91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

hey guys. So I've got a little problem....i've got a hill climb race in two weeks...and my new clutch is already slipping. ALL the components are brand new...and installed by me....15 year ASE master tech..so it was done right. NO problems until this last weekend when I went to do a full throttle pass in second gear..and got a lot of clutch slip...then retried third...clutch slips (all right about my peak HP around 4500rpm). And I do not clutch dump...I shift then apply power smoothly...it's slipping with pedal fully released but only near peak hp band currently. The pedal is releasing at the top...right at the top...to me indicates symptoms of a worn clutch disc. clutch doesn't have more than 900 miles on it and it was broken in correctly.
Car has thirdgen pedals, master, and a cavvy slave cylinder. AC Delco flywheel (stock).....The clutch is a Ram muscle car series...good for 450-500hp.
I have ran one hill climb on clutch and the occasional race around town, but no more than that....and not a drag racing car. Anyone else had RAM clutch problems?

No body in town has any way of testing the pressure plate to make sure it is holding correctly. Ram clutches says they do not warranty thier clutches unless the PP has failed...but takes weeks to determine. I do not have the time to wait...nor can I replace with a good unit like a centerforce do to recent purchases for rear end swap and tires.
SO....any ideas on what I should do next would be appreciated. Here's my options unless anyone knows a way of testing a pressure plate clamp pressure without a specialized machine.
1)replace the unit with a stock unit (AC delco) with disc and pressure plate...about 200 bucks
2)replace just the disc with a stock disk and see what happens (if it will hold) cheapest
3)replace just the disc with a dual friction centerforce and hope the pressure plate is good....about 200 bucks
(I'm saying I have only about 200 bucks before the race and need breakin time to drive)
4)someone has a great idea they wanna share

the car is roughly stock weight, 3.23 gears, 420hp to the ground, on road course hoosier A6s (25.5 inch tall) and is road course driven. I have checked the clutch fork, pivot ball, and slave cylinder and all seems to be correct and in good working order.
thanks all

jmd

iTrader: (4)

I'm confused.

Even ignoring and You might still have an LT1 pull clutch and trans. I'm guessing this is the case.

Or you could have a third gen clutch, bellhousing and flywheel, adapter plte and LS1 style T56.

Possibilites: You could have a case of the third gen pedal longer stroke of the master cylinder releasing the clutch early in pedal travel and causing slip under power multiple times, leading to a glazed disc.

The disc. or pressure plate dimensions or spring(s) could be a bit off, causing poor apply pressure.

If you have a place that re-lines truck clutch & brakes, see if they can at least eyeball the parts and quote you a re-lining of the disc and surfacing of the PP & FW. This may be a challenge if you have the pull clutch. But the bill may be within your perceived budget and you can choose a material, possibly a ceramic, that takes a little more slip than the Ram did.

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

yeah....sorry....my signature/info is very old....need to update that. I did have an auto in there at one time and was going to get a TKO...but went with t56 instead. Yes it is a LT1 pull style as well. I am running LT1 bell, clutch, and flywheel.
I am running the cavvy slave setup so that I'm not having an overstroke problem....and even went as far to completely take the slave off loose and run the car without a slave. (yes did have to pushstart and shift without clutch, but results were the same....slips in higher gears).
There maybe a place like that here....I am going to check around.
But also received some good information from summit tech line guy who had similar problem with the same clutch. He said that the ram muscle car series clutches are REBOXED stock clutches. So needless to say I paid double for a stock clutch setup. I'm going to just bite the bullet and spend the money on a centerforce dual friction and be done with it....unless someone locally can rebuild my disc. Sad to see companies still pulling stunts like that....especially a bigger name company. oh well. lesson learned

thanks for the info......and yes I will update my signature/profile tonight hahha

splitty

That blows if ram does that. I just put a Mcloud in mine. I hope they don't do that.

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

and ram clutches are decent...like the 900 or hdx series....just NOT the muscle car series...that's the only reboxed type. just to clear that up and not to talk too bad about ram

splitty

I have read a lot about clutches over the last two weeks. And there were more than a few bad ones about ram clutches. Ford guys and chevy guys complaining. Some of the threads were four to five years old, some were recent. So this has been going on for some time. I'm sure not all the problems are rams fault. Knuckle heads like me worked on some of those cars and did some things wrong I'm sure. Live and learn, just don't blame a product for your mistakes.