Clutch Problems: Things to do before pulling the transmission.

[92stealth15g]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

The fork looks good. I am going to go with one of my guesses of the pressure plate having damaged fingers.

how does somthing like that happen? how likely is it that a spring popped out of the clutch disk?

[Stealthee]

That is a slight possiblity but usually when that happens you hear a horrid noise and it stops you from even being able to depress the clutch,

[92stealth15g]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

That is a slight possiblity but usually when that happens you hear a horrid noise and it stops you from even being able to depress the clutch,

hmm.. i see. so that narrows it down to pretty much the pressure plate.. what about the TOB? Either way im going to have to tear down the trans.. what causes the pressure plate to do that? would southbend warranty it? only 1000 miles on this clutch.

[Stealthee]

I highly doubt a TOB problem. Usually what happens to it is it siezes and it becomes very hard to press the pedal and you cant even press it all the way, not even enough to disengage to start switch on the clutch pedal.

[Healther Stealther]

For what it's worth, I didn't notice as much play as exhibited in your video between the slave piston and the fork before I removed my slave cylinder . You may have a problem inside the bell housing. The fact that when you depress the clutch pedal the noise goes, or nearly goes away suggests something is loose until you put the load on it.

Here is a link to the Transmission Service Manual. Blow up of the clutch assembly is in Section 21-4 on p. 8 of the pdf.

http://www.3si.org/files/3S_AWD_tran...ice_manual.pdf

The noise in your video sounds typical of a worn out TOB. That would account for the slop between the slave piston and the fork. Also, if the TOB is severly worn it would mean the clutch is not being disengaged fully because the bearing is not as thick as it once was. This again is consitent with the fact there is play in the assembly to begin with, and the clutch springs are simply not being moved enough to disengage the clutch.

My vote is the TOB. The fork could be off the fulcrum but that begs the question, why did it come off in the first place? Can a severely worn TOB allow enough slop in the assembly to let the fork slip off the fulcrum. I don't know the answer, but wouldn't rule out the possibility entirely. I agree if you were successful at getting it back in place it would just come off again. My gut tells me the clutch would likely not operate correctly at all if the fork is off the fulcrum.

[92stealth15g]

thanks for the input guys.... so who wants to come over and help me take the tranny off? haha. What kind of new parts would I need? a whole clutch kit? The clutch kit has only 1000 miles on it (TOB, PP, and disk)

[TwIzTeD_3kGt]

From the looks of that last video it would seem the hydraulics, fork/fulcrum, and TOB are fine.

I'm going with a spring popped out and jammed behind pressure plate fingers, or pressure plate fingers damaged/bent. With an unlikely possibility of a bent fork.

In any case, time to drop the tranny.

I've been exactly in your shoes before, dont want to be there again. Pain in the ass!

[92stealth15g]

Originally Posted by TwIzTeD_3kGt

From the looks of that last video it would seem the hydraulics, fork/fulcrum, and TOB are fine.

I'm going with a spring popped out and jammed behind pressure plate fingers, or pressure plate fingers damaged/bent. With an unlikely possibility of a bent fork.

In any case, time to drop the tranny.

I've been exactly in your shoes before, dont want to be there again. Pain in the ass!

yea.. ive only owned the car for a year and the tranny has come down 3 times already.. this time im doing it myself cuz i hate mechanics.

[Stealthee]

3 times in a year? Psh. Try three times in the last two weeks. Or 9 times in the last year.

Its not that difficult. Just take your time.

[92stealth15g]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

3 times in a year? Psh. Try three times in the last two weeks. Or 9 times in the last year.

Its not that difficult. Just take your time.

lol, very true.. I am trying to figure out a stupid ass ignition problem before i start messing with the clutch.... my coil pack farthest from the front of the car isnt firing but the rest are.. i tested the ptu and the coils and they all seemed fine. w/e i hate this car.. grrr.