IROCUDREW

iTrader: (6)

I'm about done with my restoration of my 89 convertible. The car shakes violently when releasing the clutch but once it's out about half way it stops. The clutch also engages right off the floor. The flywheel was resurfaced before I installed the new competition stage 2 clutch. I am using 4th gen pedals with new hydraulics. Everything is new except for the clutch fork. I know the pressure plate is against the flywheel, (the first Time it had a 1/8 inch gap, it wasn't torqued right) I'm wondering if the clutch or flywheel has been blue which would lead to the shaking. Also I wonder if my clutch fork could be worn which is the reason the clutch engages right off the floor.

it's one of those cars that fight with you until the end. I will say after 8 years it's finally almost streetable.

Oh another thing I thought it was just clutch chatter because it started to go away but yesterday at the exhaust shop it started again.

It happens when starting in first and reverse. That might be because when shifting from 2nd on you don't slowly release the clutch like you consume starting

Tony89GTA

iTrader: (7)

This a spec clutch? Might need to be broken in. Also you should try bleeding your hydraulics, it might not be fully disengaging the clutch. Unbolt the slave off the tranny and point it down at a 45* angle then start pumping the slave rod full stroke tell its super hard to pump, this will empty any air pockets in the system.

3GZJerry

iTrader: (2)

I had that issue a while back. I had a four puck clutch. Once I changed the clutch the problem went away.

jmd

iTrader: (4)

Are you trying to start just off idle? Stick it at 2800 and let the pedal out. If the problem lessens, it's just the clutch. Break-in might lessen the problem a lot (as you were starting to see before you hit the exh. shop.)

Comp. Clutch should be a good product, but the one facing being ceramic isn't going to drive like Grandma's Corolla.

Also, not sure if you went to a lighter flywheel, but the lighter the flywheel, the less inertia, and the more vibration when starting off-idle.

In short, keep driving it and realize you need to drive to it. It doesn't need to suit itself to your driving habits.

LilSki

iTrader: (1)

I fell into the "It has to break in" trap with mine. I drove it for 5000 miles and it waisted my TO bearing. Under further investigation I found the pressure plate surface was not parallel to the flywheel causing it to only engage on one side of the flywheel. Easily seen by one big blue mark on the flywheel and pressure plate.

How I found this out was I checked the flywheel runout and found it was .006" off BUT the "high" part of the flywheel was not the blue part. The blue part was actually near the "low" part of the flywheel. So what I ended up doing was I experimented and took about .005" off the pads on the pressure plate opposite of the blue mark. What this does is move the other side closer to the flywheel to even it out. After the first try it was 1000x better but not perfect. I heated up the clutch by holding brake and letting it out at idle to slightly blue it again. I found it was much more even this time and took off some more of the pads. Once I put it together the clutch was perfectly smooth and no pulsation of the clutch pedal.

I now have about 3000 miles on it and it is still perfect. I pulled it apart about 1500 miles ago and everything still looked great with a perfect wear pattern on both the pressure plate and flywheel. I've had the trans out of this car probably 15 times dealing with this issue. I can now have it out and back in in under an hour.

IROCUDREW

iTrader: (6)

Tony89gta, it's a stage 2 competition clutch and I'll try bleeding the clutch, it's the least evasive "solution".

3GZJerry, I would like to avoid switching clutches if I could.

JMD, I have a stock resurfaced flywheel on it. I have brought the rpms up and it lessens the shaking/goes away. The two shops I brought it to (one for subframe connectors and one for exhaust) both said it's a bit much to be clutch chatter, almost like the clutch isn't disengaging all the way. Part of me thinks it'll get better with time but the shaking makes it almost not drivable.

lilski, I under stand how you found out the problem but I don't understand how you fixed it. Did you cut the mounting tabs on it?

Another note the car goes in gear without grinding but it's hard to put it in gear. And the fact that the clutch engages as soon as I start to lift the pedal makes me wonder in my clutch fork is messed up. It's almost like I do not have enough throw to disengage the clutch.

LilSki

iTrader: (1)

Yeah tabs or pads are probably a better term for them. They are the 6 pads or tabs that actually touch the flywheel.

It is possible your clutch fork is messed up but unless the T-bolt is bent somehow I doubt it will cause the chatter. You may have some air in the system that may need to bleed out. A couple times I put mine together it was like that right off the floor and after about 20 miles it was back to normal.

In a pinch I have bled the system by popping out the roll pin and using a properly sized punch to hold it in place. You can hold the line in with your thumb while you pull the punch out and then slowly let the line pop out and release the pressure. Do that a couple times and stick the roll pin back in.

IROCUDREW

iTrader: (6)

I'll try to bleed it tomorrow and see what happens. The car is currently strapped to a trailer and i'll see if it helps. I figured I'll drive it 20-30 miles to let it set and see if it gets better. Hopefully it will.


Edit: The problem was a broken Clutch Fork. Bought a new one and it solved the problem.