my new clutch is slipping bad, help me out

brucki15

Registered User
Well I installed a new LUK kit with the slave cylinder and the thing is slipping really bad. I am preety sure I need to bleed the clutch some more yet but I dont think that is causing it. It is driveable if I just putt around but if I give it some gas it will slip like crazy.

Also another problem is that every time I put it in 1st the thing grinds. It will not grind only if I put it in 2nd then straight into 1st.

on a side note i changed the pugs during the clutch job and when I first started it up it was missing real bad. I checked all the plugs and made sure the wires were all tight and the miss fire went away a little but still is running funny (vibrates and shakes). u think I should get some new wires?

car has 80,000. this is my first clutch swap.
thanks in advance
 
I always wondered if there were any SC's in Hawaii. Cool!

Regarding the grinding going into first gear, I think that's the gear box itself. Probably the 1'st gear synchro/blocker is worn out.

If there was a problem installing the clutch, then maybe the pressure plate isn't engaging the friction plate completely.

If the clutch wasn't bled properly, that would have nothing to do with the clutch slipping.

Maybe one of the tabs on the pressure plate didn't lign up properly with the flywheel?

That sucks. I just finished bolting my 5-spd up to the motor tonight. It would make me depressed to have to take it back down. :(
 
i dont think it has to do with the gear box because it never grinded before. couldnt the bleeding of the clutch affect in that there is still air in the system and it is not engaging the the clutch all the way? i dont know but i really dont want to have to drop the tranny again.
any more advice?
 
and of course there are sc's in hawaii. what do u think we do, live in grass shacks and paddle everywhere we go? :rolleyes:
 
There is a problem with your install. I would be willing to bet that you have an inconsistant pressure on your pressure plate. Is there grease or BRAKE FLUID on it? This would cause it to slip. And not bleeding it properly could very well cause your grinding. Also, I would be willing to bet that the MISS you feel is not a miss at all. I would be willing to bet that somewhere along the line you got the wrong kit for your clutch and it is the wrong balance. Nothing personal but I heard somewehre that it is a PITA trying to get parts there. Check it out and see what you got.

Chris

P.S. Whats wrong with grass huts?
 
Easy with the stink eye, I was just saying that I was surprised that there were SC's on the island. (happily surprised) Last time I was there, all I could see was a crap load of yellow mustang convertibles everywhere. :D

Yes, an improperly bled clutch could cause the car to grind going into first b/c if the clutch is never fully releasing, it would keep the input shaft turning, thereby keeping 1st gear turning while the blocker/synchro is trying to slow it down to a stop in order to engage 1st gear.

When we bled the clutch last night, it took for ever just to get all the air out of the system. Then, just when we had the full range of motion on the pressure plate fingers, I bled it one more time, and then there was a total LACK of "range of motion". Turns out that it's best to A, get all the air out of the system. Then, B, pump up the pedal about 10 times, and hold it with moderate pressure. Then, C, when you crack the bleeder screw, do it super fast. By this I mean, crack the bleeder screw open, and let about an inch of fluid outof the tube you have connected to the bleeder screw. Repeat this about 4-5 times, and then you should have a full range of motion on the pedal. The trick is to NOT let the fingers on the pressure plate push the throwout bearing all the way back.

If you end up going with another clutch, I recommend the SPEC clutch I got from supercoupeperformance. However, the Kevlar friction plate material is manufactured by a company called Tribco. They also supply ZOOM, which is obtainable through NAPA. :cool: I went with the Stage II. But I have a completely stock SC. I did the work last night after putting 5-6 thousand miles on the new motor. I could still read the Clutchtex logo, and the part number on both sides of the friction plate.

Sorry you have to take the transmission down again.
 
:mad: damn i really dont want to drop that tranny again. if there was in fact grease or something on the flywheel would it eventually come off from driving? im preety sure this is the correct clutch. about the uneven load i guess it is possible to have tightend them unevenly, it was my first clutch job. I have been driven it for about a week or 2 and it hasnt gotten much better. i really dont have much time with school and work and now football but taking it to a shop is the LAST option.
 
Scaring the snkoy out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sure hope I dont have the same trouble!. I am almost done putting mine back together. All I have to do is put the driveshaft in and dolt the center section back up and bleed. The car had a LUK in it when I pulled it. I replaced it witrh a LUK. When I got it one of the feet on the pressure plate was so bent that the holes wouldnt line up and I thought it was the wrong one. I had to muscle the bend out of it.

