Hey all, I recently temporarily relocated to the DC Metro Area from LA, back in November 08'. I have an 03' Evo with 120k on it. In December of 08' I was driving on the highway and as I was exiting, I put my foot on the clutch to down shift, when I heard a jackhammer like sound coming from the bottom of my car. I was able to pull over into a parking garage and whenever I stepped on the clutch the sound would come back..it was horrible. So l parked the car and went to work, came back, same sound, but after letting the car run for a min it stopped making that sound.

I tried to drive the car the next day and it whenever I stepped on the clutch the rpms would drop then the car would subsequently shut off. I had the car towed to a local shop out here, Lowest Price Auto because it was closet to where I live. They checked the car out and after dropping my oil pan they found my crank thrust bearings laying in the oil pan. From reading the forums this is whats called crankwalk. Ultimately they ordered a new short block from mitsu it came in a month and a half later.

Then, while inspecting the clutch they found the ACT disc to be completely warped. So we orded a replacement disc from them. Mind you, the car has NEVER been raced, and it used to be owned by my mother who drives for a living. So the original clutch was replaced a year ago by RRE at 104k. According to the shop the damage to the disc was caused from the crank moving around in the engine.

So they put everything back in the car, get it running and test drove it yesterday, they called me and told me that it was running fine for the first 5min on the street, then all of a sudden the mechanic was unable to put the car into gear. He had to let the car cool down, put it into gear then start it back up and drive it. He feels it has to be the ACT pressure plate. At first I disagreed because they had yet to adjust the clutch pedal and bleed the line, but after doing those two things it still will not let you put it into gear. You can start it up, but it wont shift and the clutch pedal is extremely hard to press down.

What is the issue? I trust the mechanic but not 100% on this issue. They're not going to charge me labor to put a new pressure plate & throwout bearing on but, I will only order a new one if I have to. Has anyone else expereinced this issue. I love my evo, and this is the only the second time it has been in the shop for any mechanical issues outside of the clutch being replaced last year. Is it the tranny? the pressure plate? Should I drop the ACT clutch and put on an exedy?(i have had a wonderful experience with my ACT) Or, is the shop and myself missing something? I gotta figure something out by monday. Thoughts, comments, are appreciated but I need answers

Pics below are of the old clutch disc and the damage done from the crankwalk issue.

 

improper flywheel replacment mabe

 

Might want to get this posted in the Evo 8/9 forums area.