WarTowels

Sadly for me, my lightly used clutch is toast. Slipping in all gears now at half throttle. This thread is mostly just for posterity.

ACT HD PP, OEM rev. 2 Friction Disk, ACT Prolite Flywheel and OEM throw out bearing were installed Jan 16th 2013.

I don't drive my car particularly hard, I like to accelerate onto highways and I enjoy the twistys. That's about it. No drag strips. I did go to a single auto-x with this clutch. In addition I did a 7,200 mile road trip and then later a 1,800 mile road trip in the car. So lots of highway miles, very very little town miles. (I work from home so the car doesn't often get driven for half a week and when it does it's about a 20 mile commute).

So anyway, about 5,000 miles ago the clutch felt really weird one day. The engagement point of the clutch seemed to change overnight. It caught about low to middle and then started catching way way up top. Not a good sign. Unfortunately, I had moved 1,800 miles away from the shop that installed everything so bringing the car back wasn't an option.

At that stage there was no slipping so I kept driving the car as normal. Now that I'm back locally to the shop, naturally, all my warranties have run out.

I suspect, based on no evidence other than the engagement point changing that the pressure plate is not holding properly which has now led to it slipping like crazy.

I might tackle this clutch replacement myself this time as I didn't get any warranty from the shop last time. I'll be calling ACT to see if they will help me anyway, but I'm not holding my breath. Once again unfortunately for me, I have been out of the country for almost the entire time the parts warranties expired so I might have been able to get replacements had I not been abroad. Coming back into the states it started slipping within two days.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I assume as the very very least I will need a new pressure plate and maybe a new friction disk. Should I replace the T/O bearing anyway and do I need to have the F/W resurfaced?

Cheers,
Greg

Working_Class_S

Improper mounting can cause the clutch to slip prematurely. If you are doing the work yourself, I would recommend buying only the friction disc. The pressure plate is probably fine, but visually inspect it. The fingers should not be broken. If the surface has grooves, warping, bad hot spots, or deep scratches, get it resurfaced. Same goes for the flywheel. Upon reinstallation, use the alignment tool and torque the PP bolts correctly. I wouldn't throw away money on new bearings after a few thousand miles. My bearings are on their third friction disc and my PP is on its forth. However, I have another car, I have a full clutch kit ready to go in, and I have AAA with a 200 mile tow.

slipstream444

Any time you replace the disc - you need to at least have the FW cleaned (all friction disc residue removed) and checked to ensure the contact surface is true - or resurfaced. The same is true for the PP - you either have to be able to completely clean the surface to remove all friction disc residue, ensure the surface is true - or replace the PP. It's usually best to resurface the FW and replace the PP (I've actually never heard of someone servicing the PP).

To the OP: I don't know exactly what caused your issues. My first replacement clutch setup (Toda FW, OEM disc and Mugen PP) slipped after only 3,000 miles. I removed everything and went to the Comptech FW, OEM disc (new) and ACT PP. The problem with that first setup was the Toda FW - when they are new they are at the ragged edge of serviceability - and can't be surfaced. I don't know why your ACT, ACT and OEM disc setup slipped - that's the first I've heard of problems with ACT products. Supposedly the only difference between their street and lightest FWs is the amount of non-friction material removed - IOW, the contact surface is supposed to be the same.

WarTowels

Just for note, I had a well known shop do the install last time. However, that didn't get me very far... so I think I'll just do it myself this time around.

I'm curious to see if I will be able to tell where the failure point originated from. I will post up pictures when I get there.

And also for the record this is a bone stock s2k performance wise.

-Greg

Working_Class_S

I have also never heard of problems with an ACT PP. I have needed to return a brand new Clutchmasters pressure plate because the friction surface had an extremely rough machined surface, similar to a roll of quarters. Whether WarTowels replaces the PP depends on his priorities and budget, but hopefully he can save $480. Pictures and a runout test should diagnose the problem.

SpitfireS

Make absolutely sure the master / slave / pushrod / clutch fork / pedal linkage is not part of the problem.
Your comment about the engagement point changing overnight makes me think the master / slave / etc. has something to do with it - air in hydraulics for example.
I would replace the TO too if you find the master / slave / etc. caused it (IOW you were slightly riding the clutch all the time).
Unless you spot an obvious installation error looking at the FW, PP, TO and FD.

Sideways

Do this first.

WarTowels

I'm not sure I know by what metrics to test those. That said, the clutch master cylinder died about 15 days before my original clutch did. So that was replaced with a honda master cylinder just days before the entire clutch was replaced.

After the pedal felt weird I went looking for the obvious issues and found that the slave cylinder was dribbling oil, so that was replaced about 5,000 miles ago as well.

Clutch was bled after each of those replacements.

-Greg

WarTowels

Started on the clutch today but made sure to take measurements of the clutch position first.

From the clutch adjustment page the specs should be:

(F) Released Height: 7.44"
(G) Travel: 4.5-5" (* Is this total travel or travel until you feel resistance?)

It's unclear to me how to measure these though as the manual doesn't state. If you measure resting on the carpet or pressing down on the carpet till you reach the metal your measurements are going to vary quite a bit. I measured G as the height at which I felt resistance...

If my G is wrong, the on the floor measurement was 2" on carpet or 2.5" not. Also, I'm missing the bump stop so my pedal hits the firewall so it may go slightly father down than some.

Resting on the carpet F is 6.25" and pressing the ruler to the floor F is 6.75". I.E half an inch.
So G resting on the carpet was 5" and pressing to the floor was 5.5".

So assuming its the most off it could be, F is 1.19" off and G... depends on what I'm supposed to be measuring.

Is this enough of a difference to have contributed to what I would consider vastly premature slipping?

WarTowels

Hey guys, could use some assistance.

I have NO idea why my clutch was slipping at this point. I have the PP and friction disk out and to my eyes they both look absolutely normal. I didn't take pictures of the FW, but it also looked completely normal to me.

Some pictures:











Little video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeOB...ature=youtu.be

Any help would be appreciated!

-Greg