Clutch Frustration! $10 to YOUR paypal account!

[Catbox_95]

The shop installed my ACT2600 clutch today, and an ACT light-weight flywheel. Got it back together, and pressing on the clutch pedal does nothing as far as letting the car get into gear. I mean, the slave cylinder moves, but the clutch will not disengage. If we leave the car off, put it in gear, hold the clutch, and try to start it - the car moves like the clutch isn't being pressed in. However, the clutch pedal feels stiffer, like a stiffer clutch was installed. We can't figure it out! Need help, and as the title says.... and I'm not kidding!

BTW, it has a new slave cylinder, new master cylinder, it was bled, and the clutch pedal rod is adjusted.

Many thanks in advance-
Robert

 

[jott5555]

theres still air bubbles in it..

make one of these
http://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/bleeder.htm

make sure its all bled and readjust the pedel.. the other issue is that the seal in between the piston and fluid resivor on the slave or mastery cylinder may be kinked, pinched ect... and letting fluid escape.. ive had both happen

paypal id is [email protected]

 

[Dieselboy]

So when you turn the car off, put it into gear, then turn it back on, the car creeps forward? Sounds more to me like the shop didn't restep the flywheel to spec. Ask them if they did (resurfacing a flywheel is NOT resteping it), and if not, that is your problem. Resteping the flywheel is necessary for the 2600 (or just about any clutch for that matter) to disengage properly. The correct step height is .609.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

i would have to think that a new clutch and flywheel set from act would be correct...just bolt it on. if air was in the line, the pedal feel would be spongyer (sp?), not harder. could it be a busted ear on the clutch fork? you would feel a stiffer pedal...but without it engageing square to the release bearing, it might not be disengageing properly.

http://www.taboospeedshop.com/brokenforks.htm

just my .02

jim

 

[Catbox_95]

I thought that when replacing the clutch, the master and slave cylinders really weren't touched, and so technically wouldn't even need to be bled. I mean, I know the slave is removed, but that shouldn't matter, right?

 

[leet]

i would have to think that a new clutch and flywheel set from act would be correct...just bolt it on. if air was in the line, the pedal feel would be spongyer (sp?), not harder. could it be a busted ear on the clutch fork? you would feel a stiffer pedal...but without it engageing square to the release bearing, it might not be disengageing properly.

http://www.taboospeedshop.com/brokenforks.htm

just my .02

jim

WRONG. ALWAYS check tolerances.

How far over is the clutch fork from the slave cylinder? Is it angling towards it, or away from it? You may just need to shim the pivot ball.

 

[Catbox_95]

They're still working on it. I give them your suggestions, I don't think they've been able to figure it out yet though. I really hope they get it running today because I have a free dyno run in the morning!

I'll keep you posted on this as to who wins the $10!

 

[myblack98gst]

[email protected] <-- for my payment..

the clutch disk is installed backwards..

Flywheel side facing the clutch. the disk has 2 different depths on the center. the spring loaded side faces the clutch. if it faces the flywheel it gets hung on the bolts.


I know this for a fact, because it happened to me when I got in a hurry putting mine back together. the slave moves plenty to disengage. and if you remove the rubber seal around the release fork you can look in there and see the clutch diaphram moving also

 

[Catbox_95]

Well, so far they are telling me that ACT sent them the wrong flywheel and it's too thick. Could this be true? They will know more this afternoon.

I thought myblack98gst had it nailed, it made the most sense to me!

 

[myblack98gst]

I highly doubt they got the wrong flywheel... since it actually bolted to the crank and clutch and connects with the starter okay

 

[Catbox_95]

So then do you think that this could be BS and they just don't want to admit they made a mistake?

 

[oldman]

So then do you think that this could be BS and they just don't want to admit they made a mistake?

Did you buy the clutch from them as well? If so, they're still responsible for the wrong flywheel.

 

[1993eclipseGS]

Did you try adjusting the clutch pedal rod all the way out? Thats what happened to me.

 

[FutureGSXOwner]

Same exact problem happened to me. I took it back, they adjusted the pedal assembly, extended the slave pushrod, and replaced the master and slave for good measure. I don't want your 10 dollars but that's what you need to do and make sure it's done correctly, along with bleeding properly.

 

[Catbox_95]

As mentioned in my original post, it already has a new slave cylinder, new master cylinder, it was bled, and the clutch pedal rod is adjusted. The slave cylinder is pushing the clutch fork all the way, it can't move any further.

