Clutch Problems

[BoostedGS]

The nightmare that is my clutch continues....

I have the Centerforce Dual Friction clutch on my 420A. It is a modular clutch, so there's no assembly required, the disk, pressure plate, and flywheel are all riveted together. We just had to bolt it on and put the car back together.

I broke in the clutch for 500 miles before boosting on it. As soon as I started boosting, it felt like the clutch was slipping a little bit. I thought that maybe it was because the clutch was engaging at the end of the pedal, right at the top. So I got behind the clutch pedal and adjusted it so the clutch engaged about in the middle if the travel of the pedal.

This *seemed* to have fixed the problem, until yesterday. With 700 miles on the new clutch, I raced a black 1g Talon with a FMIC up Circle yesterday....we both pulled all the way through 4th gear, but when I shifted to 5th I my rpm's screamed to redline and I had no power. For the rest of the drive home, I noticed that the clutch engaged at the very top of the pedal travel again.

So my question is, is there some other part of my clutch that could be worn out and causing this? Master cylinder maybe? Anything else I could check??

Please help!!

Patrick

P.S.- I had that Talon beat until my clutch slipped! :(

[hoffman]

i bet we need to flush the system again:( .

[DSMxTSi]

Brian has a Centerforce on his GS too. It worked great until a few weeks after the turbo kit was installed. Now it slips a lot. Try flushing the system again and readjust the pedal. I hope that works for you.

[DlandryTSI]

My neon has a cable vs hydrolic. The centerforce that I have seems to work great and I haven't had it slipping at all.

--Dave

[BoostedGS]

Aaahhh!!! Cody, why couldn't you tell me that sooner!!! :p I don't know what to do now. I guess I can try to flush the system and have the clutch pick up right off the floor, but will that really solve it??

If it doesn't work, I'm gonna make Centerforce take that damn thing back!! The clutch on HRC's website is $200 more, but I bet it will at least hold the power!!!!

Patrick

-really frustrated with Centerforce-

[303Racing]

Go w/ a CM stage 2 or higher. It seems to be the best one out there for us. I am putting in a stage 3, poss. 4 but remember I am going to be pushing 20-25psi. A stage 2 or 3 should work ok. The cf was great nt but it just can't grip w/ that added boost.

[BoostedGS]

>The cf was great nt but it just can't grip w/ that added boost.

Ain't that the truth!! Last night I took my car out to Mark Shuffle (the drag racing spot out east in Colo Springs) with a few other DSM's. We were gonna check our stats with a Veritron (like a Gtech, but costs like $800).

I pulled pretty good in 1st gear, but when I shifted to 2nd, nothing but screaming rpm's. I coasted for a few seconds then tried to put it into 3rd and I couldn't!! I had the clutch pressed to the floor as hard as I could and it wouldn't find a gear! I had to tow it home last night! :(

So, place your bets......will Centerforce refund me my money for this clutch???

Patrick
- I hate clutches-

[303Racing]

You should still be under the parts warranty. I would call center force and see what they say. I wouldn't be all like "give me my money", just ask them what your options are and if they can help you out or point you in the right direction. I'd be interested to hear what they say.

Good luck

[BoostedGS]

I think we may have solved the problem, at least, I hope we did!

First, Art and I completely flushed out all the old clutch fluid, and WOW was it nasty!! It probably hasn't been changed since the car rolled out of the factory! We cleaned the resevoir and pumped new fluid through it until it came out clean at the other end. Then we bled the system and gave it a try....it goes into gear again!!

I gave it a little boost yesterday and it still felt like it was slipping a little bit. So Rob suggested that we check to see if my car has a clutch restrictor (I think that's what it's called). And yes it did, so we pulled it out. I can't believe our cars are designed to push all that fluid through a pin hole!!!

We took it for a test drive and not only did the clutch feel better because the restrictor was removed, but it was grabbing better too! I turned the boost back up to 10psi and did a couple of 1,2,3 gear pulls and it holds fine!! I'm gonna take it out on I-25 today and see if it holds in 4th and 5th as well, but I'm very optimistic!!

Brian, was your clutch restrictor removed when you had you Centerforce clutch??

Patrick
Finally boosting again!!!

[hoffman]

well at least it works. i still think there maybe a problem with the master cylinder though. i bet if you check you fluid again before you go home its contaminated again.:(

well if it holds up thats one less hassel.

hey go find some tan vinyl spraypaint. i think i found a way to make a 4 pod a-pillar.:D

[BoostedGS]

When we bled the clutch last night, it was slightly contaminated. Rob said we should be able to see it leaking if it's bad, we just have to pull the boot off and check.

Are you gonna cut your dual pillar in half or something??? :D '

Patrick

[303Racing]

I had the clutch put in before the turbo. I had no problems w/ it before the turbo. I also pulled the restrictor out before the turbo. I really didn't see any problems w/ slipping until a few months ago. I have a little bit of slip on the top of 2nd gear.

[BoostedGS]

Well, that's not very comforting to hear! :( I'm hoping that this clutch will hold 10psi. It seems to hold so far, but it usually starts slipping for me in 5th. I'll take it out on the highway today and test it.

How much was your Clutchmasters Stage IV? Which one did you get?

[303Racing]

720 w/ shipping. It better be worth it. I guess I need to find a lsd of some kind as well. It is a modular type from hrc.

[BoostedGS]

$720???!!! Doesn't that just rub you the wrong way??? These 4g63 guys are buying ACT2600's for $350!! :mad:

Since I had my tranny out to put the clutch in, we looked into that Phantom grip LSD, but I just didn't have the extra cash to get it at the time. If you do get one, let me know which one and if you notice a difference!

Patrick