sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

My 1998 Trans Am has an issue with the new clutch. The car supposedly has a spec 2 clutch in it. It was replaced at 46K and now it has 48,500 miles on it. When I push in the clutch, the pedal has no real resistance until about halfway down. When it does this, the clutch releases right off the floor (about 1/2" or so). Then the clutch acts like it pumps up and it disengages about halfway up. Does this sound like an air bubble? Since we bought the car we have put about 300 miles on it, and we have had no issues until tonight when I went to pull it out. It still goes in all the gears, but its just not right. I know that the slave was replaced, but I am not sure about the master cylinder.

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Any ideas??? Prom is on Saturday and I NEED this thing

Relapse

iTrader: (4)

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Are you saying that I should just bleed it then? The fluid is almost clear in the reservoir. Does this sound like an air bubble that worked its way out? Also is the bleeder easy to get to on a lift?

SPEC-01

iTrader: (2)

It needs to be bled. An inconsistant pedal is evidence of air in the system. The bleeder is actually a little difficult to get to on this car. You can find bleeding information in a number of places on this site, or in a Haynes, OE, or Bentley Manual. Let me know if you have any further questions. Thanks!!

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Well, I bled it out according to the service manual and no luck. I am beginning to think it might be the master cylinder. If I push the pedal down, the longer it is down, the lower the pedal is. There are no leaks so it has to be something leaking past somewhere. The master would be my first guess. I also found out that the bellhousing was not tight to the engine so I torqued it. Any ideas would be great.

jmdale1984

iTrader: (6)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't SPEC clutches supposed to have a slave shim? Sounds like maybe they forgot to put the shim in.

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Well, that makes them have a low pedal from what I hear. This thing has a nice, middleish pedal normally but the longer you hold it down or slip it, the lower the pedal feels. It was never an issue until about 2 or 3 days ago.

jmdale1984

iTrader: (6)

Now that you mention that... kinda sounds like a bad master cylinder.

You never know with these clutches. I spent 2 years fighting mine, only to find, eventually, that a 1/8" thick slave shim fixed all my problems. It even fixed the problem of the pedal dropping after a hard run, and I still don't understand why.

It it were me, and I just bought the car, I'd buy an LS7 clutch kit from SDPC for $399, new GM hydraulics, and make another slave shim. Swap all that in and forget about it. I've heard too many bad things about SPEC, and I'm on my second LS7 clutch right now. I love it, and I'll probably never use another clutch unless I go forced induction.

corvet786c

iTrader: (6)

Get an adjustable master cylinder does wonders. Helped my situation.

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

What brand of adjustable one do you guys recommend? Otherwise, I'll just throw another ACDelco in there. I don't have huge plans for the car performance wise, but I think the adjustable master cylinder would be a good move anyway.

wrencher

iTrader: (2)

A stocker made adjustable would be the way to go IMO for your set up.
See the sticky thread at the top of this forum 'stock master made adjustable'. Or you can get one all ready modified to be adjustable from the sponsors, RAM makes one.
The McLeod is another style, they can be problematic, would not suggest it unless you have to run it.

SPEC-01

iTrader: (2)

JM, I can certainly appreciate your opinion...but lets be realistic here...this is pretty clearly a hydraulic issue yet you chime in with "it must be the clutch". In truth, we really don't know what is in the car...yet I am as always happy to assist with tech support (be our parts or not)...but lets make sure we take some shots at SPEC...that makes sense!

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Well, I just ordered a new ACDelco Master. I went back and got out the records from the car and the Repair Order from the clutch shows a Spec Stage 2 clutch, with a new slave and master. The job was done in South Carolina and I live in Ohio. I am gonna try to call them tomorrow to see what brand they used, but you would think it should last for more than 2,000 miles. They claim on the bill that all shims are installed, but when I went under the car the other day, I found 5 bellhousing to engine bolts loose so who knows. The clutch still feels great when you have pedal pressure. I should have the new master on Monday and I'll try to get it in maybe then or tuesday.

jmdale1984

iTrader: (6)

I don't see anywhere where I said it must be the clutch. In fact, I believe I suggested that the slave shim might not have been installed, or that he had a bad master cylinder.

I also don't see where I took any shots at SPEC.

I don't want anyone to have to deal with 2 years of clutch problems like I did, so I simply suggest the steps I took to become problem free.

Now on the otherhand, if you want me to take some shots at SPEC, I can certainly dig up plenty of LS1tech member's nightmares that they've had with SPEC clutches.

sweet-94z28

iTrader: (30)

Well, I got this fixed. New master cleared it right up. I also swapped to DOT 4 fluid and put a good heat shield around the line going to the slave. i did the Drill Mod at the same time and I cannot believe how smooth this thing is now. Thanks for all the input. I'll post up pics of what happened to my master tomorrow so they are here for future reference.

jmdale1984

iTrader: (6)

Glad we could help. Thank your lucky stars, you really got off easy not having to remove the tranny!