Cutch issues....replacement?
Cutch issues....replacement? 98 Trans am with bolt ons. Previous owner claims he replaced the stocker with a spec but he couldnt remember if it was a stage 1 or 2. Supposedly it was replaced in 07 and seen mostly highway miles. Slave and master were also replaced in either 05 or 07 I cant remember which. When I bought it the clutch would stink real bad even under normal driving and would vibrate and shutter pretty bad during engagement. After I got the car and put a couple hundred miles on it it slowly stopped doing that and started acting normal. Now about 3000 miles later, if I put it under a load in say 4th or 5th it will slip about 1000-1500 rpm and then slowly grab and then stay engaged. I am guessing this is from the heat its generating when slipping and is on its way out? So my question is why would it have been like that when I first got it and is this normal behavior when a clutch goes out? This is my first manual car ive had clutch slip problems with so sry for the stupid questions 
The clutches im looking at if it is about to take a sh*t are...
Spec stage 2
Ram Power grip
Centerforce
I assume all come with the pressure plate and anything else i will need?
Any opinions or recommendations are welcome! I will not however be buying some thousand dollar rip off so don't bother mentioning any of those ...
The clutches im looking at if it is about to take a sh*t are...
Spec stage 2
Ram Power grip
Centerforce
I assume all come with the pressure plate and anything else i will need?
Any opinions or recommendations are welcome! I will not however be buying some thousand dollar rip off so don't bother mentioning any of those ...
Thanks for posting your questions. The scent that you describe leads me to beleive that this is most likely a Stage 1. This unit uses an organic disc that will be more apt to have the traditional clutch smell than the Stage 2 which uses a Kevlar facing and normally doesn't have much smell associated with it.
The vibration and shutter (chatter) you initially felt was the starting evidence that the clutch was on its way out. There are two possible causes of this occurance. The first: it is possible that this is the result of the presence of contamination on the disc and that as you burned the surface contamination off the clutch recovered a bit until the absorbed contamination or more contaminant was added to the surfaced leading to slippage again. The Second: As the disc thins, relative to wear/slippage, the plate will be less effective at applying clamp which could ultimately explain why you are now seeing slippage consistently.
I think you would be happy with out Stage 2 as long as it meets your long-term needs for torque capacity. Let me know if you have any plans to make more torque or if you plan for the car to see more aggressive usage and I will be happy yo help you narrow down the best option. Thanks!
The vibration and shutter (chatter) you initially felt was the starting evidence that the clutch was on its way out. There are two possible causes of this occurance. The first: it is possible that this is the result of the presence of contamination on the disc and that as you burned the surface contamination off the clutch recovered a bit until the absorbed contamination or more contaminant was added to the surfaced leading to slippage again. The Second: As the disc thins, relative to wear/slippage, the plate will be less effective at applying clamp which could ultimately explain why you are now seeing slippage consistently.
I think you would be happy with out Stage 2 as long as it meets your long-term needs for torque capacity. Let me know if you have any plans to make more torque or if you plan for the car to see more aggressive usage and I will be happy yo help you narrow down the best option. Thanks!
No questions are stupid and it does sound like for one reason or another your clutch is on it's last leg. Depending on your power goals, I'd recommend a Level 1 with current bolt-ons. Our kits come with a new billet steel flywheel, so you don't have to worry if your old one can be resurfaced or will need a spacer to achieve proper disengagement. You can opt for a lightweight 18lb version to free up some power to the wheels and allow the engine to rev quicker. We also can include a new slave with our Premium Package, feel free to contact me with any questions. Chris, 817-750-2000
Thanks for the info guys, just sucks the clutch is going as that's one aspect I liked when purchasing the car was it had supposedly a clutch with little wear. Not sure on long term goals but for now full bolt ons and probably a ls6 conversion maybe a small shot. With that said what do u guys recommend?
Thanks for the info guys, just sucks the clutch is going as that's one aspect I liked when purchasing the car was it had supposedly a clutch with little wear. Not sure on long term goals but for now full bolt ons and probably a ls6 conversion maybe a small shot. With that said what do u guys recommend?
