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Thoughts on shimming pivot ball vs extended slave rod.

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Galaxy

20+ Year Contributor
284
2
Aug 17, 2002
Gainesville, Florida
I just put in an ACT 2100 clutch in my 92 and after reading several threads saying to shim the pivot ball with an aftermarket clutch....somehow my dumb ass neglected to do it and I even remember a quote from one thread.

"Don't come cryin' back here when your clutch engages just off the floor"

I won't lie,that clutch install owned my ass and took almost 3 weeks,I don't want to take it all out to shim the pivot ball. So while reading up on the Band-Aid extended slave rod and not to do it ,I thought about shimming the pivot ball and the extended slave rod and wouldn't both of those essentially be the same Band-Aid fix? The pivot ball shimming would change the fulcrum height and while the extended slave rod wouldn't,it would accomplish essentially the same thing by extending the travel of the fork ... making the clutch engage higher off the floor.

Am I thinking about that wrong?:aha:
 
Shimming the pivot ball keep the clutch fork at optimum angle so it sits right. The extended rod puts increased stress on components like fork, tob, slave and master. While the extended rod may help your situation, know that you may be creating other negative situations. Have you checked how your fork sits?
 
It sits quite centered in the rectangular hole/boot in the tranny.

I'm not taking any action as of yet with the extended rod or pivot ball,was just a thought on how they both work.I plan to bleed the system to see if that helps, I just need to get some fluid first.

I see what you're saying about keeping the clutch fork at an optimum angle though and that makes sense.I was also thinking that with a new,thicker clutch disk the pedal should be closer to the floor and as the disk gets thinner the pedal should have room to rise...just not that much room.

I like it engaging off the floor better than I like it slipping all the time,maybe I'll find a happy medium after a bleed.
 
Dont get an extended rod. Just shim the ball and call it good. I shimmed mine and eliminated most of my clutch problems.
 
"Don't come cryin' back here when your clutch engages just off the floor"

LOL Sounds like something I would say:

I don't want to see a thread on here in a week after you get it together saying "Clutch engages just off the floor."[/url]

You are going to have to shim it. If you resurfaced the stock flywheel and slapped it back on that material you removed just shifted the clutch pressure plate further away from the TOB. Also, aftermarket parts fit differently than stock parts and need to be adjusted properly by shimming. The extended slave rod should NEVER be used. If the clutch fork is not shimmed properly and is positioned closer to the passenger's side. Then you decide to use the extended slave rod to make up the difference, the fork will be pressed up against the trans case and you risk cracking the trans case. Plus you won't have as much throw to the TOB to fully disengage the clutch since it will be bottoming out on the case.

I know it sucks, but just muster up the courage and pull the trans and shim the thing. :thumb:
 
And extended push rod really doesn't do anything. If your fork is centered in the boot, then technically it is good. Bleed the system out really well and you may have to adjust your clutch master cylinder push rod to get the pedal height right.
 
LOL Sounds like something I would say:



You are going to have to shim it. If you resurfaced the stock flywheel and slapped it back on that material you removed just shifted the clutch pressure plate further away from the TOB. Also, aftermarket parts fit differently than stock parts and need to be adjusted properly by shimming. The extended slave rod should NEVER be used. If the clutch fork is not shimmed properly and is positioned closer to the passenger's side. Then you decide to use the extended slave rod to make up the difference, the fork will be pressed up against the trans case and you risk cracking the trans case. Plus you won't have as much throw to the TOB to fully disengage the clutch since it will be bottoming out on the case.

haha...that was you! What you said makes plenty of sense now and if after bleeding it still is not right,I'll man up and pull that thing back out when I find another project.

Nightracer91,I have also not messed with the clutch master cylinder pushrod adjustment so I'll look at that after bleeding if its still that close to the floor.

I appreciate the responses guys,I wasn't sure if I was thinking about that right or not and I wasn't,haha.
 
Try the master cylinder adjustment before shimming anything. Then check for any pedal slop. That wound up being my problem after having checked it once before and thinking it was alright. There's only one clutch I've ever heard of being acceptable to use the extended rod with, which still makes little sense to me, but it's not the 2100.
 
I have the act 2600 clutch on my engine with a resurfaced flywheel, How far should i shim the pivot ball?
 
Shimming the pivot ball, and the extended rod do the exact same thing. However, shimming the ball helps keep the angles more favorable, but not by much.

You don't need to take it back apart to shim the ball. Just use the extended rod if you think you need it. Just make sure there is some play left in the slave cylinder.

Whats most important is that you get the clutch correctly bled, and adjusted. The adjustment is done at the clevis at the master cylinder. You'll want to adjust it in so that there is plenty of free play. Then bleed the clutch. Once bled screw the rod out to remove as much free play as possible. Make sure the rod doesn't in past the end of the threads in that clevis.

If that doesn't fix it, put new master and slave cylinders in it.
 
Definitely shim the pivot ball instead of using an extended slave rod. +1 on adjusting the master cylinder, first, since you say the fork sits in the center. If its in the center, you should be good to go.

As far as someone's question as to how much to shim it, I just find a washer that's the right size and slap it in. I'll put the tranny back on and check where the fork is. If it needs more, then I take the tranny off and add another. I've never needed more than one washer, and one clutch I put in the GSX didn't even need a washer. Basically just trial and error...
 
How do you not need to drop the trans again to shim the pivot ball? I forgot to do mine and am suffering from it now and don't have the time to drop my trans again and need to get my car running..
 
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