I got a weird problem with my stupid clutch... Actually i had this problem i think forever it only got a little worse with The sprung 6 puck...

When i first start it up and drive it for a while, the clutch probably engages half way... Then later on, if i redline it or just stop and go for a while, it starts engaging either all the way down to the floor or all the way up at the top...

Now you can imagine how messed up that is, when you are waiting for the light to turn green and you think you just let it off half way and go... Well it doesn't happen that way... It either jums like a horse or it doesn't move anywhere because the clutch pedal doesn't catch anymore where it should...

In the past i replaced the clutch hose with the SS one, used those rebuild kits to rebuild both the slave and master cylinders and the clutch kit is the XTD 6 puck sprung. Before that i had a bonez regular clutch and it did the same ****...

What a a hell is going on here? I bleed the system couple of times in which it doesn't make any difference... it does the same thing all the time....

Anybody have any suggestions on what's going on? Has anyone ever had this problem like this?

Thanks a lot.

Amel

 

did you bleed the system... thats all i can really think of. if you did i would try bleeding it again just to make sure. its the easiest thing to do and cheapest. did you possibly put the disk in backwards? try to rethink all of the steps you did maybe something will come up.

 

you probably didn't read everything i wrote there... thanks anyway...

Amel

 

what is the free play like in the pedal?

 

probably an inch or close to it... I'm suspecting that maybe those rebuild kits for the master and slave cylinder aren't really what they should be... I may have to get both new...

 

Just a shot in the dark but I'd check that SS line. What brand is it? Those uncoated ones are only good for a couple of years allegedly. The problem sounds like a problem in the hydraulic actuation of the clutch, so that's where I'd start looking.

 

I bought it from rx7.com 2 years ago... I checked it, it still looks good.. I got pricing from Ray Crowe on the new master and slave cylinders.. Master 99, slave 77... I'll be getting those next month probably...

Amel

 

Funny. My Spec 4puck used to do the same ****. I couldnt figure it out. Someone told me it was because I had a lightweight flywheel and the heat of it related to the clutch would change how it would grab. The spec clutch blew up on me and I replaced it with an ACT 6puck sprung and it hasnt done it since. My slave and master are both less than a year old (i bought them from malloy) and I have a SS line. I didnt mess with them at all when I replaced the spec with the act. Worst Ive gotten is I'll hold the clutch down at a light for an extended period of time (maybe 2-3minutes) and when I go to release it the catch point has moved up an inch or so. By the next shift its pretty much back to normal though.

 

Just to chime in with an advice. It is detrimental to hold the clutch IN at a stop light for any length of time, certainly NOT for 2-3 minutes. Due to the very small clearances between the plates and the clutch disk, the clutch disk is still developing some friction against the plates while being pushed out. Over time it leads to excessive clutch wear and over heating.

My practive is to de-clutch and put the car in Netural any time that there is more than a very few seconds (3-4 sec) wait between moving the car out.

Albert

 

Did you get the bores of the cylinders remachined? I have the same rebuild kits, and I held off when someone said that rebuilding them doesn't always work, especially if you don't get the bores cleaned up.

Dave

 

You only need to clean the bore if there's scrapes or marks in the metal which would allow fluid to leak around the seal. If its clean metal inside you can rebuild it without boring it.

 

I have a 6puck sprung, and mine changes all the time on me... I never hold the clutch in for more then 10 sec or so, but still... I did notice though, that sometimes if i pump the clutch as i'm waiting for the light to go green, it goes to the point where i can actually fill it catching up....

 

That's what the person told me *not* to do.

I dunno, I have no experience with clutch hydraulics, only recalling advice given to me...

Dave

 

Ive worked at a repair shop and tuner shop as well as rebuilt a lot of stuff on my car (from brake calipers, to brake master, to clutch master). My experiences have been sucessful.....so far. As long as the inside is nice and clean you shouldnt have any problems. Whipe it down with a clean rag to pic up any bits of dirt that may be in there. If there are scrapes or marks in there (which are very easy to do if you create pretty much any decent metal on metal action) then you need to get it machined. The only issue with machining it is you might bore it too far over and have to get a bigger seal. Its cheap to buy new ones, so your best bet is to crack it open, look at it, if its clean, rebuild. If its messed up, buy a new one.

 

Check to make sure all the lines are on really snug. You might not notice a very small leak as the fluid will just run along the line to the lowest point (I had a line from my brake master doing this). Also make sure there's not gunk in the master that would prevent it from moving fluid in and out of the brake reservoir. How full is that brake reservoir? Did you make sure that when you bled the clutch you were pretty good about filling the reservoir (I know it sounds stupid, but it can be deceiving since it only draws fluid from the rear part of the tank).

Also, check the torque on the pressure plate bolts. There's a range that you can torque them to. If you're at one extreme (either tightest or loosest), try moving the bolt torque towards the other extreme. Carefully inspect the clutch fork for hairline cracks.



Honestly, now that Im thinking about it, the only different thing I did when i put the ACT on in place of my spec (remember, i never touched my hydraulic system) was torque the ACT down to the max recommended torque rating. I had the spec on at the middle of the recommended torque rating.