**before you say SEARCH BUTTON** ive been searching for the past 2 weeks on here and multiple different forums

alright guys tryin to finish up my swap. turbo 5.3l t56 in a 90 camaro but having an issue with the clutch engagement. car is up on jackstands on all four corners. this is my first time using a fancy boi adjustable master cylinder. usually i use oem ones with no issues but decided to go fancy. my previous swap was pretty much a copy and past of this build but with a stock style master and never had any issues.

as of now what it has:

freshly rebuilt 0 miles t56
brand new spec stage 3+ clutch
brand new slave
brand new Tick Master cylinder
AN lines with speed bleeder
4th gen pedals



i have bled it multiple times all the different ways and there is absolutely no air bubbles in the line that i can see.
Has a good stiff pedal feel
Tried adjusting the master cylinder rod starting with the pedal all the way down and slowly bringing it up like ive been reading.
once in a while itll go into gear. it really does not like to go in gear with my foot on the brake. i did not want to force it into gear either.
ive read that you can bend the forks on the clutch itself but i pulled the trans off and the checked the clutch and it looked exactly like when i installed it.
all tested while car is running.


im kinda at a loss of whats goin on. if anyone can give some helpful advice i would greatly appreciate it.

 

How did your shimming measurements come out? If the pedal is all the way up and the clutch is still sticking, you probably need a shim to compensate for the aftermarket clutch.



^ If you haven't done this before, you will want to read up on the process as the slave cylinder spring needs to be removed for the measurements.

 

ive done that before on another build. basically the spec clutches are ls7 clutches with different discs. the pressure plate and flywheels have ls7 part numbers stamped on them.

i havent gone all the way up with the pedal due to i read somewhere on here form a tick rep that it could damage the pressure plate if too much pressure is applied. i dont know if thats like an instant thing or if its over time though, they did not state that part.

unfortunately i can only start the car on the weekends cause the time i get home and it being open header at the moment. so i cant really test too many things.

 

Running the engine does nothing for clutch pedal, it's completely human powered. You can do all your testing with engine off.

Have somebody try to rotate the rear tires by hand while you push in the clutch. Adjust the rod until the tires spin free. You want the clutch to grab when the pedal returns a little ways off the floor.

Don't be too stingy and under throw the clutch or you'll trash the synchros in your trans after a little while, probably beginning with the 1-2 upshift.

 

Without the measurements, we're only guessing as to how close things are. Even "stock" parts should be measured. Particularly if Spec doesn't guarantee their parts measure exactly the same as a stock clutch. (I expect that they don't do that and instruct, like Tick does, to measure before every install.) The warnings about flowing too much fluid to through the cylinders are important, which is why the measurements are key.

I know its a PITA, but pulling the trans again to get the measurements will give you certainty as you back the pedal out.

I like the method above of jacking the car up to get the engagement. You should get a good feel for the engagement.

 

the only problem with this is im working on this by myself thats why ive been trying to do it with the car running.

dont want to but i guess i gotta pull the damn trans again. i know its going to be the correct measurement but what the hell i can drive it either way. turbo kit isnt even getting built for a while. think i wanna try and make a mount to hold the trans cause the jack and trans jacks suck since the bottom of the t56 isnt flat.

 

well looking through some pics i totally forgot i put a lightened flywheel. also i found a thread about spec clutches and shimming. like 98% of the people on there said they had to shim there spec setup.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tr...ming-poll.html

guess im pulling the trans and probably order a shim kit just in case. ugh.




wish someone sold something like this:

 

Yep, that looks really thin and it sounds like you are in shim territory.

Something like this cheap transmission jack from Harbor Freight would be a great investment. I have a stand-up jack and lift, but the leveling plate holds the transmission perfect and the thing slides right in like butter. If you have it lined up, you can push it all together with your pinky.

 

ive tried that jack. had a worse time with one of those compared to just a regular jack. its too bulky.

i was looking at one of these types.

 

Of you go that way, I would get some wooden wedges and tap them in with a hammer from the side and back, using them to adjust the pitch and roll of the transmission as you line it up.

 

I feel your pain, Trust me. First a McLeod (rxt twin) 2 yrs ago and a monster triple disc a few weeks ago. Granted both were actually problems with the pressure plates right out of the box. Monsters customer service is very good, Mcleod, less than desirable. Never dealt with Spec so don't know.
But with any clutch manufacturer, measurements are the the most critical.
Also if you got the 7/8" bore master, the clutch will be much harder to adjust and have a direct on/off engagement. I just put in a new Tilton (from Tick) 3/4" bore master and so much better. My 105lbs daughter says the 500+ hp Camaro is easier to drive than my wifes M6 Chevy Cruze

 

I am in the same boat, had a failing slave cylinder so I "decided it would be a good idea" to replace the clutch components while pulling the transmission out, why not... it makes sense right?

