Brand new clutch slipping

[greydelta38]

Okay, I'm having a very weird issue. This is just out of curiosity to see what you guys think it is, as I won't have the car much longer so it's not a huge problem.

Anyway, a few months back I started getting clutch slip really bad. Took the transmission apart, and my oem clutch was soaked in oil. Uh oh. I determined that since the 2g 4g63 doesn't have a splash shield on the tranny, my oil pan leak that I was too lazy to fix was spraying up in there and getting on the clutch face. It wasn't the seals, I checked. Clean.

No biggie. I ordered a new one, installed it, everything went fine, and as I was putting it all back together I resealed the oil pan all the way around and made sure it wasn't leaking anymore in order to avoid this problem. Gave it 350 miles break in and then drove it normally. It drove fine, put power down, felt great.

A few weeks ago I installed an SAFC2 unit in order to pull some more power out of the motor and be ready for a new turbo install (I'm still on t25). Got tuned professionally, motor pulled great and felt like normal.

Then, about 2 weeks ago, I noticed third gear start slipping again. I tested all the gears, seems like only third slips. Second pulls like normal, and as soon as I hit third, all the power is gone. Rpms shoot up and I go nowhere. The weird thing is, I can't smell a burning clutch at all, whereas the other time this happened it was VERY strong. I jacked it up, started shining my flashlight up in the guts, and no oil anywhere. I did see some drips from the valve cover but that's it.

Anyone have any idea what's causing this? And if it really was clutch slip then why would it only be in one of my gears?

Any input is appreciated, I'm sure I'm just overlooking something stupid but I can't imagine what it could be. Thanks guys

 

[jakk220]

Are you sure that the car is actually going into gear? Does it feel different at all when you shift into third? Because if it were a slipping clutch then you would smell it for sure and it would at least somewhat grab considering all the other gears are normal. Keep and eye on the shift levers on the transmission while you have someone shift through the gears and see if anything looks funny there also.

 

[kchaazz]

Its going to slip more in third, fourth and fifth gears cause theres much more load on the clutch in those gears. Have you checked to be sure you've got the proper amount of freeplay in your clutch pedal? If the adjustment rod on the master cylinder is out too far, it could cause the clutch to be preloaded and slip. Check this first, it is the easiest thing to correct.

 

[99gst_racer]

The oil was probably coming from the rear main seal, not the oil pan.

Whic clutch did you have before, and which clutch do you have now? Also, which flywheel are you running, and did you verify the step height?

 

[greydelta38]

The oil was probably coming from the rear main seal, not the oil pan.

Whic clutch did you have before, and which clutch do you have now? Also, which flywheel are you running, and did you verify the step height?

OEM clutch before and now. and OEM flywheel. It definitely was not the rear main seal, that was dry.

Are you sure that the car is actually going into gear? Does it feel different at all when you shift into third? Because if it were a slipping clutch then you would smell it for sure and it would at least somewhat grab considering all the other gears are normal. Keep and eye on the shift levers on the transmission while you have someone shift through the gears and see if anything looks funny there also.

Definitely engaging the gear. I tested that just to make sure I'm not "pulling a stupid" and I put it in third, and let the synchros do their job, and let it cruise in third for a sec, then jam it and it still slips, but no clutch smell like there was the last time.

As far as I know everything went in perfectly fine. I bled the system just to be sure and that didn't change anything. Is there any possible explanation for this other than the clutch?

 

[Jussi Bjorling]

Today I got it all back together, excited to test the fruits of my labor. Well the clutch is slipping very badly. If I press the accelerator down more than 1/10 the slippage starts. RPM's go up and no power to the wheels. I can get up to highway speeds by just accelerating slowly.
www.carobd2shop.com

 

[mattgbade]

Did u adjust your clutch pedal? You might need to adjust the clutch pedal itself i had a similar problem after puting in a master cylinder and my clutch was slipping because the pedal wasnt adjusted all the way right.

 

[greydelta38]

Did u adjust your clutch pedal? You might need to adjust the clutch pedal itself i had a similar problem after puting in a master cylinder and my clutch was slipping because the pedal wasnt adjusted all the way right.

Hm. I guess it's possible... I adjusted it to release at the very top of the arm, Is it possible that the clutch is slipping because the clutch isn't fully engaging?

 

[kchaazz]

Hm. I guess it's possible... I adjusted it to release at the very top of the arm, Is it possible that the clutch is slipping because the clutch isn't fully engaging?

Yes, because, like I told you a few posts back, if there is no free play at the top of the pedal, the hydraulic system could very well be preloaded and its the easiest thing for you to check before you ruin the clutch...

 

[greydelta38]

Yes, because, like I told you a few posts back, if there is no free play at the top of the pedal, the hydraulic system could very well be preloaded and its the easiest thing for you to check before you ruin the clutch...

Alright I'll check it out. Thanks a ton

 

[jakk220]

Easy way to test this is try to push the clutch fork towards the slave cylinder with your thumb. If you can push it in then its okay, if its really hard and wont move then you have the clutch pre-loaded.

 

[b00st3d]

Was the step height of the flywheel checked when the clutch was replaced?

Here's the process:

http://www.roadraceengineering.com/clutchandflywheeltech.htm

 

[greydelta38]

I haven't had a lot of time with the car recently to the South's weather issue the last week or so. I should get around to it soon and I'll update, it may be awhile because I have another car to attend to at the moment. I appreciate all the help and tips you guys are giving me.