But check out this crap - It's a 2600 and so the spring pressure is high, right? Well, apparently so high, in fact, that when the clutch fork presses against the pressure plate, instead of the clutch disk moving away from the flywheel, the pressure plate flexes! And it flexes a lot. All it does is flex, and the clutch disk never moves away from the flywheel.

Could this be a defect from ACT? ACT insists that it's not and it is because of something wrong with my car, but that makes no sense. We are calling ACT and the Speedfactor.com (where I bought it from) and we are trying to see what they will do about this.

 

[FutureGSXOwner]

It's not a defect. Do a search and you'll find that this is extremely common in 2G's. Something isnt in spec.

 

[Catbox_95]

What could possibly be out of spec that is causing the pressure plate to flex?

 

[91lizard]

did the dumbasses put the throwout bearing in front or behind the fork just a thought

 

[ArticNemesis]

Didn't see a mileage for your car, but are you sure it's the pressure plate flexing and not a bent clutch fork?

I've seen a lot of posts with your type of problem, and it's turned out that the old,worn-out fork flexed and bent before it could move the pressure plate fingers.

 

[i jus 8 ur vtec]

im not exactly sure but i heard on several occasions that 2g flywheels are known to explode or crack or something could this be the flywheel itself or something else causing the flywheel to do this.................dont wanna steal the thread but can someone give me info on this problem............



Monty

[email protected] is my paypal.......didnt give u an answer but i still need money

 

[i jus 8 ur vtec]

[email protected] is the email

 

[overdoseheroin]

unscrew the shift fork pivot ball and put a washer or two behind it. everytime i install an act clutch a at least put an 1/8 inch washer behind the pivot ball. usually thats wat happens and if u do this it should be fine, you could also buy the extended slave cylinder but the washer idea is less costly. shitty parts is u have to pull the tranny back out.

 

[ArticNemesis]

im not exactly sure but i heard on several occasions that 2g flywheels are known to explode or crack or something could this be the flywheel itself or something else causing the flywheel to do this.................dont wanna steal the thread but can someone give me info on this problem............

Try using the search. He already stated is using an act flywheel with an act clutch. Your post has nothing to do with this thread, so post elsewhere. Quit trying to steal other people's threads.

unscrew the shift fork pivot ball and put a washer or two behind it. everytime i install an act clutch a at least put an 1/8 inch washer behind the pivot ball. usually thats wat happens and if u do this it should be fine, you could also buy the extended slave cylinder but the washer idea is less costly. shitty parts is u have to pull the tranny back out.

Usually this is a result of a worn clutch fork or pivot ball. A new one should fix this also. (But I agree, washers are cheaper)


As for the extended slave rod, I was able to fit a very small socket on the end of the stock slave rod (It was a 1/4" drive, not sure of the size that fit on it perfectly, and pressed against the clutch fork, wasn't going anywhere). It extended the rod by about a 1/4 of an inch, and gave me that extra leverage I needed to activate the clutch. (It's also cheap, if you have sockets laying around. )

 

[Catbox_95]

All right, here it is guys - (BTW, thanks for all your suggestions)

The clutch fork is top-shape. The stock clutch and pressure plate have 3,500 miles on them, along with the new fork. The flywheel, however, was junk and so an ACT light-weight one was used.

We tried extending the slave cylinder throw using a 1/4" block of aluminum. The slave cylinder would push the fork all the way up against the transmission housing, and still no clutch release.

So we stuck washers at the fork pivot point to get more throw, and STILL no release.

We removed the dust cover from the fork to try and see what's going on in there, and it blew our minds - the pressure plate was flexing! It would flex and no release from the flywheel. We mounted a dial indicator to the transmission and pressed on the clutch, and sure enough, flexing like crazy. We took a video and sent it to ACT because they didn't believe us.

Upon learning this and looking at the ACT pressure plate, we were very unimpressed. The stock pressure plate is built 10 times better. The stock one has ridges and deformations to strengthen it up, while the ACT is just flat across.

I went and bought a Centerforce Dual Friction from a local supplier here in Houston on Saturday, and 3 hours later, the car runs great - clutch works flawlessly.

This may be an odd case or whatever, but ACT has been very uncooperative. And this being my first experience with a DSM aftermarket clutch, guess what my opinion is of ACT and my opinion of Centerforce?

 

[oldman]

So who does the $10 go to? Is it too late to edit my post?