I recently installed a Tremec TKO and Dual force Centerforce clutch in my car. Right before that, my slave cylinder on my car blew out and I put a new one on it from Autozone, cheaper than $170 from GM for all new. Anyway, now it seems like my clutch isn't fully disengaging, but it looks like the arm is moving all the way. I know that the Bellhousing that I put on the car, its blowproof, has an adjustable pivot but I am not sure if that is the problem or if the master cylinder is the problem or if it is the clutch, or if it is me. Could someone give me an idea of where my problem is and if it is me I have an appointment with my shrink later this week.

P.S. I think this is the best .org in the world. Keep it up, all of us.

Sorry wrong thread posting but I am still getting the hang of this.

 

I am really not sure that I can be any help at all. But lets see some picture
.
.
.
.
PICTURES
.
.
.
.
.
PLEEEEAAAASSSEEE

Good luck getting it figured out, looks like you have a pretty nice car there.

 

I need to borrow a digital camera from a buddy, but here is a picture of it before I lowered it and put bushings in it.

 

Does anyone have some help?

 

today io have to put a slave cylinder in .. i bough mine from autozone .. i'll tell you how itgoes?

 

Waiting to hear what you find out.

 

i had bought a remanufactured slave cylinder from advanced auto parts, i had an autozone clutch and it just didnt work right, but i put a centerforce d/f in it and i replaced the slave cylinder and master cylinder from adv auto parts and it works like a charm, it could be the adj pivot ball needs adjustment, although i'm not to sure about aftermarket bell housings, did you bleed the hydraulic system after installing the slave cylinder?

 

Ya, I did bleed the guy, but the way it is setup, it really bleeds itself. Anyway, I had it on my other tranny and it was fine, but when I put my new tranny in and my Lakewood bellhousing on, it feels funny.

 

well its all in, feels the same as before to me it was pretty easy getting underneath it

 

If you can measure the 'throw' of the rod as it moves, it's supposed to move .58". If that is good, then an adjustment of that pivot ball may be in order...
HTH

Pete

 

I will measure that on Tuesday when I get back, thanks.

 

heh sounds kinda like the problem im having!! i put a dual friction c/f, hays flywheel, new slave cylinder, and lakewood bellhousing. got it all put together and the clutch wont work right. i adjusted the pivot ball as far out as it would go and it still wont disengage. I have no idea whats going on. Not to metion my hooker shorty headers hit the bellhousing!! Im using the stock fork and c/f throught bearing. Anyone have any ideas?

 

So am I understanding this correctly that Centerforce clutches don't fit properly on T-5s and T56s??

 

When you put the throwout bearing on the fork, which way did you do it; like the top half of this pic, or the bottom half?

 

I've seen you post those pics before RB....

I think the larger diameter face goes towards the fingers on the pressure plate....does it not???

Not trying to break in on this post (guess I am) , but my adjustment on my z-bar linkage is extended as far as it will go. If I don't adjust it all the way, it'll still disengage OK, but 1st and 2nd want to grind....does that make sense ????

I replaced the linkage bushings on both ends of the cross shaft.

 

What the pics are supposed to show, is the little spring thing that's riveted to the fork, and how it fits to the throwout bearing. Notice how in one pic the "ears" of the spring are clipped over the outsids of the TOB, and in the other, they're inside the bearing.

Only one of the pics shows the correct assembly. The other will make the clutch fail to disengage, every time, with certainty. If the system is assembled the wrong way, there's basically no possible way for the clutch to work right.

 

A lot of people have companied about similar problems with Centerforce setups. I read an article a year or so back where they had to remove a Centerforce unit from an otherwise stock 4th gen car because it was causing high shift effort and didn't seem to want to disengage. They replaced it with a SPEC clutch and the problems went away. I used the SPEC clutch for my T56 swap based on that article and have been very happy with it. I didn't even want to risk the Centerforce, though I will admit that I ran them in several cars in the past with no problems. Everyone that has issues with them seems to have newer cars with T5s and T56s. I always ran them with a Muncie M21 or M22.

I think the problem centered around the Centerforce clutch being thicker than the stock clutch, so this is something that you may want to check.

 

I'd sure check the assembly before I got all wound up over throwing out one $300-odd clutch and buying an even more expensive one, which the installer could also just as easily screw up installing and create exactly the same problem.

Check the pics. Which way is yours put together?

 

Agreed. I wouldn't advise you to just throw out your Centerforce assembly out of hand. Check everything and then double check it before buying any new hard parts.

 

The thing I'm trying to figure out here RB is why you're keeping everybody in suspense. Why don't you tell them that the lower pic is the proper way to install the throwout on the release fork? I lived and learned from that little mistake when I attempted my first clutch job at age 16. I also remember the time a parts guy sold me a throwout for a three speed diaphragm clutch instead of a four speed. That mistake caused the clutch to never engage no matter where adjusted because the bearing was too tall. To the guy on here with the lakewood bellhousing, I think that would stick out the most among my list of probable causes for the clutch not working properly. Aftermarket parts are a double edged sword. While they can greatly improve or strengthen something on your car, they can be a royal pain in the a** to adapt to your particular application a lot of times.

 

I don't tell them that right away, because then they won't get curious enough to either ask which one is right, or realize that they did it wrong, or realize that they have no idea which way it is and go look.

But you're exactly right, the lower pic is the correct way. If it's put together like the upper pic, the little spring thing will hold the throwout about 1/4" off of the business surface of the fork, and when you push the clutch, you'll have to take up that extra 1/4" of slack, which then won't leave enough travel for the clutch to fully release. Guaranteed to create a dysfunctional clutch every time.

 

the centerforce clutches have that problem on the 4th gen cars because of that assaning hydraulic throwout bearing......the centrifugal weights on the clutch pull the fingers out to increase the clamp load.....

when they do that, they push against the hydraulic throwout bearing and unadjust it by forcing fluid back into the reservoir.....then the bearing cant push far enough to completely disengage the clutch causing the high shift effort(at times its impossibly)

the clutches work great on slave cylinder setups though

 

could the TOB find itself in the wrong position if i lost fluid in my slave due to the tube disconnecting itself and bleeding as i press the pedal?

Im asking if, after drive the car about 15 miles with no clutch, and using the RPM's to shift, could the TOB shimmy into the wrong postition? Would this require me to drop the tranny and reset the TOB?

I have great clutch pedal pressure after bleeding and refilling, and it seems the rod on the clutch slave is traveling almost an inch...and it requires .58" but somehow i still cannot hardly start my car or engage the clutch to shift....the only way i can start my car is to have it at a dead stop and place it in first and turn the key. Holding in the clutch does not work. help!

 

My car was doing the exact same thing. Not disengageing. By cranking the pivot ball in, it was cured.