Ok, so I've had several problems with my clutch in a 99 z28 camaro. I had the transmission rebuild 2 years ago, and the clutch done it worked ok but stuck at high rpm shifts and eventually it stuck more often than not, but only after the rebuild. More recent in the last 4 months I've replaced the master cylinder, the slave cylinder, and the steel braided line from the master to the slave with a larger aftermarket line. There's probably 1k miles on this new setup. Before I switched it to new i was having a similar problem where at high rpms the clutch would stick to the ground even after drill mod and new slave on it would also stick or get caught half way up. Now that it's fresh with a completely new hydraulic system im having the same problem, not as frequent but it also sticks in the middle of the clutch almost every shift unless pumped. The replacement master/slave are stock, would the aftermarket line which is larger in diameter cause this because not enough fluid is making it to the slave with 1 pump from the master? Would the new slave be bad for a 2nd time? more information about the slave is there could be air in the line, but I've put at least 8 small bottles of dot 4 fluid through it because I've read about the dot 3 fluid breaking down being so close to the heat shield and a lower boiling point. I tried to bleed it some more after the fact with a huge bottle of dot 4 for like the 5000th time just because i cannot figure out what's wrong with it, and it seems now that when i crack the bleeder valve from under the car and have someone depress the pedal the reservoir will drain, but the valve itself never has fluid come out of it, so then i was thinking there was a hole in the hydraulic system somewhere.... checked all the lines and nothing, dry as a desert. also the fluid in the reservoir doesn't lower on it's own during driving, so im assuming there's no leak. Can i use an ls7 slave or any other slave that may work better? It may not even be the slave but I'm almost completely sure it's not the master. i really dont race the car or have an urge to run it hard, just want it to work. dont really want to spend a ton of $$ on it either, got a clutch workup all new quoted at 1200-1600. but **** i can buy the stock parts which they'll use for ~100$(only hydraulic) and drop the tranny myself and fix it in like 2 hours. what a rip off, anyway sorry my text is so crappy... drinking and wondering what to do about this POS, any ideas or awesome suggestions i'd greatly appreciate, also would like to know why it doesn't stick to the floor anymore really but in the middle, why it would be intermittent instead of every shift, and what pumping the pedal does to correct it. thanks for any info.

 

What clutch do you have? If it's an LS1/LS6/LS7 clutch it has the self adjusting pressure plate that could be causing your clutch frustrations. The "self adjusting" mechanisms are known to fail at high rpms causing the clutch pedal to sink to the floor/get spongey/and make it hard to get into gear, even locking you out of gear until you pump the clutch pedal a bunch. My pressure plate mechanisms had gotten so bad my clutch pedal was getting soft and sticking half way up randomly just taking it easy driving around town.

But if you have an aftermarket clutch from everything I've read in your post, looks like the last thing to do would be getting an adjustable master clyinder like the Tick.

 

All stock ls1 hydraulic cylinders, don't remember the name brand on the larger hydraulic line from master-slave. I had bought the newer 01 versions from what i had read on the forums the 2000+ were better than the 98/99's. I've had the pressure plate changed when i had the transmission rebuilt, but haven't actually thought that could be the problem because it doesn't have a lot of miles on it. I'm going to buy one now though, any suggestions on which to invest in that will last longer than a couple years? Been looking into pressure plates and clutch kits. looks like ACT has a good one or centrifuge just buying the pressure plate as a single? figure might as well do a clutch kit, should i go with stock flywheel or lighter/heavier? will the ls7 clutch kit fit into the ls1 with no problems? seems like people really like the ls7's, and what is a good length to buy the remote bleeder in? does the remote bleeder replace the 7/16" bleeder nut completely with just a pin? and how does the remote bleeder work, does it just have a valve on the end that you open and close? was looking at monster but they're around 1k$. if it lasts 10 years would be worth it though, just don't have that kinda money to blow currently and at 2 years on 300$ clutch kit would get about the same time frame vs money assuming that one of them lasts longer than that, just have to fix it more often. was driving the car today having rough shifts through all gears and it's not consistent. I really think it could be the pressure plate with all the work I've put into the hydraulics since i figured that was the problem. Also something that I noticed today, i never use cruise control. i know that the master has a setting to allow the cruise to engage, mine no longer works. could i just tape the button down so that it will always engage or is there another option? perhaps i should look into that more aswell.

