ZERO clutch pressure. need help

[turboedspyder]

so i pulled my car into the garage into the garage to install the lowering springs. went fine, started it up to pull it out and the clutch sticks on the floor. ive had a soft pedal occasionally before but it never stuck. the master isnt leaking at all. but i might just try replacing the slave and master at the same time. any suggestions?? the clutch was also just bled just over 1000 miles ago so i dont think thats the problem. dont really see any leaks though, thats what im confused about...

 

[96eclipzGsT]

Does it stick all the way to the floor? Do you have to pull it up with your hand or does it eventually return? How many miles are on the car?

 

[turboedspyder]

sticks completly to the floor and doesnt move up at all. wont let me get into any gear. just replaced the slace and bled the system and nothing. and the master doesnt seem like its leaking at all. only 1500 miles on the motor and rebuilt tranny and everything. still lost...

 

[nyTalonTsi]

The master doesn't have to leak to be defective.

Sounds like there is air in the clutch line. Hows the line?

 

[96eclipzGsT]

Hrmm, maybe bent shift fork or something with the linkage. Was going to say check the crank endplay, but I don't think it would move forward that far and besides if you just rebuilt you should be okay there.

 

[turboedspyder]

theres no air in it at all and the line seems fine. dont see any leakage anywhere at all. please dont even say crankwalk, i just went through that 1500 miles ago, thats why everything is brand new. and it was hell. ill try messin with the clutch pedal adjustment and see how that goes

 

[turboedspyder]

bled the system again and finally got some pressure. the pedal doesnt stick to the ground anymore but it still doesnt have alot of pressure. also cant get it into any gear, and reverse grinds. any ideas what it could be??? i need some suggestions. possible master? something inside the tranny?

 

[southrneclipser]

before tearing into the tranny replace everything else first. You don't want to waste any time or money and it being something simple

 

[sag1441]

yeah double check the linkage, stick your head under the dash and check everything. make sure the rod is correctly adjusted behind the pedal.

i went through this 3 times. slave the first, master the second, snapped clutch fork the third

 

[turboedspyder]

i was thinking of adjusting the clutch pedal but it was always decent before. would it really change without me ever toughing it??

 

[ifeelubu]

I have similar problem but my problem is that sometime my car doesnt want to go into gear and i hear the clutch dragging as well dont mean to take your post but any help with this might be related to your problem

 

[my dreamt dsm]

Trying to save you money by not changing the slave cylinder and master. That may not be the problem because I have a similar situation and I changed both. But the problem is still the same.
If it is your clutch fork it would of be the same problem everytime.
If it gets some pressure and no pressure. Then that may not be your fork. I also agree on changing the position of the clutch return thingy. That might help because of the position that allows for your clutch to be brought back up.
here is my thread of the situation and try to use the video on the thread for help.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/dri...ch-pedal-half-way-up-high-rev-speed-stop.html
You may bleed it as much as you want but that is not going to help in the long run. Sure it may feel good for a few shifts but a few seconds later it will go back to normal.

 

[turboedspyder]

now i notice that when i get on it and shift around 6500-7, it is very hard to shift into the next gear. the pedal gets really soft and only comes about 2-3 inches off the floor. oculd this be because of the clutch pedal adjustment?? thanks for the help

 

[moongod117]

yeah double check the linkage, stick your head under the dash and check everything. make sure the rod is correctly adjusted behind the pedal.

i went through this 3 times. slave the first, master the second, snapped clutch fork the third

BAD PRESSUER PLATE COMMON PROBLEM FOR THESE CARS

 

[mikelv]

now i notice that when i get on it and shift around 6500-7, it is very hard to shift into the next gear. the pedal gets really soft and only comes about 2-3 inches off the floor. oculd this be because of the clutch pedal adjustment?? thanks for the help

Take a look at everything first to make sure everything's tight:

1. All tranny bolts are tight, sometimes they can come lose, it happens. You'll have engagement problems and all sorts of pedal issues.

2. Check out the Shifter cables and make sure the bushings are not torn. You said you had a shifter kit, I'm assuming you're talking about the shifter side in the car. Check the cables mounted on top of the tranny. The rubber bushings can be worn/broken causing all kinds of sloppy play feel in the shifter. Make sure all the coder pins are okay.

