Potential Clutch Issue? Lethal LPX-HD

[merrillt_12]

Does anyone else's issues go away after hard pulls? If I open my gt up and run it hard through at least top end of 3rd gear, my clutch pedal is soft and shifting is buttery smooth for the rest of my drive. No engagement issues from a stop after that. Next drive I have to open her up to get that silky feel back.

Exactly the same thing happen with my LPX. My guess would be the kevlar expanding on heat enough to fully disengage, similar to what @J17GT mentioned about the clutch fingers needing to travel more.

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[MyStang]

The same thing happened to me at the end of the season. I thought it was a fluke. Then I see this thread pop up. How many of you are running the Steeda clutch spring?
I'm running Exedy ET05SRFD - 2011-17 Mustang 5.0L Organic 23 Teeth 8 Bolt Twin Disc Clutch.
When I pull my car out of winter storage I will be checking the spring perch and peddle assembly for play.

 

[J17GT]

Stock clutch spring here. I’ve never touched it. I also stuck my head under there looking for play in the pedal etc, no issues there as far as I can tell.

 

[WhitemarePP]

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I’m looking to see what was done to resolve issues when the trans seems to get stuck in gear and then hard to shift at other times.

I installed a McLeod RST with their lightened steel flywheel, a new center-force HD slave, a braided clutch line, a bleeder valve and an MGW shifter, but I have the same issues being described in this thread. Sometimes the car is very hard to get into 1st and reverse is the worst. Sometimes going into 2nd makes me cringe. Other times it makes me hate driving the car. However, there are some times (less frequent) with no issue and it’s buttery smooth. High RPM shifting is no problem though. There are also other times where it feels like clutch engagement is right off the floor and then I can feel something “release” in the pedal and it goes back to in the middle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m just about ready to call it and pull the McLeod out (all of it) and put the factory flywheel back in with an Exedy OE style clutch and pressure plate but if there’s something I can do without having to drop the trans (again), I’m all for it. That’s a PITA on a garage floor with Jackstands

 

[Zrussian13]

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I’m looking to see what was done to resolve issues when the trans seems to get stuck in gear and then hard to shift at other times.

I installed a McLeod RST with their lightened steel flywheel, a new center-force HD slave, a braided clutch line, a bleeder valve and an MGW shifter, but I have the same issues being described in this thread. Sometimes the car is very hard to get into 1st and reverse is the worst. Sometimes going into 2nd makes me cringe. Other times it makes me hate driving the car. However, there are some times (less frequent) with no issue and it’s buttery smooth. High RPM shifting is no problem though. There are also other times where it feels like clutch engagement is right off the floor and then I can feel something “release” in the pedal and it goes back to in the middle.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m just about ready to call it and pull the McLeod out (all of it) and put the factory flywheel back in with an Exedy OE style clutch and pressure plate but if there’s something I can do without having to drop the trans (again), I’m all for it. That’s a PITA on a garage floor with Jackstands

Are you sure you've completely bled the system out? Takes way more pumps of the clutch than what most places on the internet say.

If so, you probably will need to pull it and send it in to get checked out. Could be the clutch isn't shimmed properly between the discs. Who installed it?

 

[WhitemarePP]

Are you sure you've completely bled the system out? Takes way more pumps of the clutch than what most places on the internet say.

If so, you probably will need to pull it and send it in to get checked out. Could be the clutch isn't shimmed properly between the discs. Who installed it?

Many thanks for the reply!

I did the install myself about a year ago. Sometimes it shifts buttery smooth but other times after the car has warmed up, after a few miles it becomes hard to shift. Seems like if I blip the throttle it makes 1st and reverse a lot easier going into gear but it shouldn’t be so difficult. Same for when it gets stuck in first.

 

[Zrussian13]

Many thanks for the reply!

I did the install myself about a year ago. Sometimes it shifts buttery smooth but other times after the car has warmed up, after a few miles it becomes hard to shift. Seems like if I blip the throttle it makes 1st and reverse a lot easier going into gear but it shouldn’t be so difficult. Same for when it gets stuck in first.

If you are sure you've pumped the pedal 1000 times and there is no air in the system its probably one of two things in my experience with these clutches. Either some of the shims got mixed up or left out during install or one of the components is warped. Most likely it's a shim issue. My clutch wasn't shimmed correctly at first and I had the same issues you are describing. I drive it 40k miles like this and high rpm shifts were great but off the line 1st and reverse were very hit or miss.

I put a new engine in the car and had the clutch rebuild and installed it at the same time, shimmed properly, and it shifts better than stock, smoother, no notchy feel and goes in easy everytime in every gear. Been this way for about 20k miles.

I know it sucks but unless you find something else causing the issue, you are probably going to have to pull it and send it in to get checked out.

 

[WhitemarePP]

Dang, I didn’t even know it might need to be shimmed. McLeod’s instructions didn’t mention it (that I recall) and I know it didn’t come with any shims. Neither did the hydraulic throwout bearing/slave. I’ll try bleeding the system through the bleeder valve with a helper pushing the pedal down this time. In the past, I used a vacuum pump to pull the fluid and air bubbles but did not have anyone help by depressing the pedal before cracking the valve.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that occasionally, after the car has sat for a few days, when I get in to start the car, the clutch pedal will be halfway down. Once I pump the pedal to start or maybe 2 pumps, it goes back to the top.

Also, this may or may not be related but the brakes also seem to be a bit wonky sometimes after the car has sat. Meaning, I leave my house and at the first and second stop signs (in 1/4 mile) the initial push of the pedal seems slow to make the brakes react and then they suddenly catch up. It doesn’t feel dangerous. It’s almost like the caliper pistons were napping and then decided to wake up and push the pads out.

I’m only mentioning the brakes since the brakes and the clutch share some of the same system, don’t they?

 

[Zrussian13]

Dang, I didn’t even know it might need to be shimmed. McLeod’s instructions didn’t mention it (that I recall) and I know it didn’t come with any shims. Neither did the hydraulic throwout bearing/slave. I’ll try bleeding the system through the bleeder valve with a helper pushing the pedal down this time. In the past, I used a vacuum pump to pull the fluid and air bubbles but did not have anyone help by depressing the pedal before cracking the valve.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that occasionally, after the car has sat for a few days, when I get in to start the car, the clutch pedal will be halfway down. Once I pump the pedal to start or maybe 2 pumps, it goes back to the top.

Also, this may or may not be related but the brakes also seem to be a bit wonky sometimes after the car has sat. Meaning, I leave my house and at the first and second stop signs (in 1/4 mile) the initial push of the pedal seems slow to make the brakes react and then they suddenly catch up. It doesn’t feel dangerous. It’s almost like the caliper pistons were napping and then decided to wake up and push the pads out.

I’m only mentioning the brakes since the brakes and the clutch share some of the same system, don’t they?

It comes shimmed between the 1st disc and the floater plate but if the shims get mixed up or forgotten it will cause issues. No shims need to be added.

If you're experiencing brake issues too that sounds like its hydraulic related.

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