first of all i did a search and turned up nothing useful. i have a 92 z28 with a 350 and t56. i had a t5 before with no problems. i bought and installed a 97 t56 swap kit. the problem is i cant keep clutches in it. when installed i bought a spec, think its a stage 2. now just over 2 years later i am on my 5th clutch. i have not been to the track, and all have been broken in with at least the minimum break in mileage. here is the story

1st clutch - installed wrong, this was an expensive mistake
2nd clutch - started slipping after approx. 6 months
3rd clutch - also bought and installed a new flywheel at this time, defective, pressure plate hit fork when pedal depressed
4th clutch - started slipping shortly after break in period was over, found to be defective. the pressure plate was lifting unevenly
i did the clutch rod modification before the 4th clutch was removed
5th clutch - this one is in now and appears to be slipping. it only has about 800 miles on it since installed. i can not break the rear end loose, and i know the engine has more in it then the results i get.

i installed new hydraulics shortly after installing the t56. i have recently moved the slave almost all the way out on the threads. i know this is not supposed to do anything, but i just wanted to try it. i removed the slave about a week ago and checked that the fork was all the way engaged, and that it had a little bit of play on the throwout bearing.

i am at a loss of ideas and things to check. i can not enjoy the car and haven't been able to for over 2 years now. what is it that i am missing? i am not driving it much for fear of ruining another clutch. these clutches are not only exoensive, but it is no easy task to take the tranny out and replace one.

please throw out any and all suggestions of things that i can look into. i do not currently have the money to take it somewhere and have it looked at. i really appreciate any help anyone has

 

i beleave performance clutches are sopposed to be broken in, so in that period, they might slip or chatter, at least thats what the instructions said with my SPEC

 

well i was told the break in period was 500 miles, mostly city driving. since i do some highway driving as well, i did not get on it until somewhere after 650 miles. i have gotten on it a few times since, but all have had less then stellar results.

btw, i too have a spec, and appreciate you sharing this info. the people at spec are very helpful and were very nice the times i dealt with them, i definatly give them an A for customer service

 

r u running 4th gen pedals?

 

i had to cut the metal sleeve on the end of the slave it was to long and wasnt allowing the pressure plate to release all the way when i took mine out it was actually bent so i cut a bit off of it like 1/4 to 1/2 inch and rewelded and it works fine now i run a center force dual friction setup and never had a problem with it

 

i do have 4th gen pedals, but kept the 3rd gen gas pedal

do you mean the metal rod that comes out of the slave and pushes the end of the fork? i have an adjustable rod i can put on there to replace the factory one and try that. i just thought it would do the same thing as shortening the rod to the master cylinder

 

right the piece that comes out to the fork try shorten it up and see if that helps by you changin the rod at the master it's not the same as physcially shortenin it

 

i will certainly give it a try. it will be well worth the 5 minutes invested in doing it.

please if anyone has any other suggestions of things i can check out, feel free to throw them out there.

 

start with a 1/4 inch first and try that good luck

 

I have a T-56 and run a SPEC stage 3 clutch, I have about 4400 miles on it so far, but have had no real problems. It did slip a bit after about 1200 miles or so. But then that went away. I think it was cuz the way I was driving it.

I have all the parts layed out in my head and how I installed them, but I can't picture what some of the parts that you guys are talking about.

If you have pics, please fill in. I run 3rd gen pedals, and new 4th gen master/slave assembly. Stock fork, and spec clutch. Oh and a custom flywheel cuz I am running a 2 piece RMS motor.

So I am pretty close to your setup and feel like I might be able to help if I knew a bit more. When installing mine I ran into a few problems, but don't wanna get into them till I know if they relate to yours.

 

dennis i'm talking about the little metal rod that attaches to the end of the slave cyl. where it meets the clutch fork i had to take off like a 1/4 and reweld it back the clutch was engaging all the way it wouldn't let the clutch realse fully casue when i took mine out to inspect it i had actually bent the cyl rod a little

 

I bent my first rod setup. Brand new GM stuff too! I was pissed. Turns out my fork was messed up a bit and didn't have a small metal retaining clip. The caused it to move after install and made it literally fall off the TO bearing. Then when I pushed it in again, it just bent.

Not sure what your problem is exactly, just make sure you get pics of all the parts installed correctly offline. Then compare as you go. Whatever is making you have problems should be obviouse with back to back pics. I would assume

 

Gona throw a few obvious things out there. Im running a stock LT1 clutch in my 95 T56, and a new flywheel. PP and Flywheel both had machining marks when installed. Im also running 4th gen pedals, but i have a few suggestions anyway.

First off if Spec confirmed those previous peices were defective, then you just had bad luck.

1) Do you have a pilot bearing/bushing installed in your crank?
2) Dont assume the clutch is broken in just by the mileage.

When i installed mine, i waited the 400 or so miles recommended, and then i started thrashing on it, and it would slip everytime. I was pretty disappointed. But i noticed, the way i drive, i didnt allow the clutch to break in.

I let the clutch out as far as i can before i even touch the gas. Behind my 355 this gets me moving at about 10 km/h (6mph) before i have to touch the gas. This means the clutch BARELY slips. ie: no break in. Also, it takes 400 miles for the CLUTCH to break in, if you have a new flywheel, that will take some time as well.

WHen i realized this, i started revving up to about 2500 rpm before letting the clutch out. Very painful to do, since its not at all my driving style. But in 2 weeks i had tire chirping shifts.

Also, not goin to the track doesnt mean you dont thrash on your car. I know sometimes im harder on my car on the streets than at the track.... If you dont break in a clutch properly, and romp on it, it will fail. They tell you this in the intallation instructions, and alot of companies dont warranty performance clutches for this reason.

So youre probably driving like i was during break in. I know its painful, but get the revs up, and let the clutch out slowly. You WANT it to slip as much as possible during break in. See how it feels in a couple of weeks.

And NO Hard driving until its broken in.

 

well i will try driving it more, and also shortening the slave rod just to see if it does anything. i will give it another 200 miles or so, hopefully nothing happens in that time

 

good luck update us so we know how you made out

 

i'll post some updates as i drive it more. im going to put at least another 100 miles on it before i try anything else

 

any upadates? maybe your clutch isnt fully disengaging?

 

Think you main problem is your using a SPEC clutch, I went through 2 of there Stage 2's with the same problems your having, there just a crappy clutch. I'am using a mcleod Street twin now and couldn't be happier, 5k dumbs on slicks with no problems and driving on the streets isn't to bad for high performance clutch.

As for the shorting of the Slave rod that's not going to do anything, there made to self adjust, you can have a rod that's 5 feet long or one that is 3 inches and you will still have the same movement.

One thing i would like to ask you is, where does your clutch peddle sit compaired to your break peddle?

 

sorry for no updates, i have had some time to mess with the car and the right foot has thoroughly tested the clutch over the past week or so. it must have just been not enough break in miles on it because it sure holds now. i have gotten it to chirp 3rd a few times now, which is a definite improvement.
i would however have to disagree with this. i had bad luck with some of them, but the people were very nice there in trying to help me. i would definatly look to them again when i need another clutch.