Hey Everyone, Well, i finally was going to take the iroc for a little spin, but of course, i got a problem. pressed teh clutch, went to put it in gear, and it wouldnt go. I can tell my clutch isnt moving enough to fully disengage it. its stock 02 F-body hydraulics, newer slave, LS7 clutch. I think i bled it okay. Did a bunch of pump-pump-crack it open, and got to the point where only air seemed to be coming out. Anyone else have this issue? I really dont think i need to shim the slave. Hope i dont also. Any input appreciated

Sheldon-
From what I have read, the clutch is the weak link.
WHEN it gets talked about, there are many groans. Esp true for 1/4 milers.
Some have gone to Tick master cylinders. Try a search on that and you see some chatter.
Remote bleeders are also in. I also suspect the extra heat held by SFI bellhousings agravates an already marginal situation.
I also think I have seen someone talking about your specific situation.
Good Luck.
My engine is still on the stand, so I am not there yet. Not sure what my approach will be.

Well, there's your problem!

I assume you meant only fluid came out.

You have full MC travel? And didn't remove the internal stop.

Meant only fluid haha.

The pedal goes as far down as the pedal can, before it hits the stop on the pedal bracket.

I have noticed, after i let the clutch up, i can pull the pedal back another inch or so.

Would this be a sign theres likely air in the system?

Automatics i had shift solenoid issues, now 6spd i get clutch issues. Nothing just works out for me when it comes to transmissions

th350 and there wouldn't be any issues

(...unless you consider higher RPMs an issue...)

Ive done some reading on LS1tech, and this seems to be quite a common issue.

Ive read everything from using a Mity vac to draw fluid through, to gravity bleeding, to pumping the pedal non stop for 5 or so minutes (suppost to help the clutch self ajust itself?), then lastly, trying to pump it 15 times or so to build pressure, and see if it gets in gear.

What a nightmare this car has been

Hopefully ill be able to solve the problem quickly, and get the damn thing driving.

he's running 3.73 gears, so I wouldn't think higher rpms would be present. Still would have a nice cruising rpm. Good luck on the clutch thing, I know plenty of buddies who swapped them out when trying to shift fast and them messing up at the track.

Hey Shel. Is it a brand new out of box LS7 clutch? Did you do the adjustment to the pressure plate like someone on LS1tech suggested? If you did, that will screw you up. It took me a couple of weeks for it to adjust to the proper spot and it wasnt releasing fully.

Otherwise it will be a bleeding issue. I would suggest you get all brand new stuff. I know its depressing to think about but the hydraulics are really crappy. Im on my third master cylinder now. They were all brand new to start with. Second slave cylinder.

Kubus,

It was a used LS7 clutch, had about 500 miles or so on it. I never played with any ajustments on it, i know it worked perfect in the car it came out of. I took the clutch, trans, and all hydraulics out, so everything was working together in the previous car.

The guy who installed it in the car that i took everything out of, told me he had all of the exact same issues im having. Said he bled the **** out of it, almost 3 litres of fluid through, and then it worked perfect. Im thinking ive got to do the same, as every thing he went through, was identical to what i went through, so im just going throug it all again im thinking.

I think it is an air problem, i did the pump for 5 minutes non stop, and it got firmer, making me think it was compressing the air.

Ill try bleeding, and bleeding, then when i think its good, ill bleed it a little more. If that doesnt work, theirs a junkyard near me that would be happy to take it

But seriously, if it doesnt work, i think im going to get a Tick master & speed bleeder. LS1 internal slaves are aweful.

Now i see why guys put the TH350's in 6spd cars haha

I would recommend getting a remote bleeder, that way you could rule out having air in the system. Do you have an adj. master? Also, some members on ls1tech swear by Motul RBF600 Synthetic DOT 4 Brake fluid w/ higher boiling points.

I’ve got a Spec 3+ in mine and haven’t had any engagement issues yet, it’s shimmed and has a ram adj. master w/ the drill mod. I haven’t took it to the track yet but it shifts fine at 6,800 rpms from 2-3 spinning the tires.

Hopefully you get it figured out, automatics are just not as fun as six speeds in a street car.

i've only had this issue once, and it was a sticky clutch pedal. turned out to be a bad slave but as far as the bleeding is concerned, the gravity method has worked the best for me in the past. just crack open your bleeder and take the cap off your reservior. it is a slow process but it will start bleeding. i let mine gravity bleed through about 2 full reserviors full before i capped it off. seemed to work pretty well. once your finished, make sure you pump the pedal about 100 times (what my GM dealership told me to do with a new one when i installed it once).

I like Bel-Ray DOT4 fluid. Probably cheaper than Motul. Both m'cycle stuff.
I have seen Wilwood Master Cylinders mentioned for this application. It MIGHT be an alternative to a TICK.
It seems (to me at least) one of the problems is the stocker does not move enough fluid. Thus problems arise when it does not work perfectly.
I also think some sort of heat shielding on the lines could help.

Sheldon, I talked to a buddy of mine after putting my LS7 clutch in the '98 car and he said to me "after getting fluid coming out, continue bleeding it" he said it could take up to 30 minutes to get it bled correctly, that's how long it took him when he put the same setup in his 2000 Z28. He went through two bottles of brake fluid to get his right.

I'm planning on using AMSOIL DOT 4 brake fluid. Don't know how it compares price-wise, but I do know I trust their stuff.
That's why some people remove the internal stop.
Since he hadn't even driven the car yet, I doubt that was the problem here. But, I routed mine inside the passenger compartment because I didn't like the look of routing it past the exhaust and in the tight hot-air space of the bellhousing and tunnel.

How did you bleed yours?

Thanks for the replys guys. I think ive narrowed it down to a bleeding issue. I dont have a speed bleeder in it. I was dumb, i should have put one in when i put it all together.

I know this setup worked in the car i took it all out of, bleedings gotta be the only reason it aint working.

Ive read a few guys on LS1tech drilled a hole in the tunnel to get easy access to the slave bleeder.

Im torn now whether i do that, or pull the trans out for a speedbleeder. Doing the shove a rachet up there method, is driving me insane.

I used the remote bleeder, just opened up the speed bleeder a crack and slowly push the pedal in an out, took 5 minutes max. Haven’t had an issue since.

I didnt install the clutch bleeder until after I had the tranny bolted up. I ended up putting a tranny jack under ther T56, loosening up the bolts that hold the bell housing and tranny, then sticking a wrench in between the tranny and bell housing to install the remote bleeder. I didn’t want to risk trashing my clutch or trans. I say u just order the remote bleeder now and save yourself the headache.

Thanks for the info!

I resorted to a small hole in the tunnel, directly across from the bleeder, and i think ive got it now.

I removed the black spring @ the top of the pedal, and it made hte pedal feel far better.

Fired it up, and i can get into all of the gears now (though the wheels are in the air, im going to set it down tonight and check again)

Hopefully this is the end of my problems. If so, it just needs to be tuned, and the interior assembled!