Clutch is so bad I can barely drive the car, please help.

[PieEyedPiper]

Whenever I push down the clutch the pedal feels soft and spongy yet difficult to press.

This was after changing to a SS clutch line and changing to an Autozone brand master and slave cylinder.

I had noticed around Feb.that the master cylinder was leaking pretty bad so I replaced it with a brand new OEM master. The problem, while diminished, was still present.

Then just last week I changed out my slave (broken boot - not yet leaking that I could see) in an attempt to put an end to this misery.
The problem seemed solved until the next day. Once again I was presented with mushy inconsistent pedal feel.



Bottom line:


In the last year I have upgraded to a FULL SS clutch line directly from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder, bypassing the reservoir.
I've also changed a leaking master cylinder with a brand new OEM master and just last week I replaced a leaking slave cylinder with a new OEM part.
My clutch pedal still feels awful and drivability of the car is severely impacted despite much clutch bleeding and replacing of parts.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[UsMarine20M]

Is the clutch slipping at all?

 

[bling5tatus]

are you bleeding the line correctly? I forget where the guide I used was, but someone from here posted it, and it NEVER involved pumping the clutch pedal. My clutch works great. The only clutch pedal use it involved was getting someone to hold the pedal to the floor for a moment, while you bleed the slave into a container with brake fluid in it via a vacuum line (to avoid sucking air into the bleed screw).... do that about 6 times, topping off the reservoir as needed, and then taking the bleed screw completely out of the slave, pushing the rod on the slave all the way in as far as it will go (watch out it will squirt brake fluid everywhere when you do this, i'm not joking) and then, while holding it in as far as it goes, screwing the bleed screw back in. Then you release the rod and as it comes back out, you guide it into the clutch fork.

 

[cbassgsx]

was the flywheel step in spec?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Is the clutch slipping at all?

No, it's a spec stage 2+. Good for 400ft.lbs. trq. Never seen any abuse or track time and its only a year and half old.

was the flywheel step in spec?

During installation of my clutch I had the flywheel resurfaced but with the amount of chatter I got when received the car back I suspect some slight runout.

Also, along with some insane chatter, ever since I had my clutch done I've been getting the P0300 Random Multiple Cylinder Misfire CEL whenever I'm on the highway cruising around 3k rpm. I've made extensive threads and done much research on that one only to find a lot of "Me too's" and no solution to my ailments.

are you bleeding the line correctly? I forget where the guide I used was, but someone from here posted it, and it NEVER involved pumping the clutch pedal. My clutch works great. The only clutch pedal use it involved was getting someone to hold the pedal to the floor for a moment, while you bleed the slave into a container with brake fluid in it via a vacuum line (to avoid sucking air into the bleed screw).... do that about 6 times, topping off the reservoir as needed, and then taking the bleed screw completely out of the slave, pushing the rod on the slave all the way in as far as it will go (watch out it will squirt brake fluid everywhere when you do this, i'm not joking) and then, while holding it in as far as it goes, screwing the bleed screw back in. Then you release the rod and as it comes back out, you guide it into the clutch fork.

To bleed, I loosen the bolt on the slave and push the clutch pedal down to push out fluid into a bottle with a vacuum line in it. Before lifting the pedal I run around to the slave again and tighten the bolt in the slave and raise the pedal back up.
I repeat until satisfied, never allowing air to get sucked into the master cylinder's reservoir.
Finally I loosen off the slave bolt on last time and push the slave's push rod in and mid-stream I tighten up the bolt again.

I believe this method to be fairly well accepted?

Thanks for the responses guys!

 

[cbassgsx]

the mushyness sounds kind of like air. have you thought about getting a speedbleeder or a vacuum bleeder setup. Do you pedals have play? Too shallow of a step (off by mere thousandths) will make your clutch grab like a mother but be next to impossible to disengage.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

the mushyness sounds kind of like air. have you thought about getting a speedbleeder or a vacuum bleeder setup. Do you pedals have play? Too shallow of a step (off by mere thousandths) will make your clutch grab like a mother but be next to impossible to disengage.

I've looked into speedbleeders but I wasnt sure what size I need and the other systems get very pricey at $60-200+.
You might have hit it on the head with the flywheel step though. The clutch is hard to slip, grabs like a maniac (the spec stage 2+ is a 6 puck/full face hybrid though) and disengagement takes me what seems like the full stroke of the clutch.

The pedal clicks, but has no play that I can tell. I also went ahead and greased all the bushings/bearings/joints in the pedal linkage today while I was fussing with it.

I've also considered that the full SS line I bought from SBR last year might have been leaking from the start, thus why I've had mushy pedals problems for well over a year now.

I just bled the system again today and it feels awesome but when it inevitably turns sour I'll leak test the ss line on my next bleeding session.

Not much I can do about flywheel runout though...
I had a feeling I should have upgraded flywheels rather than resurface the stocker when I was getting my clutch done.

 

[cbassgsx]

http://www.3sx.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=1405
That is the speed bleeder.I think I got my vacuum setup for $25 at Auto Zone and it works great.This is the one http://www.drillspot.com/products/3...IAL-MITYVAC_07000_Vac-Brake-Bleed-PumpKit?s=1

 

[PieEyedPiper]

This problem is driving me nuts. I've started to keep tabs on this issue in my blog.
Thanks for the speedbleeder info, I have one installed and so far I like it for fast bleeding. Takes me less than 4 minutes to fully bleed the clutch now.
And yes, I do it often, too often.

Early this month I replaced both cylinders again, I'm trying out an extended slave rod, and I've replaced the SS line with a nice coated one from MachV. 2 weeks later my clutch went to shit, again.

Something must be causing me to blow slaves/masters all the time. I can't make enough money to keep replacing them this often - especially if it will only grant me smooth pedal feel for only 2 weeks.