or spirited driving. ACT race discs usually only require a few hard slips to lap in the surfaces prior to normal driving or racing. Do not overheat the clutch during the break in period.

so lets all together and travel 300 miles to break all of our clutches in ;)

383-Chevy Small block-Bored/Stroked
How do you break in a new clutch on the drag strip? If I had to drive 300 miles on every new clutch, I'd never be able to race. No I didn't need to replace it every 3 or 4 passes. I wasn't running a 1500HP, nitrious burning fulie.
I've yet to install a clutch, take it out, and under power, in gear, have the unit slip, and engine run away.
Maybe it's a new innovation I'm not familiar with.