LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Clutch Issues

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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 05:36 PM
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Default Clutch Issues

I left my house last night and noticed my clutch was making a whining noise when slipping. I took note of it but left anyways. A few miles down the road the pedal was starting to act weird. It felt somewhat spongy (kinda soft at first then gets harder to push near the floor) and is now engaging completely about an inch off the floor like an on/off switch. I turned around and went straight home.

I checked the fluid and it is fine. Im thinking slave cylinder maybe??? Most of the slaves Ive seen usually leak fluid when going bad... I talked to my dad and he says it sounds like a pressure plate issue. I hope not because it has under 20k miles on it. What do you guys think? I dont want to pull the tranny unless I have to and dont want to replace something that isnt broken.


The throwout bearing has been making a noise for a while now but my stock one did to. Sounds like marbles in a can. Thought Id throw that out there too...
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 06:06 PM
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The part that really worries me is the weird whining noise...
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 06:23 PM
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Check the throw out bearing if you can.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 09:12 PM
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Gut instinct is telling me something's probably up with either your pressure plate or throwout bearing, or both.

Unbolt the slave cylinder take a peak into the bellhousing with a flashlight and see if you can see any carnage. Unfortunately you can't see much through that small opening, so you'll probably have to remove the tranny to see what's going on in there.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 09:45 PM
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That's what I'm thinking. If it was just the slave or master it it wouldn't be making that noise.
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 11:03 PM
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If the car is idling and you hold the pedal down, does it make any noises? Or does it just make the whining noise as you're releasing the pedal to start moving?
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 07:37 AM
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It only makes the noise when slipping the clutch and the car starts moving.

Sitting still with the pedal on the floor it makes no noise at all. The car is shifting fine when driven and is not trying to move when the pedal is completely pressed.
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 07:43 AM
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How old/how many miles are on this clutch? Could be the disk material has worn out and you are riding on the rivets? I dunno. You can take the inspection cover off to see if there's anything weird laying on the bellhousing, but it reads like the trans will have to come out.
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 08:35 AM
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It's a competition clutch level two with around 15000 miles. It not slipping so I don't think its the clutch disk itself.
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Old Apr 21, 2012 | 12:33 PM
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Well I took some time to mess with the car today. I decided to drive it and further diagnose before tearing it apart.

Pedal travel feels about normal. Not sure what was going on the other night. It was still making the whining noise. A friend of mine said the clutch disk may have glazed over making the noise....Im not even sure if the cerametallic surface Competition Clutch uses on their level two kits can glaze over. Since everything seemed somewhat normal, I decided it was safe to try and de-glaze it. I did some "spirited" driving and the noise seems to have went away? Im not sure what going on at this point. I really dont want to pull it apart.

I pulled the slave and everything looks normal. No carnage that I can see, and the slave isnt leaking any fluid.
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