Clutch and Transmission.. Definitive Answers

[twinturbvr4]

Hey guys, alot of you know my troubles I've had.. Im coming down to the wire with attempts at several different things and am really looking for some direction here.

Many of you know I've replaced my tranmission now 3 times in about a 3 month time span. New clutch done at the same time.

Here's where I am right now, my 3rd gear is shot already (about 4-5 months old) Now thats not really my concern right now, my concern is how did it happen. I had a major fluid leak right when the gear went. I popped my main rear seal on the trans itself and was pretty much bone dry on fluid.. for how long? I dont know.. but I got maybe about 5oz tops of metallic runny paste essentially... BAD sign.. so Im sure that was a major contributor..

On to the clutch.. I feel as though this issue was never properly resolved and will only complicate things in the future..

The clutch itself was replaced at my local Mitsu dealer when they did the first transmission. I have replaced the clutch hose myself, I just found out not too long ago the car NEVER had a clutch damper as long as I've owned it. The slave cylinder was replaced, and now the clutch master has been replaced. I made a new clutch vacuum tube (the one next to the battery) that is all sealed and working properly (at least at the 2 connections on either end of the tube) I have also replaced the clutch vacuum hose that connects the plenum to the clutch booster. Fluid is fine, perfectly bled.. no leaks. My pedal is adjusted ALL THE WAY OUT, this is the only way I can have minimal play in the pedal.. However, the pedal still feels like it is not fully disengaging.. Basically what else do I have to do to the clutch to make it work like normal again? What else can be replaced, adjusted? (aside from the clutch itself hopefully) The clutch was supposed to be brand new as of last November. Some days it feels like it has pretty good extension and doesnt seem to have much problem disengaging, but most days it seems like its not disengaging well. Why so sporadic?

Any help would be great, Im open to trying anything (short of dropping the trans right now..)

Thanks!

[phantomrt]

I am not sure about what is meant by the clutch damper... what is that?

The vacuum line between the intake plenum and the metal clutch booster vacuum line has a check valve in it. Lack of a check valve there can cause the pedal to feel different--if you shift on light throttle, it'll have vacuum and assist. Shift right after heavy throttle and it'll have no assist. Possibly your problem??

[twinturbvr4]

Originally Posted by phantomrt

I am not sure about what is meant by the clutch damper... what is that?

The vacuum line between the intake plenum and the metal clutch booster vacuum line has a check valve in it. Lack of a check valve there can cause the pedal to feel different--if you shift on light throttle, it'll have vacuum and assist. Shift right after heavy throttle and it'll have no assist. Possibly your problem??

That hose was replaced with a brand new OEM about a month ago.. new check valve and everything... my thoughts on that however, was possibly something from the metal pipe there all the way down to the clutch booster... maybe something in there has gone wrong? Not sure what kind of symptoms would support that...

The clutch damper was supposed to help with the shifting or something??? Not sure, when I looked into, its supposed to be right on top of the slave cylinder. When I first had a problem with my clutch hose back in July last year (drove 500 miles with NO CLUTCH.. because my hose burst while on vacation).. I replaced the clutch hose and it connected directly from the hard line on the firewall to the hard line on the slave (nothing in between).. so I really don't know much about it myself..... it was NEVER there on my car (at least since I've owned it..) the car was immaculately kept before I bought it.. no problems at all when I bought, smooth shifting, good solid pedal with little to no play... NOW...............................................................

[twinturbvr4]

any other thoughts?

[jake_20]

I had a hell of a time getting my clutch to work properly after I installed a new clutch. After replacing almost every part of the clutch system I realized that it was the shifting fork and the fulcrum it rides on. These parts were worn and were the culprit to my clutch woes. Unfortunately these items are located in side the transmission (the shifting fork is what the throw out bearing attaches to). Definitely something to look at if/when you drop the transmission.

[twinturbvr4]

hmm.. will add that to my list of suspects.. the clutch, throw out bearing, and shift fork were all supposedly replaced when they first did the swap. Everything looked pretty good when I did the Kormex swap myself back in December...

[twinturbvr4]

heres another thought....

Last week I let the car sit for about 2 days. When I hopped in the car on the 3rd day, the clutch was ROCK HARD.. Is something slowly leaking out over the 2 days it sat? Could this be causing the sporadic stiffness/softness? To re-cap what I have replaced on the vacuum portion of the clutch setup.. I have replaced the clutch vacuum line from the plenum to the clutch boost tube. The clutch vacuum tube (that runs next to the battery)

[twinturbvr4]

any more thoughts?

[twinturbvr4]

I adjusted the up-stop on the pedal out about 2 full turns.. I have a bit more play again.. seems like the rod going thru the assembly to the CMC isnt "coming back" to the pedal enough and therefore not pushing far enough to full disengage the clutch.. thus creating about 1-2" of play... should I still be looking into something with the vacuum, fluid perhaps? or should I maybe look into replacing the pedal assembly in hopes of replacing a possibly busted or worn "rod" from the pedal to the CMC..

thanks guys... hopefully I can fix this before the problem rolls over to its 1 year birthday at the end of this month

[chargerx3]

hmmm just ran through your posts, but have you checked your clutch slave cylinder, or even master cylinder. if they are leaking then they are bad.