MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

I saw there was just another post about someone else in their spec 5.

Heres my situation, I broke in the clutch, had the car dyno'ed, made 7 passes at the track with just drag radials...MAYBE 650miles total since the clutch has been in

I have NOT been slipping the clutch. But I DID install the shim.

The clutch doesn't appear to slip when just driving normally, but if you just try to get onto it, it starts slipping like crazy.

I've been told to remove the shim and "it'll be fine". I can't take it out right now because my tuner has the car and is fixing some issues its having.

my question is, if I take out the shim, will it really be okay? Myself and my tuner, both of us are mechanical engineers (not to be cocky but just so we're not hillbillys ) are worried that the damage may already be done?

the ceramic pads are slipping against my new steel flywheel, so the heat is being transfered into that. Or the ceramic pads could have glazed over.


Please let me know what you think. If your just goina post "go buy such and such" or "spec sucks" go away, I need helpful advice.


Just so pissed off! and if the flywheel and/or cermaic pads are ruined, I high doubt Spec will give me new...unless someone has an idea/suggestion

thanks for listening to me rant

KCFormula

iTrader: (4)

Did you put a brand new flywheel in when you put the clutch and shim in? If so, you did not need the shim and whatever thickness the shim is, that is the distance your PP is not fully engaging.

And don't feel bad, my dad is a Mechanical Engineer and his car is stock because he thinks the engineers at GM get paid millions to make the car the best it can be and nothing can make it better. Ya just gotta love the old man river though.

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

yulp, brand new flywheel with the clutch and shim

i was under the assumption that the shim was still required

lol I know people like your dad! where as with me being an engineering, i usually see something on a car and go 'WTF?! did they do that for" lol

jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

So, the idea behind removing the shim is to set the FLYWHEEL further back, towards the motor. Now..if you have a fresh flywheel and a fresh clutch and it's slipping....how is removing the shim going to help anything for better or worse. In my mind, it would only help if your clutch wasn't fully disengaging from the flywheel because there wasn't enough room. I would think the problem would just get worse. It just sounds like the SPEC clutches today are total crap from what i've been reading. I had one in my LT1 car and it was a POS but it worked. I had to remove it twice to get a nasty vibration out of the motor. Yet it held 517 rwhp.

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

Thats what I thought at first, but I think your thinking backwards

or then I would need more shims

KCFormula

iTrader: (4)

You are right. The LT1 style clutch is backwords compared to the LS1 style clutch. You need to pull that shim out and theoretically the .050" (usual shim size) will be enough to properly seat the clutch.

jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

Well then that makes sense as that is the only Box I've dealt with (and extensively)

I'll have my Motor/Tranny out later this month for my H/C swap job at which time I will be putting in my LS7 Clutch/PP/Flywheel.

I wish the LS1 clutch was like the LT1 clutches...I never heard about all these clutch issues in LT1 world. I had a 517 rwph car and a single disc star spec stage 1. I had a small issue of vibration, had to remove everything and flip the PP 180 degrees and the problem was gone.

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

whats everyone's opinion on the possiblity that I ruined the flywheel and/or ceramic pads?

jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

There is a posibility the pads wore deep grooves in the Flywheel. Maybe cut some material off of it, un-shim (? i guess ) and give it a chance? (depending on what you see when you get the flywheel off.

I'd say the Ceramic pads (unless they flew off or cracked into tiny bits) should be fine. You know, one thing I remember with my Star Ceramic 4 puck clutch was once it got warm/hot (say several starts stops with decent slipping) the harder it would grab. Now nothing like what you are describing ever happened but I wonder if that is related to this......

Mind taking some good pictures when you get it torn down?

thabmxer

iTrader: (19)

Are you sure you have a spec stage 4? because my spec 5 was just an iron disk. On a stage 5 there are no ceramic pads

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

jeffstar - i'll take pictures when I tear it back down. Still be a few weeks tho


I have the Spec 5, steel flywheel. 99.9% sure that the spec 5 has ceramic pads

Tiago

iTrader: (27)

My spec 5 has sintered iron "pads" ..holds 1000 rwhp and has 25000 miles on it.

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

well i guess i was wrong about the ceramic

so either way

chance of damage is??? good? great? not likely?

Phynix

iTrader: (3)

if you take the clutch apart theres a good chance something is going to be messed up, you shouldn't install the shim with spec clutches, I've gone through 4 of them so far, tock clutch lasted longer than the spec, but my tex clutch is the best clutch I have ever had on any car I have ever driven

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

damn, i hope this thing isn't screwed up.

MetallicaMatt

iTrader: (19)

can someone remind me of the torque specs for the clutch swap?

I went to install university but the article i looked at didn't know the torque specs

camarokid94

iTrader: (2)

I had like 1000 miles on my spec 3 and installed new flywheel. broke it 730miles made 10 passes and the next day i coudnt even drive it it would slip under normal accleration. SPEC did nothing sayin my flywheel was the problem ummmmmm NO its a new mcleod and i used it befroe with a diff clutch and im useing it again on my center force dual friction 12in ( LOVE THIS CLUTCH) i had the fly wheel rebuilt everytime i used a new clutch..... i had the spec in my car for 1mo they didnt do **** for me

stevieturbo

You can answer this yourself....

Knowing it was slipping, did you continue to abuse the life out of it and drive it whilst slipping.

Or did you stop driving, or take it very easy, so as not to fry the thing ??

If the former, then you may have done damage.

If the latter, it will be fine.

Ping King

iTrader: (20)

did you torque the pressure plate bolts and install loctite? my PP backed out once and wasnt clamping down on the disk for squat.

Slowhawk

iTrader: (12)

Setting up a clutch will dictate it's life.Alot of SPEC 5's don't need the shim.If the shim is in there when it's not needed the clutch will slip.
Now,another big problem is when people reuse there stock slave cylinder and switch out the throwout bearing.There is a small spacer on the bearing that ussually doesn't come off with the bearing.You have to pick it out with a screw driver.If you do not do this it acts like another spacer which destroy's the clutch real fast becausee the clutch never fully engages.

If any performance clutch starts to slip- stop driving it immediatly You have a good chance of saving it by going over the install.Also a heavilly slipped racing clutch could explode from the excess heat.