I was having some issues going into 4th gear for a couple months. I took it to the dealership twice and was told there was nothing wrong with the tranny. The problem didn't go away and i did some research in the forums here and discovered I likely had a synchro problem. I took the car back for a third time and took the service manager and the tranny tech out for a drive to show them the problem. It turned out to be a bad 4th gear synchro. They're going to fix it, which is great.

Now for the bad news. An ACT 2600 clutch and new stock flywheel were installed in January by the dealership. Since then, the car has been driven about 8000 miles. The dealership said the clutch is completey "down to the rivets" and gone. WTF?! How can this be? I got twice as many miles on the stock clutch! I never speed shift. Most of those 8000 miles were on the freeway. I've never felt the clutch slipping at all. I'm at a loss as to how the clutch could be so worn after just a few months. Any ideas?

Finally, it looks like I'm going to need a new clutch and flywheel. I don't have $1500 to drop on an Exedy triple disc. What's a good clutch/flywheel combo?

 

That is just strange. I have over 20,000 on my ACT with no problems. I go to the track usually once a month also. Maybe you got a bad one. Try PM'ing Actman and ask him.

 

Maybe they're just lying to you. I wouldn't put it past them. They probably have worn clutches lying around to show you. "Oh yeah, this new clutch is almost shot".

 

Are you suggesting I go down to the dealership and look at the clutch myself? I guess I wouldn't be surprised to have them show me a stock clutch instead of my ACT.

Here's a quick question: Could the synchro problem (grinding into 4th gear) affect the clutch?

 

hmmm im having a 4th gear grind also but my car is red flagged due to the aftermarket clutch i got which blows... RRE no name

 

Definitely go to the dealership. I don't know how many times customers say their clutch was bad according to the dealership and the parts turn out perfectly fine upon inspection. I trust you got my email regarding the thickness dimensions. I am not saying that the parts couldn't be worn out, but it is not likely, unless you beat on it regularly. To answer your other quesiton: No, the syncro problem would not contribute to premature clutch wear IMO.

 

I'll head on over to the dealership tomorrow to take a look at the clutch. What are some of the things I should be looking for? If the clutch really "worn to the rivets", wouldn't I feel some slippage sometime before now?

I have an old truck with 153k miles on the stock clutch - that thing slips all over the place. The ACT in my Evo never slips. It clamps down with a ton of force. Granted, I've torched it exactly two times while learning how to properly launch it, but I would definitely say I have not abused it. The car is a daily driver for me.

 

If the clutch rod was not adjusted correctly to begin with the the pressure plate does not engage all of the way and the clutch disk is being "hazed" when stopped with the clutch in. This will also lead to premature syncro wear as it does not compeltely dis-engage thus making the syncros work harder. Of course if Mitsu put it in then you would think that they could have adjusted it correctly.....

 

This "hazed" meaning the disc will wear down? I was definitely having some syncro problems. I'm wondering if I should take it to a shop like Vivid after I get it back. They have an Evo whiz over there and he could probably straighten out any clutch problems.

 

Simply measure how thick the disc is. But it has to be compressed to do it accurately. You can use a pair of micrometers to measure after it squeezes it down or use a bench vice and some calipers right next to the jaws of the vice. In either case you will need something accurate to measure the thickness.

 

maybe they used the original disc and only installed the new pressure plate. I just installed an ACT on a friends car and the disc looked similar to oem.

 

ACTMAN, how long should the act clutch last? I have had mine for 20,000+ miles and all seems fine.

 

That's very difficult to answer. If you drive highway miles, you can have it last probably over 200K, but then again if you drive it wrong on a sticky drag strip you can destroy it in less than 30 seconds. I am sure you fall somewhere in between. Not much help am I? Sorry. By design it should last longer than stock in most cases, but how much is hard to tell.

 

I drive agressive from time to time. I have never been to the strip. I was just curious. Thanks for the reply.

 

ACTman, how thick should the disc be?