I am also considering a switch back to the stock clutch. As I said before, never had a lock out issue and was able to shift lightning quick. With an aftermarket clutch line with no restrictor, aftermarket flywheel, the stock clutch would be fantastic for a mildly modified Evo in my opinion. Obviously a twin or triple disk would benefit the higher horsepower Evo's

 

Any chance the installation of a longer rod in the slave cyl. would help this problem, cause it would allow the pedal to be adjusted in a more normal position while the longer throw of the rod would ensure a full release of the clutch? Or would it not be possible because it would never let the clutch be fully engauged?

back to the topic, i had the exact same problem with the RRE clutch. I adjusted the pedal and it shifted fine, but then the clutch died about a month later (slipping). I installed an ACT and so far so good, shifts fine and doesnt slip, but im keeping my fingers crossed. Been to the track with it twice and my car chirps 2nd gear with it. Have about 4000 miles on it.

 

One more update:

Today, after accelerating hard in 2nd when leaving the toll booth, I didn't even bother trying to shift to 3rd, but when I did try to hit the clutch pedal and get out of gear, it grabbed so hard that the car started to slow down very quickly as if still completely in gear. I had to fight to get it out while my foot was still pressing the clutch pedal. This has become a nightmare. I will be going ahead and adjusting the pedal tonight, but I can't believe it can get this bad this fast...plus, my pedal engagement point is already pretty high.

 

Fair enough. But one more....

Mike W


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bigjhoney

Whats wrong with my clutch? Sep 4, 2005, 01:54 PM #1

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Ok heres the deal,stock clutch, 23k miles.... my clutch has been acting weird for some time, but lately its been getting worse.At idle when the ac was on I would hear a knocking sound( tob I would presume) now its starting to get louder with no a/c. Before if I would downshift without rev-matching I would hear a loud whine and a vibration at the clutch pedal until the revs matched. And little by little as time went you would hear a metal clank once in a while when I shifted( lower gears, at low rpms). And every once in a while it would chatter...but never would slip. Now it chatters like crazy, especially in reverse. You hear metallic clunk everyother time i shift. 1st 2nd ,3rd, and sometimes 4th are real notchy (2nd gear is the worst, sometimes cant grab it at high rpms(locked out, no grind). Whenever I shift at high rpms my car acts as if im still on the throttle and is like delayed which sometimes makes me miss gears( usually only happens from 3rd to 4th gear). I understand my clutch/flywheel are done, but are all my problems contributed to the clutch.wheel( like notchy gears, rev matching problem, etc.)? Thanks in advance.

 

I feel your pain and adjust it ASAP ASAP because it will help. Not sure if it'll solve the issue or how long it'll help but it will help.

 

i was going to buy the ACT Street disc but a lot of people recommend me buying the 6 pucks and i did. at first it was anoying driving it, but after couple days getting use to it i love the clutch to death, great respond. I would get the 6 pucks again anyday and by the way Turbo Trix Evo used ACT 6 Pucks aswell.

 

Yeah, but don't you see the incredibly drastic difference between what I and others are experiencing with the ACT and what bigjhoney is referring to? He was having a TON of problematic symptoms with his stock clutch after 23k miles when many people's stock clutch went bad. Only one of his many symptoms hinted at the lockout problem we are having, but he had a ton of over things going wrong that were most likely all related to a clutch going bad. In my case, I have 2000 miles and I have _NONE_ of those other symptoms EVER. If I didn't actually use my Evo, I would never know the ACT was problematic and would still be singing its praises, because it drives like stock, makes no noise, feels like stock, engages like stock...everything is like stock except that it doesn't slip as much when I'm launching (launches very hard). The problem is that the clutch seems 100% fine until I try to actually drive the car hard by shifting above 7k...that's when the ugly lockout rears its head and is the ONLY time that ANY problem occurs. This is far different than bigjhoney's experience...

 

Ok, just got done adjusting the pedal. Not as easy as I thought, but I figured it out eventually. Not really sure how everyone turns the rod by hand, considering there is no space to fit your hand/fingers in there (at least not my meaty paws). I eventually bent the bracket that holds the starter interrupt switch so that I could fit my fingers in there. Even then, the rod is very small and provides no grip, so I wasn't able to turn it until I backed the lock not all the way out, then used my 12mm to turn the lock not, which then turned the rod. Only problem is when I got done adjusting the rod, the lock nut was stuck on the opposite end and trying to get it off was just turning the rod back the wrong way, so eventually I just had to get the rod loosened up enough to where I could barely turn it with my fingers using the threads as some sort of a grip.

