Yup. Too many people busting gears I guess.

VV

 

I definitely don't get unusually high clutch engagement.. Once the car was broken in, and I got used to it, the engagement seemed to start in a more comfortable location. And I've had several races since I experienced my 1-2 problems, and haven't had it since just after break-in. In my case it was user error, because I'm finally used to it, and am making fast firm shifts, and aside from bouncing off the rev limiter once or twice, I've been consistent as hell.

 

I did the clutch restrictor mod today.

The spring inside the slave cylinder and the ring must not be steel or something, because we tried a magnet and the ***** didn't want to come out. We ended up using a pick to get it out.

Be ready to get dirty. The way the banjo bolt is on the slave cylinder, all the clutch fluid is going to drip down.

To get good access, you have to take off, or at least take off part of the underbody shielding plastic tray thing under the front of the car. To get the whole thing off, there's probably 20+ little plastic screws. We did it by taking off the left 1/2, and letting it hang.

Bleeding the clutch is a ***** too for some reason. It took a LOT of pumps to get the clutch to get pressure (probably because there was NO fluid left in the line).

The clutch does feel a little more like an aftermarket clutch, in the way that the first inch or so of pressing down the pedal, it feels like nothing.... then the pressure is there. It's no more than stock. It DOES grab quite a bit lower than stock. If say stock, it grabs at 3/4 way up, after the mod, it grabs maybe 1/4 way up.

Mod seems well. Only thing I don't like too much is that first inch or so of the pedal feeling dead.

What is the proper way to bleed a clutch? I'm thinking there still might be air somewhere within the clutch line.

 

OK, I re-bled the clutch line, and it feels a lot better now. Grabs right in the middle. The dead feeling of the pedal is gone. Bled the clutch using a trick a friend taught me. Hook up a vacuum line from the nipple on the slave cylinder to a vacuum source on the intake manifold. With the car running, crack the bleeder open, and the fluid will get sucked through, bleeding the clutch line. Only bad thing is that the exhaust will smoke like crazy for a few minutes (from the brake fluid burning). Bleeding the clutch this way is quick, and guarentees no bubbles.

 

..or ya could always just get a speedbleeder for it. I happen to like them very much.

 

For some reason the speed bleeder I had never worked well on my clutch line. I could never get it to seal, no matter how tight I made it. They worked fine on my brakes, but the clutch simply would not work.

 

anyone know the thread and pitch or part number for our cars... for the speed bleeder that is.

 

Hello,
This seems to be like an interesting theory about premature cluthc failure. Do you think this little mod is a good thing adn won't hurt the car, or do you think it's just what people are assuming and people won't know if it's bad or not until we hear stories where springless clutch slaves trannies failed.

 

Are U.S. Evo 8 trannies similar to the JDM Evo 7 trannies?

 

I think this clutch mod is good. Haven't seen any ill effects from it. I don't think it'll destroy trannies any quicker than if you were to leave the clutch restrictor in. I think the stock clutch is weak enough to absorb shock.

 

This is a MUST HAVE to bleed the clutch and brakes"Motive Products POWER BLEEDER".

 

Well I'll play devils advocate on this one. If you remove the spring asm. then you are allowing the clutch to grab much quicker which is good, yes. But the downside is if the clutch disc is not up to par for the power then chances are you are not going to burn the clutch up but break a radial spring in the clutch disc from the excess force. And when you release a spring from the disc it can and will make a nice mess. I have seen more clutches fail because of broken radial springs then simply disc wear out. Maybe, just maybe this is why it is put there, to limit the overall force placed on the disk on a launch.

 

Has anyone ran into any different problems with this setup? Or does it seem to be a cure to the Evo clutch problem?

 

Ok, just did this mod, and it was a heck of a lot easier than I expected. No undercar work is required at all, no removal of panels or anything underneath. I just took out the air intake box, and the slave cylinder was underneath it. I topped off the brake cylinder, then recapped it to make a slight vacuum to slow fluid drain. Unscrewed the banjo bolt, slipped a vacuum line sealer into its spot in the banjo fitting. Used a tiny screwdriver to fish out the valve (plastic) and the spring. Reversed to assemble. Mity-vacced the slave cylinder, and had the wife step on the clutch once to double check the bleed while I loosened then tightened the bleed screw. Done. All of 20 minutes work, one dirty rag for cleanup of brake fluid drips. Now to see if this helps the clutch burning smell when I am launching hard.

 

so is it better?