Couple of quick questions to those with Spec products

89_Red_Xr7

Registered User
So I've finally got my car back on the road after sitting for awhile.
I've got a Spec stage 1 clutch and Spec 11 lb flywheel in it.
Overall im really happy with both of them, the lightweight flywheel makes driving really fun and i'm still breaking the clutch in.
but I just had a few questions.

The stage 1 clutch is HEAVY. alot heavier than my stocker. Is this normal? I actually kind of like the heavyness, but just wondering.

Secondly the clutch engages really aggresively, almost right at the end of the pedal movement. again, is this normal for the stage 1 ?

Finally, the clutch/flywheel has a little bit of chatter to it, not anywhere near the chatter that my old clutch gave, but it's still there. Could this be a by product of the metallic clutch material and heavy pedal/sharp engagement?

Andrew.
 
Last edited:
Anyone?

Anyone?
I've been rereading some of the stuff about the Spec stage 1 clutches, and they're supposed to have a stock like pressure and engagement. Definatly not what I'm getting with this one.
When I did the clutch, everything went by the book. Bolted up the flywheel and torqued to 60lb/ft with a little anti-sieze on the bolts. Got the clutch on and bolted the pressureplate on and torqued to 25lb/ft. Pilot bearing looked good, so I didnt replace it with the brass bushing that came with the clutch. Slave cyl/TOB have around 18-20k miles on them and they work fine. Why would the clutch be so stiff and engage at the top of the pedal like this?(i can depress the pedal MAYBE 3in. and put the tranny in any gear I want with no resistance.)
Also, I still can't figure out why the clutch is chattering? When I replaced it,I made sure that everything was clean and oil-free so i wouldnt get the disc/flywheel/pressureplate all greasy. I also put on a new rear main(old one leaked like crazy). I did'nt see any oil drips from the car this morning, so that shouldnt be causing the chatter.
Anyone have any ideas to point me in the right direction in figuring this out??

Andrew
 
might need to bleed some air out of your slave cylinder. Give that a try so see if its working properly.
 
fastsc92 said:
might need to bleed some air out of your slave cylinder. Give that a try so see if its working properly.
I'll try to bleed the lines again tonight and see if that helps It out.
Hopefully it does, cause I'm not looking forward to tearing the entire car apart again.

Andrew
 
89_Red_Xr7 said:
So I've finally got my car back on the road after sitting for awhile.
I've got a Spec stage 1 clutch and Spec 11 lb flywheel in it.
Overall im really happy with both of them, the lightweight flywheel makes driving really fun and i'm still breaking the clutch in.
but I just had a few questions.

The stage 1 clutch is HEAVY. alot heavier than my stocker. Is this normal? I actually kind of like the heavyness, but just wondering.

Secondly the clutch engages really aggresively, almost right at the end of the pedal movement. again, is this normal for the stage 1 ?

Finally, the clutch/flywheel has a little bit of chatter to it, not anywhere near the chatter that my old clutch gave, but it's still there. Could this be a by product of the metallic clutch material and heavy pedal/sharp engagement?

Andrew.

My stage 1 chattered for the first 6000 miles. but it has recently calmed down. This may not be a good thing in my case since I think I have a leaky rear main. I just hope the clutch isn't oil contaminated. Work has just kept me from taking a real close look at everything.

And, yes the stage 1 I have also has a heavier pedal than stock. Not as bad as an old centerforce I had in another car though.

I don't have the Al flywheel though, just a stock flywheel that was resurfaced and a 0.065 inch spacer under the slave cyclinder.

Hope this helps.
 
89_Red_Xr7 said:
Rich, about where on the pedal travel does your stage 1 engage?

Andrew

Fairly high up, I can't plant my heal on the floor and depress the clutch like I used to.
 
W00t!

So, I was cringing at the fact that I might have needed to tear my whole car down again to sort out this whole clutch thing.

I had a friend come over and help me bleed the clutch lines. I would open the valve and he would slowly depress the pedal to the floor and I would close the valve again. Did this 5 times with no change in the pedal behavior at all. 6th time we did it, the lines let out a HUGE amount of air. Sounded like it was farting :D . Anyways, after that I topped off the fluid and took her for a drive. The pedal is still a heckuva lot stiffer than the stock pedal, but NOWHERE near how stiff the pedal was before hand. I would literally have to stand on the pedal before I re-bled the system. The engagement is still pretty sharp, still engages at the top of the pedal travel. The clutch chatter has noticably subsided. Still a little bit, but the car doesnt shake anymore ;) . Overall the car is 100000000x more pleasurable to drive.
This weekend I might spend a few hours of just bleeding the clutch endlessly to see if I can get it any better, but overall I'm very happy with the way it's working now.

Thanks Everyone!
Andrew
 
In general, the Ford master cylinders and slave cylinders suck for bleeding. Ford actually has a vaccum assembly that they hook up to the resevior to pull the air out of the fluid.

When I did my ranger I said f it and just replaced the master cylinder, line and slave as an assembly.

I would try one of those brake vaccum bleed systems if you can.
 
Mike8675309 said:
In general, the Ford master cylinders and slave cylinders suck for bleeding. Ford actually has a vaccum assembly that they hook up to the resevior to pull the air out of the fluid.

When I did my ranger I said f it and just replaced the master cylinder, line and slave as an assembly.

I would try one of those brake vaccum bleed systems if you can.

Where could I find one to Use/Rent other than going to the Ford stealership?

Thanks
Andrew
 
I spoke with the guys at Help/Dorman a few weeks ago at SEMA they support your same problem with the master/slave bleading. The problem comes from the the mounting angle of the Master Cylinder in the clutch pedal assembly. I heard a few people were sucessful by ramping the car up so it leveled the master cylinder then pumped the clutch to get the trapped air out.

Clutch Bleading Procedure from RBINC

Rich
 
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