HELP - New ACT 2600 install

[TheRealMRDyno]

Ugh.

New ACT 2600 install, and I had to crowbar on the transmission pretty hard to get it to slide up against the block, then it went all at once. The alignment dowels are in there, used the alignment tool and torque wrenches, new everything, lubed shaft / splines, disk when on shaft easy in test fitting. But I did lean on that mother pretty hard, which is the only thing I can think of that might be causing this problem.

Now, pedal is spongy feeling - I have bled it to death, and the release fork appears to be moving about as far as it can in the transmission hole it goes through, so I don't thing travel of the release fork is the problem

AND - with clutch pressed fully down, I can not turn the AWD transfer case shaft out of the transmission.

So - should I be able to turn that shaft with some channel locks with the transmission in gear and the clutch pressed down?

And - is that spongy feel due to my brand new and now maybe bent clutch disk due to my high-force installation of the transmission to the engine? I have the terrible feeling that the clutch disk is bent (splined through shaft not perpendicular to disk) and causing this mushy, spongy clutch pedal issue, since that would cause a springy, long-travel engagement, which might not ever completely release.

Ugh, help me!!! (Thanks!)

 

[crash89]

The ACT 2600 pp is pretty heavy.. I wouldnt be gripping that output shaft with any kind of pliers due to damaging the teeth. Why do you need to turn that shaft? You shouldnt have had to pry on the trans to get it into place. If everything is lined up correctly (IE: both dowels, input shaft into disc)and you used the disc alignment tool included with the new clutch the trans should have just slid up into place..

Put the car up on jacks and start the car. Clutch in and try to go through every gear.. Or you can do it on the ground too if youd like. I think you are just scared because you arent used to the heavy pressure plate.

 

[91awd26]

Agree with the above post. I bought my WRX with I believe (it's been a few years) a 2600 in it and getting used to the feel of it was kind of tricky for the first few drives. It's a much different feel compared to a stock clutch.

 

[TheRealMRDyno]

Thanks, but:

1) Clutch does not really seem heavy at all, just a little heavier than the almost-not-there stock clutch. The pedal just feels spongy, but the release fork is moving a long ways, and holds, with the clutch pedal, so I don't think bleeding is the answer.

2) I want to see that transfer case shaft turn by hand to be sure the clutch is disengaging - easier to figure that out now than after the car is completely reassembled. I am not cranking the channel-locks enough to hurt the splines, I was hoping it would not take a ton of torque to turn that shaft.

3) The clutch was aligned with the tool, and the dowels and holes were clean - I don't know why that sucker would not push up cleanly, it moved on the shaft just fine when I test fit it.

 

[91awd26]

As previously mentioned, if everything was put together correctly and lined up correctly it should not have taken that kind of force to get the transmission in. If you have any doubts about any of it the best thing you can do is go through and recheck your work. This would involve tearing everything you just put together back apart but if you are doubting any part of the install like it sounds then it is probably better to do it twice and know it's right than just decide to finish it up and hope for the best. It has been my experience that even though it can be a huge pain you will usually be better off tearing back into it to find the issue. If nothing else it will give you peace of mind knowing that nothing is out of place or damaged and you can go from there. Probably not the answer you were looking for but that's the only way you're ever going to know for sure.

 

[TheRealMRDyno]

Thanks for thinking about this.

The only thing I can think of is if the clutch alignment tool did not get the friction disk perfectly centered. Given the wobbly feel of it, and the fact that I did this in-car, it seems likely that the friction disk was slightly off-center, probably towards down, when assembled. I did eyeball it, and I could not convince myself it was off center in any direction, so I went with it. However, with a very tightly clamped friction plate, and alignment dowels, any misalignment at all is going to require big forces to put everything together. That is all I can think of, and I have taken the thing back apart, and when I did that, I got the same don't-wanna-go behavior trying to just put it back on, even though I did rotate the engine several times while it was together.

So, I am thinking about running out to Summit for a new friction disk, since I could have bent that thing putting it in, and a bent friction plate accounts, as far as I can figure, for both a) not completely releasing, and b) feeling spongy - my thought is that the spongy feeling comes from the week force from the warped disk coming in first, then the stiffer resistance from the clutch actually being released.

Everything I have read about these clutches centers around these items:

a) Bleeding them - done to death, slave/fork moves immediately after slop in pedal (19,xxx miles on this car, it really should not be worn yet!), seems to move linearly with pedal, and moves about as far as it looks like it can in the hole in the transmission - anybody know just how far the slave/fork should move?

b) Adjusting the clutch - does not appear to be required - stroke is determined by master/slave relationship, so as long as the master starts moving fluid near the top of the stroke and releases (or picks up) fluid at the very top , I think it is good. That is what the factory would shoot for, and it would not be different with any other clutch. And, the slave starts moving as soon as the pedal slop is gone.

c) Shims/longer rods - this only makes sense if the spring fingers are at a different height from the flywheel compared to stock, and I think it would have to be a lot different. You can not increase the stroke by doing this, and the slave cylinder preload can vary enough to deal with a lot, I think. If the slave moves freely, you are OK. If the clutch spring finger height requires way too much preload, you can't assemble it, the slave would be bottomed. If it requires less, the slave cylinder would either a) pop out or b) bottom out (not sure how they are built internally), making the clutch way hard at the end of travel. If the clutch really requires more stroke to disengage, you are kind of hosed - a longer rod would maybe work, by running the throw out bearing preloaded all the time with the slave bottomed out, but that bearing is going to die pretty young I think.

I would really appreciate any comments on this.

Thanks,
Joe

Thinking more about this, a warped friction disk would probably not account for the spongy feeling, it would probably just make the clutch pressure a little higher, and it would come out proportionately with the clutch release, and probably be much, much less than the clutch spring pressure.

So, maybe bleeding past-death is required, or maybe the ACT 2600 pressure plate just has a spongy feeling to it? Anybody have one? What does it feel like? Spongy, or "clean"? The stock one felt "clean", but really, really soft. It only had 19,xxx miles on it from the factory, and was in pretty good shape.

Also, is there a bench bleeding requirement for the master or slave cylinders? I have had that problem with some master cylinders.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[91awd26]

There are no leaks anywhere in the system are there? Also are I'm not sure if it can be done but anything is possible, is the cylinder installed on the correct side of the tabs it mounts to on the transmission. You may possibly just have to bleed it more, I have had brakes and clutches that bled VERY quickly and easily and then I have seen a few cases that took forever and out of nowhere everything finally worked out. I'm just throwing ideas out there and if they are things you have already checked I appologize for not being much help.