3. Check the Fluid Collector Unit (FCU) mounted on the transmission to make sure nothing is leaking. Next ensure that none of the metal lines are pinched off or bent causing less fluid pressure to reach the slave cylinder.

4. If you have taken out the tranny/motor together this can happen sometimes. Either way it can happen if you're in a rush doing a motor/tranny swap. Check to make sure you didn't over-bend or pinch off any of the clutch lines that run across the frame to the firewall. I remember you saying that you did shocks as well, make sure you didn't pinch a line. If that stuff is okay, I still recommend getting rid of the FCU and hard line in favor of a full SS clutch line. $35.00 for a Master to Slave @ Extreme PSI.

5. The most likely reason is you still have not bled the line good enough. I know there are multiple tech posts on here on how to bleed your clutch properly. Here is one:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...how-properly-bleed-your-hydraulic-clutch.html


**** The easiest way I do it is simple: I get 3 people, (doesn't matter who, usually my GF and the neighbor or something). I get under the car with a 10mm wrench on the bleeder and have my GF stand at the reservoir with a full bottle of DOT 4 synthetic. What you do is get a clean empty water bottle and fill it with some clean fluid. If you’re line hasn’t been done for a while it’s best to actually flush it all first. You can take a 1- 1 1/2 ft section of vacuum hose and place it over the bleeder. Put your little wrench on it first so you can loosen it.
If you’re going to flush it just get another empty bottle to collect all the dirty fluid. Just open it up, stick the hose into the empty bottle, have someone pump the clutch by hand, and empty the entire system of all the nasty fluid. Have the other person continue to pour new fluid in and keep pumping until you see all the nasty stuff gone and clean fluid spitting out.

Once it’s clean then bleed it:

Now take your clean water bottle filled up half way with clean fluid and stick the vacuum hose complexly submerged. Have the guy pump the hell out the clutch and have the other person keep the reservoir full, might take 2 bottles to do all this, or one big one. Either way once you see the bubbles disappear, quickly tighten the bleeder while he’s still pumping and have the other person (keeping it full) cap the reservoir. The clutch should now hold its own.


6. If you bleed it the way I said and you don’t have any pressure, either you did it wrong or something else going on inside the bell housing. While someone is giving the pedal some good pumps, look at the slave to see if the rod is engaging the fork. If the slave appears to be moving the fork fine then you’ll have to open it up to make sure your pressure plate bolts aren’t loose. If there is no movement in the slave you can (at least for now) narrow it back down to between the master and slave. Not too sure how new your aftermarket clutch is but you’re probably okay there unless you beat the hell out of it. You more than certain have loose bolts, air in the clutch line, torn/loose shifter & cable bushings or a combination of all. Check that out and let us know, don’t just say “I’ve tried all that!”…..sometimes we get frustrated with problems, start rushing, and become pessimists. Take your time, check it out and get back at us.

 

[turboedspyder]

wow thanks alot for all that help. im actually taking a trip down to extreme today so ill grab the ss clutch line kit. i might just grab a new master cylinder just incase also. ill check for the tranny bolts and linkage and all that other good stuff tomorrow. and the clutch is def bled 100% perfect. we spent 2 hours on it and its stiffer than its ever been until i accelerate hard or sometimesssss...on left turns. which i know is a sign of crankwalk. but i dont think thats possible. i got crankwalk before and got this new motor, put just over 1000 miles on it, theres no way i could get crankwalk again and have that bad luck. im thinking theres something with my tranny/clutch that i have to figure out to get rid of this problem for good

 

[mikelv]

wow thanks alot for all that help. im actually taking a trip down to extreme today so ill grab the ss clutch line kit. i might just grab a new master cylinder just incase also. ill check for the tranny bolts and linkage and all that other good stuff tomorrow. and the clutch is def bled 100% perfect. we spent 2 hours on it and its stiffer than its ever been until i accelerate hard or sometimesssss...on left turns. which i know is a sign of crankwalk. but i dont think thats possible. i got crankwalk before and got this new motor, put just over 1000 miles on it, theres no way i could get crankwalk again and have that bad luck. im thinking theres something with my tranny/clutch that i have to figure out to get rid of this problem for good

Your tranny bolts are loose or the clutch is burnt out.

If it's not that then the pressure plate and/or flywheel bolts are loose.