 

put in ls7 clutch kit/flywheel and new gm slave (already had the upgraded version in it) with a remote bleeder. worked in like 4 pumps after like 4 bleeding pumps, was amazing. also changed o2's omg the car feels new again, and shifts at any rpm no lag in the pedal just ****.

 

None of the above, but too weak of a clutch to hold the power as you found out by swapping to a better one.

 

So was driving the car today, and it grinds through 2nd... thought it was just me because I was short on the clutch. Anyway then again in 3rd, 4th and reverse this was just after i started driving it. Pedal then got stuck in the middle again like it did before while coming off the freeway(only once) otherwise it's firm throughout depression on all other shifts. It also seems that the pedal is firmer when the motor is hot and it shifts fine, I am now in north dakota instead of california and until today it's been -'s to 15 degrees. I don't understand... it's all new hydros (master is a few months older than pressure plate/flywheel/slave/steel braided lines) and clutch, and it's almost the same exact problem I had before. It's bled well, went though 3 small containers of dot 4, not as much bleeding time as the last time I tried all of this... but with the remote bleeder on it i KNOW there's no air coming out of it. could it be shim problem? It's all supposed to work as far as my research has led me to believe on all ls1 websites. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thnx.

 

Could be the master cylinder seals are allowing some blow by internally when cold and then sealing once it's warmer...just because a part is new, doesn't mean it hasn't been sitting on a shelf somewhere for a while. If you didn't measure and think it might need a shim(though it worked fine initially, so I don't believe that's the case) you might try a Tick adjustable, report back what you find out is wrong as it sounds like a hydraulic issue being it's not consistent.

 

Been doing a lot of 'research' on masters, looks like tick is the best which is back ordered and the company has been less than friendly now and when I've purchased from them before. What about Mcleod, worth the money? Or would it be better to just find a cheap tick somewhere? Also is work Mcleod or tick worth repairing at home, or would I end up with similar problems.

 

Got a tick, no sloppy pedal shifts very well always. I adjusted it, it engages really high like 1" from the floor. The pedal when adjusting it didnt shift clean untill it was almost as high as the brake pedal. I do not want to damage the preasure plate, should I worry?

 

Sounds like you need a shim or two behind the slave

 

I hate pulling the transmission outta this car, oh should only take me about 30min. now that I've done it a trillion times. Anyone 2nd the shim? I've been playing with the old master put some fluid in it and it doesn't collapse at all with the slave end closed. Was trying to see if I could find the problem, but I didn't think of a shim. That's probably where I should have started assuming the old master wasn't leaking at all. Because if the slave was able to make enough contact with the pressure plate it would of worked. Have driven the car about 100 miles now that it shifts, and oh boy does it shift no work at all... no grinds, but a little notchy, shim?!?! What's the measurement from transmission to end of the throw out bearing supposed to be? Just for future reference. Tick does make an amazing master for these cars, it's such an amazing piece wish the cars came with them stock. I feel like the car wants to break the 155mph speedo now ;{...~

 

ok, so i have gone with tick master updated slave ls7 flywheel and pp all dot 4 fluid. Worked great while it was hot during the summer months, now that it's less than 20 degrees it wont shift to 4th or 2nd, until the motor warms up. I thought it could be the fluid but have bled about 2 bottles of dot 4 fluid through it in the last 2 day, still not shifting. It seems even with all the upgrades the cold still conquers my car and idk why. I now know that i probably didnt need any of the stuff ive put in to fix the problem because i still have it, I'm looking for anything i may have missed this is pissing me off... im usually 100% on my fixes and just dont get this problem thnx for replys.

 

The LS7 pressure plate still has those self adjusting mechanisms that the LS1 pressure plate has. Those mechanisms are one of the biggest reasons people have shifting issues. I have read so many threads over the years with people complaining about still getting locked out of gear, especially when cold, with both the LS1 and LS7 pressure plates. I let everyone known that I can to avoid these self adjusting pressure plates. From my experience, for every handful of people who say they like their ls7 clutches, there is another handful that say they hate it and have shifting issues.

And you don't need a shim if you have the Tick master. With the Tick you are essentially able to infinitely "shim" the slave by adjusting the tick master. I adjusted my clutch pedal to the same height as my brake pedal and it was killer. I've also read numerous threads of other members agreeing that brake pedal height was the best for them as well.