Hi Guys

As some of you may know, i have recently had my S supercharged. Obviously to support this power upgrade the first thing i did was install a new clutch ( competition stage 2).
I did around 300-400 miles before having the car fully dyno tuned.
The next morning on the way to work i had to pull over as i had trouble getting it in gear, once pulled over i was no longer able to get the car in gear with the engine on and it was stuck in neutral. So straight away i new the clutch was not engaging properly. Before taking the gear box / clutch out we decided to try replacing the master cylinder as it was leaking pretty badly, since changing the MC i am still having the same problem.

i rang competition up in the UK and they seem to think the clutch has failed due to not being bedded in properly? Should this cause a clutch to fail within 24 hours of having the car dyno tuned? Obviously i was not able to do 500-1000 miles on the car as it was only on a base map so i had no choice but to get the car properly tuned.

Has any one experienced this problem before? or can anyone shed some light as to what else may have caused this problem? While im waiting until next week for the clutch to come out i may also get the slave replaced, but im 100% sure the clutch has gone or a spring has popped.

Obviously once i get a replacement i will ensure i wear it in before using it properly but im i have now ended up out of pocket as im having to pay labour costs to get the clutch out / replacement put back in.

thanks

Elliot

 

Mate, I'm no clutch expert but I was in exactly the same scenario as you, i.e. clutch not bedded in properly when mine went on the dyno.

If anything, going on the dyno actually seemed to help mine bed in as it felt better after coming off the dyno if that makes sense.

Gutted for you that you are having this problem - hopefully you will get it sorted

 

Can you select gears when the engine is not running?

How badly was the slave cylinder leaking, you may find that you have contaminated the clutch friction disk.

I can't see how not bedding the clutch in for the full 500 miles will make it do this, competition clutch advise 500 miles and stipulate a minimum of 300. So you have exceeded the minimum mileage.

My money is on either a contaminated clutch plate or you haven't bled the slave cylinder properly.

 

Yeah i can select gears when the engine is off, i really can't see how the slave would leak onto the friction plate though ? It sits to the side of the gearbox so if it was leaking wouldn't it just go on the floor? My slave was ok anyway it was the master cylinder which was leaking.
You are definitely right about the friction plate though, my mate is confident that is what is knackered! Just gutted it's going to be off the road for even longer now.

cheers

 

If you have contaminated the clutch plate with clutch fluid it would slip under load, not getting it in gear sounds like the clutch pressure plate is not opening so the gearbox is still turning
Make sure nothing is in front of the car put the car in gear with engine off then press the clutch and turn the ignition on, does it try to move the car as if trying to start in gear without pressing the clutch? If yes your not disengaging drive, either fork lever/ thrust bearing is not transmitting the movement to the pressure plate or the pressure plate is not working properly
Had dealings in the past with CC and it was not good, personally can't see how not bedding in a clutch will give this problem

 

Hi mate,

yes we tried that and it's definitely the pressure plate which is causing this! fingers crossed competition will replace it for me without charge!

cheers
Elliot

 

I feel for you buddy, hope this is sorted soon, pics of the knackered clutch would be interesting to look at.

 

Sorry I misread, I thought it was the slave cylinder leaking not the master cylinder. I had this problem on a Vauxhall van that I did a clutch on, clutch supplied by my mate, and after having the box in and out 4 times I put the old pressure plate in and it worked fine.

 

Labour and Parts claim, 400 miles is enough!

 

So, after taking off the charger, aftercooler etc. We have now got to the clutch! And guess what, clutch is fine, the release bearing has literally exploded!
Absolutely gutted, all that money for such a cheap part to fail!