I thought that there were pretty good replies to the LUK but if you saw what I pulled out. I would have went with a differant one. The clutch plate was barely worn on both sides. It just shattered the clutch material totaly off of the flywheel side. It was like it had been chiseled off of the rivets. So much for speed shifting second on a LUK.
 
You know that a clutch is supposed to be broken in for 500 mi after it is installed? This is to evenly (knock down) flatten all of the bad spots on the flywheel and plate.

Brucki, its the weekend, just do it. The only thing you can possibly do by puutting this off is causing more damage to maybe a good part (possibly a seal from the vibration). IF you wait too long you will screw yourself and have to take it to the shop eventually calling your car a piece of sh!+.

Chris
 
my 2c..........

Did you get the flywheel refaced? was it slipping before the clutch swap? You'll have to look around but when you do reface, there's summit about shimming the slave cylinder. good luck mate! W.L.
 
yes i did have the flywheel resurfaced and no it was not slipping before.

What are the things I should look for before i pull the tranny? the grinding going into first is not the main issue, i just want it to stop slipping.
 
I have heard of instances where the flywheel was resurfaced too much and material was removed which caused too much clearance and caused clutch slipping. You may want to do some research on that topic.
 
Hmmm!

Unfortunately for us, we need those guys that know this system better than us, but, here goes my take. I know these are hydraulic systems but there should be a nominal amount of free play at the top of the clutch pedal, it won't feel like a mechanical system but it will be there, if you are pushing against hydraulic pressure from the very top, me thinks the throw out bearing, being a h. unit is not letting the clutch/pressure plate release thoroughly, thereby causing your slip, I don't know enough about these system to be able to tell you how you can let off on it to see if it works, I am still going with that posting about when you cut the flywheel you have to shim something or what you have going on, happens, dig around in the search menu, maybe it will pop up for you. good luck and cheers and beers, speaking of beer, maybe that the problem, not enough beer being consumed for the time spent. one of those "angle of the dangle, equations" thingy's.
 
i ended up not replacing the throw out bearing for some reason. u think that could be the cause? i dont think it is old because it the car had a centerforce but i guess it could be the original.
 
Hmmm, II........!

brucki15 said:
i ended up not replacing the throw out bearing for some reason. u think that could be the cause? i dont think it is old because it the car had a centerforce but i guess it could be the original.
I think a throw out bearing is more inclined to make noise than cause a slip, but, I'm thinking more and more about yer problem, and coming up with new senarios all the time, my last post is the one that makes the most sense to me so far, I WOULD not tear it apart yet, someones going to chime in here and tell you exactly what the problem is. W.L. P.S. It only makes sense to me that if it didn't slip with that T.O. Bearing before, why would it cause a slip now!?!
 
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Im still gonna go with a bad or incorrect pressure plate causing the slip and vibration. Did they offer two of them for your car or just one?

Chris
 
check it out

Climb under and pop the inspection cover off the tranny.
Have someone pump the clutch and see if the slave is pushing the throw out bearing forward, or is it stuck forward? It should move about 3/4 inch.

Start the car and see if your pressure plate is wobbling or turning true. Pump the clutch again and see what it looks like.

I doubt if it's gonna fix itself though. I'm with Chris, I think you have a pressure plate problem. Be prepared to get back into it. At least all the bolts have been cracked and you have the process down.

Also, I can imagine the flywheel re-surface resulting in a "tough to get into gear" scenario; but not a slipping problem.

good luck. let us know what you find.

Bob
 
The slipping thing could be only if it was resurfaced at a wobble angle or something of that nature. It is not going to fix itsself though. Are you sure you put the SAME flywheel back on? Not like a buddies old (newer model) resurfaced wheel? Sounds dumb but I have had people do things and leave out the minor details that cause other things to happen. I think you said yours was an 89 which could have come with a duracast crank. If you changed the wheel to a newer model it would cause the vibration.

The vibration is the majority of my concerns for you. If it is bad enough it could crack your crank depending on where it is coming from and ya dont want that. DID YOU INDEX YOUR DRIVESHAFT? In other words did you put it back on the pumpkin in the exact same place?

Chris
 
didnt know putting the driveshaft back in the same place could do anything, when i didnt my clutch bout 3 years ago, i didnt mark my driveshaft and i havent had one poblem out of it.
 
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