I opted for the McLeod Street Extreme clutch kit (75323) hoping it would work better of most of the components were "build" to work together AND research pointed to this setup working with OEM master/slave cylinders which I was also replacing. Got it all together, system bled, and it was working in the air. Put it on the ground and it was big fat not working. I called McLeod to confirm the OEM master/slave units would work and after 48 minutes on initial hold I got through to a technician. He stated the problem was not enough fluid to push into the pressure plate. I was given the option to replace the master or the slave but NOT both. I opted for the master because it was easier and pretty much all the threads here talk about how the OEM master cylinders are a weak link. I replaced the OEM master with a Tick Performance adjustable (TAMCKFB) and we spent an hour adjusting and ended at the end of the adjustment zone on the pedal with it not working with the engine running.

So now I have to pull the transmission and it looks like shims are what has to happen. I got a 3 shim pack from Tick and it will be here on Thursday and I scheduled a slot with the mechanic on Friday. He was using the gray HF transmission jack posted above in the thread and it seems to work nice but those "ears" are a pain the rear to get into the right place and stay there. It still took 2 of us to hold and stabilize the transmission as we angled and lowered it. Part of the issue was the car just wasn't high enough with the exhaust still on (we left it on and just took a long time to maneuvered the transmission out of the way. It sucks that everything has to be torn down again (center console, shift lever, all the electrical connectors) to add in the shims. I wish the clutch kit instructions, check list, or MeLeod site had included the requirement or even possibility of shims! Heck if they would have included them in the kit, that alone would be worth an extra $20-40 verses this mess.

On the bright side, I can get the pictures of the McLeod pressure plate I forgot to when we were putting everything back together. My floor jack and jack stands are getting a work out with all the up and down this month has required!

 

well im most likely dropping the trans this weekend. hopefully its just a shim cause i dont feel like pullin this thing again. at least for a while.

 

The measurements are very critical. less than .100" or more than .200 air gap can be catastrophic.
All you need is a good straight edge and a dial caliper. Make sure the spring isn't on the slave when measuring and make sure you put it back on before install.
But trust me, the McLeod fiasco was 7 times R&R with 3 shipments back to McLeod and a lot of arguing.
4 times R&R with the Monster and one trip shipped back. 27 emails later
But the way the car is set up and the fact the shop I work at is a GM dealer, life is easy with a lift, trans jack and all my tools are there. It literally takes me 25 min to pull the trans. (plus 30 min getting the console out. alot of special wiring in there)

 

So pulled trans again. Pulled spring off of the slave (not in the pic). Measured both areas. Was 2 1/8" from pressure plate to bellhousing. 2 from top of slave to trans face. Added a 1/8" shim, threw it all together and same ****. No engagement. Been adjusting the tick rod in/ out doesn't do crap either way. my buddy asked if i torqued them to spec but im thinking it might have been like stock ls1 clutch specs. which i did when i installed it a year ago but the only thing is i didnt have the original hardware. so i used some grade 8 bolts with locking washer and a flat washer. im wondering if maybe that might be causing an issue/?



Side note that low profile jack works awesome

 

That sucks! My mechanic got into an accident on Thursday and postponed to Monday. The kit installed came with the hardware and I still have the originals too. Unless the washer/lock-washers are changing the distance they shouldn't make any difference right? I gave the mechanic the torque spec sheet for the kit and will confirm they were torqued in the sequence. He is just as baffled and stated he has not run into this before, don't know if that should worry me more or not?!?

Does anyone have the OEM distance to compare to?

 

my buddy came over i showed him the issues i was having. he said he ran into this same thing with his T/A. said for sure its the torque of the pressure plate hardware. specs website sux for info so just been doing research and apparently the specs are supposed to only be torqued to about 25 ft lbs. if i did torque it to stock ls1 pressure plate specs then itll be torqued way too much and not allowing the clutch disc to release.

so with that said..... trans is probably coming out again today and gonna re-torque the hardware to 25 ft lbs. hopefully thatll be it cause im pretty much out of any other options at this moment.

 

So just pulled the trans again. Loosened all the pressure plate bolts and torque them to 25ft lbs. They felt like they were over torqued when i loosened them. Re measured for shim, had to go from a 1/8" shim to a 1/16" shim. Reinstalled the trans fire it up and all won't go into gear. Clutch has good pedal feel. Tried adjusting the rod on the tick and still nothing. Wondering if maybe the slave is bad?

 

If you measured and needed a shim, your problem was not the pressure plate bolts. BTW - I can't see how that would be the problem here, but all bolts involved with this project are sensitive to torque in one way or another, so the proper spec should be followed, along with stages and tightening sequences.

What does this mean? Are you in neutral and is the transmission grinding when you try to put it in gear?

When you measured for the shim, did you take the slave spring off? When done, did you put it back on?

 

[QUOTE=wssix99;20295734
What does this mean? Are you in neutral and is the transmission grinding when you try to put it in gear?

When you measured for the shim, did you take the slave spring off? When done, did you put it back on?[/QUOTE]

What does this mean? Are you in neutral and is the transmission grinding when you try to put it in gear?

it means with the car running, foot on the brake, clutch pushed in and trying to put it in any gear it will not go into any gear even with a decent amount of force. i didnt wanna go crazy cause i have broken a trans doing that before. like the pressure plate isnt moving at all. itll go into gear ok with the car not running.

When you measured for the shim, did you take the slave spring off? When done, did you put it back on?

like i said in the previous post, i did removed the spring to measure for shim then put it back on.