Take a 14mm and go around the bell housing and make sure they're all tight. Don't forget about the 12mm bolts on the backside of the bell housing. Also check to make sure you didn't break off any dowel pins on the transmission and that the tranny and engine are flush with each other, all the way around.

Also check the front and rear transmission mounts (Crossmember mounting points) and make sure you haven't cracked or broken any of those. You said you had Prothane mounts, do you have the crossmember inserts as well?

If you have to pull the motor the pressure plate bolts are a 12mm and the Flywheel bolts are a 19mm. If all that shit is snug then you probabaly burned the clutch disc out. If you get as far as having to tighten flywheel and pressure plate bolts then obviously you'll figure that part out.

If you lose pressure when you get on it then your tranny is pulling away from the motor. Happens from loose bolts.

You don't have crankwalk but you will again as long as you have a heavy pressure plate on there. You'll wear the thrust bearing much faster. It will happen to any motor will a real heavy pressure plate, it's the nature of the beast.

How old is that clutch?

 

[turboedspyder]

just ocer 1000 miles. i got a new clutch when i did the engine rebuild. its a fidanza 3500, i thought they had the "softest" , i guess you could say, pressure plate to help prevent crankwalk. when you talk about the tranny bolts, do you mean the bolts connectiong the tranny to the block?? or other bolts on the tranny? i dont think its crankwalk ### theres no noises coming from the timing belt area, only slight squeaking sometimes from the tranny side of the bay, which i think might be the tob

 

[mikelv]

just ocer 1000 miles. i got a new clutch when i did the engine rebuild. its a fidanza 3500, i thought they had the "softest" , i guess you could say, pressure plate to help prevent crankwalk. when you talk about the tranny bolts, do you mean the bolts connectiong the tranny to the block?? or other bolts on the tranny? i dont think its crankwalk ### theres no noises coming from the timing belt area, only slight squeaking sometimes from the tranny side of the bay, which i think might be the tob

No man, it's not crankwalk. If the clutch is new and the line is bled, you have loose bolts somewhere.

A 3500 is a pretty heavy pressure plate if you're talking about a SBR or ACT, (same thing).

But Findanza I'm not too sure about, I am assuming that's a pretty heavy plate. Not like it's going to kill the car tomorrow but daily driver cars can get pretty worn out on aftermarket setups. Just something to keep in mind...

Yes, the tranny bolts that hold it to the block. Vibration from heavy use, or heavier clutches will sometimes loosen these bolts. It's just something that happens, always a good idea to check them.

First time it happend to me, it was the same thing. I was running a 500hp or so setup on a ACT2600.....every pull would take the clutch pedal right to the floor. Thought it was crankwalk for sure....nope loose tranny bolts. It nake the tranny "give" just a little away from the motor and mess with the drivetrain enough to screw your pedal up.

 

[turboedspyder]

wow id ### i was thinking, its the fidanza 3.2 kevlar clutch kit. not no 3500. but yeah i will check all the tranny bolts tomorrow and let you know how that goes. if theyre all fine ill check the pressure plate bolts and flywheel bolts during the weekend. could it be a problem with the flywheel?? its still the stock one, we only got it resurfaced at a machine shop...

 

[mikelv]

wow id ### i was thinking, its the fidanza 3.2 kevlar clutch kit. not no 3500. but yeah i will check all the tranny bolts tomorrow and let you know how that goes. if theyre all fine ill check the pressure plate bolts and flywheel bolts during the weekend. could it be a problem with the flywheel?? its still the stock one, we only got it resurfaced at a machine shop...

I've heard about clutch disengament issues from not "stepping" a stock flywheel properly for an aftermarket clutch. I never had this issue personally because I bought both ACT units at the same time. I'm not a drivetrain expert, so when you go to Extreme you need to ask them about it; or at least the machinist who resurfaced the flywheel for you.

Here is a tech article about running an ACT unit with a stock flywheel. Obviously you are running a different clutch, the the principle is still the same.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-drivetrain/93356-act-2600lb-clutch-information.html

Would be a good idea to contact Finanza technical support and ask them what the step would be running that unit with a stock flywheel. Explain your situation and that you are running a stock flywheel with that clutch, would you be experiencing problems? My answer would be that it probably doesn't help. I'll hit up a few of my drivetrain experts on this topic as well.