Steeda clutch spring install issue

My Steeda clutch spring came today. When I went to install it the stock spring was a royal bitch to get out even though I used the needle nose vise grips. In the middle of getting it out I heard a crunch and then saw a few bits of plastic come down....one of the ears.

After installing the Steeda spring I took it out and drove it. No issues. And it was pretty well stuck in place when I installed it. Is it toast that'll screw me over down the road or should it be fine?

Also, what is the Steeda spring specifically supposed to do? I thought it made the clutch super light. But what I noticed was that it was slightly lighter on the press down and then heavier on the way back up.

Thanks

-Emt1581

Emt1581 said:

My Steeda clutch spring came today. When I went to install it the stock spring was a royal bitch to get out even though I used the needle nose vise grips. In the middle of getting it out I heard a crunch and then saw a few bits of plastic come down....one of the ears.

After installing the Steeda spring I took it out and drove it. No issues. And it was pretty well stuck in place when I installed it. Is it toast that'll screw me over down the road or should it be fine?

Also, what is the Steeda spring specifically supposed to do? I thought it made the clutch super light. But what I noticed was that it was slightly lighter on the press down and then heavier on the way back up.

Thanks

-Emt1581

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You will probably be fine. If it's up there the friction should hold it. What it's designed to do is to get rid of the weird inflection point feeling of spring assist right where the clutch bites. Stock spring makes the first 1/3 of the pedal reasonably stiff and then it falls to the floor when the spring goes from compressing to extending and thus making it easier to push down to the floor. With the steeda spring/no spring, the pedal is linear the whole way though the travel.

Steeda sales the perch separate so no worries.

Drove to work this morning. Clutch was noticeably lighter and I could feel the engagement significantly better.

However, I noticed that the pedal has no real tension in it for the first inch of movement. My concern is that the lack of tension means it could be resting on something moving/spinning and cause premature wear.

Anyone else experience this?

Thanks

-Emt1581

I've experienced that. What I did was take the spring out and cave man stretch it a little and then put it back in and that seemed to solve the problem. Some cars don't want to return the clutch pedal tight to the top of its travel. I've been in other cars where this didn't happen. Most cars don't have the issue. It isn't anything to worry about, really.

wildcatgoal said:

I've experienced that. What I did was take the spring out and cave man stretch it a little and then put it back in and that seemed to solve the problem. Some cars don't want to return the clutch pedal tight to the top of its travel. I've been in other cars where this didn't happen. Most cars don't have the issue. It isn't anything to worry about, really.

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Hmm...that's an idea. Stretching it out. I'll take a closer look and see if it's actually retuning to the top or if it's sagging.

Thanks

-Emt1581

Reason I ordered the 44lb tacoma spring. Returns to the top, no slop.

Something else I noticed today is the noise from the synchros. Didn't hear that much at all before. I'm guessing it just means I have to get used to the new weight and then coordinate that properly with the throttle.

-Emt1581

Can you describe the synchro noise.

Kong76 said:

Can you describe the synchro noise.

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Like a rotating mechanical sound when starting in first, transitioning to second, and then starting in second....when at low RPM.

-Emt1581

I really would like to hear it. Wonder if its what I am experiencing. Do you feel a high frequency buzz through the pedal when disengaging for shits?

Kong76 said:

Steeda sales the perch separate so no worries.

Click to expand...

And it's insanely priced. 70 bucks for a piece of plastic 3 inches long?

PJR202 said:

And it's insanely priced. 70 bucks for a piece of plastic 3 inches long?

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BINGO!

I was waiting to see if someone else would say it. Usually people say it's due to development/tooling processes...but I would be willing to be with the right resin/polymer and a cheap 3D printer you could make it yourself since it's essentially a perch for the spring and doesn't seem to move much.

-Emt1581

Ok first and foremost the steeda spring only makes the force required at the very tippy top of the pedal movement lighter. This is the only part where you are fighting the spring whether it is factory or steeda, because it is the part where it is used to hold the pedal up. After this point you reach a point where the spring is perpendicular to the movement so it does not effect the force required, [MENTION=10281]BmacIL[/MENTION] mentioned this as the inflection point above. After that point the spring becomes more and more parallel with the direction of movement and is in a compressed state so it is trying to expand and therefore helps you depress the pedal. The steeda spring is just so weak that it basically is only used to hold the pedal up. The amount of force it applies to assist you is barely noticeable if at all so you are primarily feeling just the clutch spring force. I hope this was coherently written to explain the function of this spring. Hopefully I can get around to doing a diagram some day because even the [MENTION=22385]Steeda UK[/MENTION] rep seems to be confused about the geometry and steeda's own install instructions use a small bit of incorrect terminology.

I will say that I also broke one of the "ears" of the top part of the mount on install but I was using just line lock pliars and small zip ties, not vice grips as recomended. I have had it installed for a bit over a week with no issues and don't forsee any issues just due to how the geometry is.

Also I want to say that I do really really like this spring upgrade. I firmly believe it primarily just prevents any excess wear on parts of the clutch that would occur if the stock spring were removed and the pedal just left the hang without a replacement spring holding it up. The clutch pedal feel after removing the stock spring and installing this though, is almost perfectly linear. There is no more of that first half of pedal movement being really tough, then second half rapidly getting very easy. It now just is slightly less forceful than the stock setup felt at the beginning but has that same amount of required force all the way through the pedal movement.

Unless you have some sort of issue that makes pressing a clutch pedal tough (in which case you probably like that very easy feeling at the bottom of pedal travel) I highly recommend this mod. I waited 4 months to do it and which I hadn't of. Won't make you a better driver necessarily but it does give the clutch pedal and "more natural" feel I would say.

PJR202 said:

And it's insanely priced. 70 bucks for a piece of plastic 3 inches long?

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I won't argue that. Most of the parts for our cars are pretty steep. Like that red fighter pilot flip cover for your ignition.... $35 for $.78 cent piece.