About three months ago I installed a Center Force duel friction clutch into my 1988 Firebird with the T-5 transmission. The clutch has worked great for the last three months but last night it started acting up. What I have determined, is that the clutch is not completely disengaging when I fully depress the clutch pedal. I have checked the slave cylinder mounting and operation of the slave cylinder and found no problems in that part of the system. It appears that the problem is with the clutch itself. Has anybody had a similar problem with the clutch and what was the problem? The symptems are: Very difficult to shift at high RPM but appears to shift normally at low RPM, this is happening in all gears. If I let the car idle with the clutch depressed and shift into firts gear the car will momentarly rock foward and then stop and act normal. I believe the clutch is dragging ever so slightly but why?

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1988 Formula 5L/5sp 3.45 gears, SLP cold air kit, MAS gutted, TPIS air foil, TPIS AFPR, MAC headers, Mac under drive pulleys, MAC cat back, Relocated MAT.
Best ET street tires 13.85
Best 60 FT street tires 1.930
Best MPH street tires 99.29

 

Did you change the pilot bushing or bearing? If not, it may either have friction against the clutch gear wher eit plugs into the crank which is essentially the same thing as the clutch dragging, or it may be so worn that the clutch gear can wander around inside it, in which case the disc won't stay aligned parallel to the flywheel.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

I did not change the pilot bushing with this clutch install. About 50,000 miles ago I installed a pilot bearing in place of the pilot bushing, maybe I should have replaced it.

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1988 Formula 5L/5sp 3.45 gears, SLP cold air kit, MAS gutted, TPIS air foil, TPIS AFPR, MAC headers, Mac under drive pulleys, MAC cat back, Relocated MAT.
Best ET street tires 13.85
Best 60 FT street tires 1.930
Best MPH street tires 99.29