Anyway, I noticed right away that the clutch engagement was VERY HIGH and was concerned with whether or not this was too high, but couldn't tell from driving. It appeared to be disengaging fully, but I don't know if there's any way to tell. First try in 1st gear near redline (7500+), I was able to shift no problem. Did it a few more times, including a 2-3 shift, and everything worked fine. I then got back under the dash and turned it back a little so that there were more than 2 threads showing (betwen 2 and 3) to see what would happen. THis lowered the pedal engagement some, but I was still able to do both the 1-2/2-3 shifts just as fast as before without any grind and no apparent slippage. I think it will take a little practice to get used to the different pedal engagement when speed shifting, but this is at least a good start.

Now, I'll have to see how long before either 1) the clutch burns out due to the rod being backed out too far, or 2) it just starts locking out even with the rod backed out leaving me with no choice other than a new clutch.

 

So this thread that blames the ACT in turn is not all correct? You didn't have the pedal adjusted correctly? Nice. Good PR for a product.

 

Just went out and tried some 7000-7200rpm shifts on my ACT. Probs here. I still retain the clutch restrictor and stock clutch fluid line. Had clutch installed with TRE rebuild tranny/tcase and front LSD (if that makes a difference)

I did have to adjust the clutch pedal but thats all


ACT drives like stock EXCEPT harder clutch pedal and less slippage, IMO
I like it like that

 

No, not correct. The pedal was properly adjusted when the clutch was installed. It worked like a charm at first, but now I've had to back the rod out almost all the way to the end JUST so that I can shift like I used to. This is not a real solution, but rather a band-aid masking the real problem, which is yet unknown.

 

I am adjusted pretty much all the way out myself. The high clutch pedal is way up there, but it just takes some getting used to when you drag race. I am waiting myself to see how my clutch reacts in the coming months. As of now, I have no more adjusting that I could do in the future if I have any more disengagement problems.

 

Adjusting it out would be an unexceptable solution imo. Anyone that races doesn't want clutch engagement to be high off the floor. A band-aid to be able to drive the car somewhat like it is meant to be is the only thing it is...not the solution to the lock-out. The quicker/lower the engagement the faster you'll be able to shift.
BTW, I got 22,xxx out of my stock clutch without a single time needing to adjust it. I never had lockout problems in two years of power/speed shifting at autox's. At the strip with 21,xxx miles I was still able to pull 1.7 60' times with the stock clutch. I never even removed my restrictor or changed the clutch line. I only changed my tranny fluid once.
I don't know anyone with prblems with the stock clutch...only aftermarket single discs.

I emailed Dirk a while back when I was considering the ACT and this was his response:

"Power is not really the issue if you are making 400HP so there are a lot of clutches that will handle that kind of power. I have heard of various reports of shifting problems using our street clutch at high rpms, but then there are the majority of people that have no issues at all with it. Since I am not sure the cause, I cannot excuse it or confirm the problem is the clutch or not. There are several issues that can contribute to these shifting problems which just adds to the confusion. In many cases it is just a matter of people refusing to spend 5 minutes and adjust the pedal, but I don’t believe that is always the case. You can search EVOM and see my comments on other causes.

If you use the puck disc, shifting should improve, but then you have about 30% more clutch than you need and engages fairly harsh, which is harder on driveline parts. The disc splines on our solid puck disc are going to strip out sooner than a dampened disc. I don’t normally like to recommend the puck unless you don’t have any other options to hold the power."

 

BTW, I also talked to several shops about the ACT. If you trust what Buschur says here is his response:

**Honest opinion is the ACT sucks in the EVO. Great DSM clutch but I won't use them in the EVO unless the customer insists. Hate the way they shift.

Go with the Exedy twin disc, great clutch.

David

 

This is the problem. It is not the "majority of people have no issues at all with it." The people that have no issue don't race their car ever and don't frequently shift fast above 7k rpm. For those of us who DO use the car for its intended purpose, the vast majority of us experience this lockout problem. Adjusting the pedal should not be his answer to this problem, in my opinion.