I'll try to make it brief. I had a Shep tranny, t-case, ACT street clutch & Flywheel, and SS braided clutchline installed two weeks ago by Shep himself (his shop). The clutch pedal never really felt "heavy" to me after I got the car back, but everything seemed to be okay. I was under the impression that the ACT should be heavier than stock. I broke it in driving easy for 500 miles. No launches, no higher than 5K shifts, etc. Today, right around 500 miles, all of a sudden when I pressed the clutch pedal it became rock solid almost. It took a lot of force to push it down. It stayed heavy as hell for the 20 miles in traffic on the way home. Never at any time though did the gears grind or any real "problem" occur other than a sore foot. When I got it home I checked everything and found no leaks - fluid level is slightly high, but everything is good. I went back outside to mess around and pushed the clutch pedal and it went back to the soft, I guess normal, feeling. Now it intermitently goes from very hard to soft. I need some suggestions. I have a message with Shep and an appointment with Mitsu on Friday. The service tech there is awesome. Going back to Ohio isn't an option.

 

My first impression was the master cylinder is going out.

 

nobody's ever had a heavy *** clutch pedal problem?

 

Here is a thread with a clutch diagnosis for a heavy clutch. Go to the first page and download the clutch pdf file then go to pg 5.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...CLUTCH+INSTALL

 

The release bearing pulls directly on the diaphragm spring which produces most of the normal tension you feel at the foot. There is nothing within the clutch itself to cause it to become really hard and then really soft since there is nothing within the clutch to interfere with this action and diaphragms don't randomly change spring rates. Start looking at everything between the pressure plate and the pedal assembly. Somewhere there is a lot of friction or binding. To confirm this, I think you will also notice that when the clutch is heavy, the feel is only extra heavy pushing the pedal down and not as heavy as your pedal goes back up.

 

You're exactly right. It pretty much comes back up normally. I appreciate the responses.

 

Update - Took it to Mike at a local shop today. Great guy. Looked at my car right away. We both thought something was going on with the hydraulic system so he ordered a new master and slave. Other than that, what appears to be a slight misalignment of the diaphragn spring in the pressure plate could also be a problem. All in all, $1,800 for shep work, $600.00 for clutch and FW, plus more parts... I'm financially and emotionally drained after this...

 

I don't know what you mean by misalignment of the diaphragm. It locates on the cover by it's outer diameter. The center peices loosely locate within the fingers of the diaphragm, but they center along with the release bearing as it travels on the transmission guidetube. Possibly the release bearing wan't snapped in place completely, but that still shouldn't cause the conditions yow were describing earlier.

 

I agree... I inspected the clutch and there was nothing strange with it before install. And I know for a fact that John Shepherd is a pretty good installer (his guys). Anyhow, the problem seems to be that what you stated. The TOB bearing might not have been clipped in fully. Mike has a name on here - mitsumaster. I'll see if possibly he wants to chime in. But after all investigation and Mike repeatedly pressing the clutch pedal, he thought it felt like a hydraulic problem. I tended to agree with him by the simple fact that bleeding the line a few times instantly made the pedal go soft. Then it went back hard after a few presses.

Don't worry i'll definately post up whenever the problem is solved hopefully Monday. I'm just an anxious as you are!

 

ACT Man - I found this in your 2008 catalogue.

"The install procedure for this type of clutch is very different than for the
older Mitsubishi Eclipse or various other Mitsubishi/DSM vehicles.
This vehicle utilizes an efficient pull type clutch which offers more clamp
force without adding excessive pedal effort for it to function. However,
irreparable damage can occur to the pressure plate's release bearing clip
from improper techniques used in disassembly and installation of the release
bearing. The EVO 8 repair instructions must be strictly followed to prevent
damage. The release-bearing clip is a patented part that is not sold
separately so replacement parts are not available. If damage occurs to the
release bearing clip during install or disassembly it will not be covered under
ACT's warranty. ACT will replace this clip only if the customer's original stock
pressure plate is provided as a core with a functioning release bearing clip."

I'm just going crazy here waiting for tomorrow to see what happens with the new cylinders. Anyhow, you seem to be quite confident that if something happened to this ring it wouldn't cause my problem, right? If this clip breaks, you don't have any clutch, right?

 

Usually if the release bearing is not snapped in all the way you will feel a pulsing at the pedal and inadequate disengagement from the bearing being crooked. If it becomes totally dislodged the pedal will become totally limp and the clutch won't disengage at all. In either case, pedal effort should not be affected. The reason for our tech bulletin is to advise customers that we don't have extra pieces available when the center become damaged from instalation or otherwise.

 

Well it looks like the master cylinder was bad. I'm waiting for a ride to go pick it up.

 

Update - Well, it seems to be fixed. Let's just say that my local guy took really good care of me! He replaced the master and made sure everything else was cool. He went the extra mile.

Thanks ACTman for your suggestions and help! I do like the clutch so far.

 

thats great is was just the master cylinder. soo how is everything else with the clutch??

 

No solution has been reached yet. Master, slave, bleeding, pedal adjustment, Re-snapping the TOB in the ring, etc. have all been tried. The tranny is going to have to come down and the pressure plate examined. I do not fault the clutch. I'm beginning to fault the original installer. We'll see what happens.