AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

Here is the story, i swapped my lt1 for an ls1 and got it up and running this fall. The motor was from a friends car, the trans was from my lt1 car just with the front end swapped over(housing, front cover, input shaft, hydralics)

I bench bled the master(gm one, had a few thousand miles on it) put it in, bought a new slave, hooked it all up and started to bleed by hand. That was not working at all, so i bought a mighty vac and it gave me a firm pedal after just a few pumps.

This is a spec 3 clutch btw

Since i had the flywheel resurfaced i took it super easy for the first 600 or so miles. Once that period was over, i noticed that i could not shift when at a high rpm, i could simply just not pull the stick out of gear.

It also fails the dragging test, by that i mean if in gear with the clutch pushed down, revved to about 5-6k the car lurches foward. I assume that means it is not disengaging all the way. I also assume that is the reason i cant shift at a high rpm, or why it is hard to get into gear sometimes.

I had 0 problems with the trans with the lt1, so i am hoping all the shifting problems are clutch related....

One more thing, this clutch has about 1k on it, and it still grabs RIGHT off the floor. I would figure it would release higher now?

Any thoughts...i did tons of searching....but dont know if i should try a pressure bleed since the vacuum wont get it right, or i should start replacing things that only have 1k on them

Btw, it is shimmed.

Thanks

Tim

SPEC-01

iTrader: (2)

If the clutch is shimmed and the pedal is still on the floor I would guess that it is in fact a hydraulic issue. Have you noticed it getting any better after bleeding? Let me know and I will be happy to assist you further. Thanks!

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

I agree with Spec, if you have their clutch shimmed it should remedy this... if not, it's a hydraulic issue.

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

I guess my main concern is why can't i seem to get it to bleed? Am i doing something wrong, are there better methods?

I am trying to track down a motive pressure bleeder to give it one last go.

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

I pressure bleed all my clutch installs, it takes the guess work out of the equation.

Do you have an inconsistent pedal?

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

Not really, the pedal feels the same everytime.

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

Hmm...

That narrows it down to faulty pressure plate or hydraulics. My guess would be, the slave isn't fully engaging the pressure plate. Either the slave or the master cylinder is bypassing... did you replace either with new units?

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

Well, the slave was brand new, the master was a low mileage gm unit.

The pressure plate worked perfect in my friends car when it was pulled.

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

I would try pressure bleeding it and see if that will help. If it doesn't, then I would work my way through the hydraulics.

I know the guys at Tick Performance have an adjustable master that I hear is a badass piece... we offer a new replacement slave with a release bearing for $70.

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

I am hoping to have it pressure bled tonight, i will report back on the results.

Thanks

Tim

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

Sounds good Tim, keep us posted.

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

I was not able to get it power bled last night, i did however try to mighty vac it a few times today with no improvement.

EGADS!

SPEC-01

iTrader: (2)

Hey Tim, I got your PM and I agree that a good pressure-bleed will likely do the trick. It can take some time and effort but it really is the best method for removing air from the system. Please feel free to email of call me if you need to as I will be happy to assist you. Thanks!

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

Agreed.

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

I did some more bleeding with the mighty vac and got a HUGE pocket of air out, pedal seemed to get better but not like i think it should be. So there is progress!

SNLPerformance

iTrader: (15)

Good times!

I had a similar issue on a fbody we did a clutch on... it took a while to get all the air out, but once we did, it was perfect!

SPEC-01

iTrader: (2)

I have had issues bleeding these cars in the past and having worked on lots of cars from lots of manufactures I can say with confidence that the GM hydraulic systems are terrible when it comes to removing all the air. It seems like they have a tendency to hide air better than any other.

AnniversaryZ28

iTrader: (5)

I actually found out that the lt1 pedal setup i am using does not push the master far enough to fully disengage the clutch. My car is a 97 with a 98 motor.
So i am trying to fab something up till i get new pedals, thanks for all the help.

BTW, the power bleed i did last night made it shift like butter!