My 05 Evo with 32k on the stock clutch is having some issues. The car is putting down roughly 350 whp but has never really been launched...the clutch does not slip at all. I could floor the car in 5th at 1500 RPM and it will accelerate w/o drama.

However - I've noticed this most often in 4th gear - sometimes when I press the clutch in so I can downshift to a lower gear - the shifter will "stick." I will feel pressure in the shifter and it will be reluctant to freely move out of the gate - it will feel as if it is dragging. I experience this more often when the car is cold or in the first 10 mins of driving in cold weather.

Does this sound like a clutch issue? Is it possible this could be a shifter issue? Not sure if I should cough up the money for a new clutch when it might be caused by something else.

 

You may want to check your fluids/transmission first, it does not sound like a clutch problem.

 

My shifting improved greatly with a new clutch. I tried replacing the fluid first and it helped slightly, very slightly.
Dan

 

I am a rabid trans fluid changer. My tranny fluids do not stay in there longer than 3k miles.

Any others out there who might have experienced this?

 

Anj:

How's your hydraulic fluid looking? Maybe low? Maybe worn brakes are leaving you with a hydraulic system low on fluid...low fluid would mean slower/less effective clutch disengagement.

You could also adjust the clutch point a bit and see if you have better disengagement...it really seems like a pedal issue...either the engagment point, hydraulic system (maybe even a clutch slave?)

Maybe you've even got some compliance in your stock clutch line? we're doing SS clutch lines and restrictor removals at my house in the next few weeks...snag a clutch line ($25) and come over!

 

Dave,

Thanks for the reply. I flushed the brake/clutch fluid about 5-6k miles ago with ATE superblue. Flushed both the clutch and the brakes. So I think the fluid should be in good shape.

It really feels like a disengagement issue...have any of you guys successfully played with the clutch adjustment?

Is Tim ordering the clutch lines? Let me know the date and I'll look into this.

 

It's sounds really pretty simple. The clutch is probably not disengaging all the way due to warpage of the surfaces from overheating the clutch at some point in time. The fix is usually as simple as adjusting the master cylinder rod at the pedal assembly to provide a higher disengagement/engagement point. What this does is give more clearance around the disc to compensate for the warped surfaces. At least it is easy to try and takes only a couple minutes. Either you will get noticable improvement by making the adjustment or none at all.

 

Thanks for the tip Dirk - now that you mention overheating, the car did experience this with maybe 4-5k miles on it. Took it to the dragstrip and botched a launch causing it to slip all the way thru 3rd gear. The car wreaked of clutch for a day or two after this debacle. I never launched the car ever again after that event

Will play with the adjustment.

 

Anaj has your cluth engagement point changed from what you can remember? If it seems higher then it once was it could no be disengaging during the shift as ACTman said. I would assume if it is only in one gear that is probably not the issue though. Like dave said snag a clutch line and we can install it.

 

We've adjusted Dex's (dexmix) with good result...he'd put quite a few launches on his and was having disengagement issues.