I have a used spec 1 available with only 5000 miles on it for really cheap, i may just go thay route for now and replace the slave and upgrade to a tick mc. If i go this route should i be able to re-use the pressure plate thats in there now and just have the fly wheel re surfaced or is that a bad idea? Kinda want to just get it fixed for now and wait and upgrade to a stronger clutch later down the road when i decide for sure what my long term goals are for this car.
Also someone told me the duralast slave from autozone is made from the same company that makes the oem gm unit and is a good peice at a much better price. Any truth in this or no?
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imo a tick master is a must in these cars,they are great and well worth every dime, imo dont cheap out on a clutch , fix it all right the first time, it might cost more but it will be done, your really wanna put cheap crap in there and have to fix it again in a year or 2 ,depending on how much you drive your car,its cheaper to do it right the first time, trust me this is a lesson everyone on tech has learned. imo monster clutch stage 2, tick master, and top it of with a nice short throw shifter and you will be happy ,
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Verdad Gallardo autozone parts are ok you just cant expect anything out of them, like nothing lol, especially a part like that .i know doing things right cost more and i know its easy to cheap out, i use to do it all the time, but no more, why it cost more money. that might be something you will have to learn by yourself but you will remember this post when you are buying things the second time around lol
I've been using a OE replacement from Oreilly's. I have one in my car with a SPEC 3 and have been running it for 3yrs on the street/strip now without issue. My buddy has one on his LS7 clutch and I just installed one on my mom's t/a with a new stock clutch which solved her clutch problems. They're good units for OE replacements and not expensive at all. The tick unit seems like the way to go for most, but I ,like many, understand how it is when funds aren't there, so I mention this OE unit in case you can't afford a tick with the new clutch. It'll get you by and is a really good replacement. I wanna say it's around $65.
Well i dont really ever cheap out on the parts but for 1 no it is not my daily driver and i wont mind doing another clutch in a couple years when i decode my final plans for the car. I may actually build the bottom end in a couple years and go turbo so at that pount the trans will also come out for a build up and i know i will need the big dollar clutch setup then. As for now though and in the close future it will remain a bolt ons car, so thats why i may just use this lightly used spec 1 i hace available for cheap. I would def upgrade the mc now though.
Blue98z are you talking about the master or slave from oreilly's? I was told the duralast brand slave the one made in mexico is the same manufacturer that produces the oem unit for GM. The mc i am not sure as i was going to for sure upgrade to the tick as i can re use that later down the road no matter what direction i go with the car.
autozone parts are ok you just cant expect anything out of them, like nothing lol, especially a part like that .i know doing things right cost more and i know its easy to cheap out, i use to do it all the time, but no more, why it cost more money. that might be something you will have to learn by yourself but you will remember this post when you are buying things the second time around lol
I have a used spec 1 available with only 5000 miles on it for really cheap, i may just go thay route for now and replace the slave and upgrade to a tick mc. If i go this route should i be able to re-use the pressure plate thats in there now and just have the fly wheel re surfaced or is that a bad idea? Kinda want to just get it fixed for now and wait and upgrade to a stronger clutch later down the road when i decide for sure what my long term goals are for this car.
Blue98z are you talking about the master or slave from oreilly's? I was told the duralast brand slave the one made in mexico is the same manufacturer that produces the oem unit for GM. The mc i am not sure as i was going to for sure upgrade to the tick as i can re use that later down the road no matter what direction i go with the car.
Can you elaborate on this? I ended up just picking up a lightly used Spec 1 from someone local for a real good price and it came with pressure plate, just going to swap that in for now. I know the flywheel has been turned before so not sure if ill need to do it again?
It has also been recommended to me that I maybe get a spacer like the ones from speed inc. Something about the Spec clutches usually require that. Anyone shed some light on this?
Can't say for sure how much of a shim you'll need, but I'd definitely recommend measuring to be sure.
Sorry for the delayed response...I was at SEMA last week and have been playing catch-up since my return to the office. The first think I suggest doing is checking the thickness of the disc on this "lightly used" clutch. You are already experiencing the sometimes variable interpretation of those words and it would be better to be safe than sorry. Let me know the thickness of the disc which measured with a caliper. Also, let me know when the parts were originally purchased if you have that info. As for measuring, this is imperative and strongly suggested to insure that your heights are within spec, especially when using used parts. If you have an email I can send you our measurement sheet. Thanks and let me know if you have any further questions.
