Tob/ Pilot bearing being replaced MT82

stang17 said:

The car had a bit of vibration in the drivetrain from the get go, transmission would thud with gear changes at low speed, shifter was very notchy.....1st fix was adding the CF DS, which helped considerably with the vibration and thud , didn't eliminate it completely. Car also had driver rear wheel bearing replaced.

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sounds like there was clutch drag with the factory clutch

stang17 said:

Shifting was way better with the MGW, but then I started to notice that for the first few miles of driving the car after startup, it was extremely difficult to get the car into first or reverse. After a few mintues of driving the problem would go away.

We went ahead and swapped the trans and diff fluid out with BG synchro and that quieted the drivetrain down some more and made shifts while car was warm like butter. However, the problem with the 1st reverse lockout when cold still remained.

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first or reverse shouldn't involve synchros. Maybe the MGW is affected by the cold ? Did you have first / reverse issues before the shifter ?

With the stock shifter and clutch, never really had an issue in the cold and never experienced gear lock out, other than sometimes having a difficult time with a high RPM 2nd to 3rd shift when making a pull. Stock shifter and clutch had a good amount of notchiness and gear nibble, as well as that low speed thud.

The dealership had installed the Mach 600 clutch kit and MGW shifter at the same time, so it's difficult to say which may have caused the issue with lockout. After several talks with George over at MGW, we are confident it is not the shifter as it only does it when it is cold.

Exedy believes there still may be air the system, so as the fluid is cold, air bubbles are still stuck throughout the line, effecting engagement. When the fluid warms, the air bubbles can rise to the top of the resoirvor tank, which relieves the lines of air allowing proper engagement. Exedy advised since the brakes and clutch share the same resoirvor, that the brakes should be bleed at the same time to ensure the entire system is air free, yet I have no issues with my brakes.

On 3 occasions I watched first hand the dealer use the vacuum pump on the resoirvor cap to bleed the system, yet we are still having the issue. The mechanic that did the install at the dealership no longer works there, so they cant confirm if the slave cylinder was ever bench bleed. My line going to the brake\clutch resoirvor was not pushed on all the way, and when I pushed it back on some bubbly brake fluid weeped out. We thought maybe this was the reason air kept getting drawn into the system.

Exedy also said it is up to the installer to check the retractor clip of the pressure plate with a feeler guage prior to installation. Apparently the retractor clip could be damaged while the clutch is shipped if the package was mishandled. If the Retractor clip isnt set right, it may be the culprit.I'm almost positive the mechanic never checked this.

Next step, dealer told me to bring the car in and they are going to pull the transmission and tear it down to inspect it. While the transmission is out, they are going to bench bleed the slave cylinder and inspect the Retractor clip on the pressure plate.

I'm fortunate to have the dealer take care of everything free of charge, but it sucks that I've had to take the car back so many times already with only 7,800 miles.

On a tangent, I always thought my shitty 8mpg was from my 2 mile commute to work with a dozen stop signs/lights along the way. Here I find out the dealership never gapped the plugs that came with the Whipple kit. Car always ran fine until past few hundred miles where I would get the occasional breakup followed by a foul rotten egg, sulfur smell. Here it ends up that since the spark plug gap was off, the fuel mixture wasnt burning right which over the course of 7,000 miles gradually destroyed my cats. When I take the car in for the clutch/trans work, they are going to replace my cats for me as well.

I'm considering purchasing and having them install headers for me since they are going to have to remove the driver side manifold as the cat is connected on that side. They also told me since I drive less than 5,000 miles a year I dont even need cats on the car. Oh the decisions.....

Clutch chatter seems to be diminishing after about 120 miles. Will continue to baby it as they said. This new tranny is a godsend though. Had no clue just how bad the other one was. If it's true what Centerline says about a glazed clutch robbing between 80-100 ftlbs of torque, which my old one looked pretty damn shiny. I am looking forward to having power back again. Always felt slow, especially with the 20" Velgens.

Got a lot of things in boxes I had planned on selling along with the car but maybe things are looking better now.