Stock KA24DE in an S13 with 5 spd. swap done. The damper box for the clutch was bypassed and the hardline was directly hooked to the flex line for the clutch slave cylinder.
Symptoms:
-Hard to put in gear with engine on, fine when off.
-High pitched squeal/squeak when clutch fully depressed (sounds similar to a belt squeal)
-Groany feeling/buzzing when clutch pedal is moving in either direction (intermittently gets stronger)
-Contact point near bottom of pedal, but has very little clamping force until almost the top of the pedal, so it feels like it grabs sufficiently way too high in the pedal range
My thoughts:
-Bad TOB because of the squeal. Possibly also a bad pilot bushing.
-Air in the line because it feels as if the clutch isn’t fully disengaged (hard to put in gear)
-I was told the clutch was almost new, and the transmission was in good condition (6-7 months ago…). The clutch felt progressively worse, and the tranny grinds to 2nd when really cold or shifting fast at high rpm, other than that its fine.
What should I do other than bleeding the system? I am trying to find specifically whats wrong and whether the tranny will have to be dropped. I’m short on cash ATM, so it will have to be a DIY job. lol
If you decide you need a new slave i have one in the box that came with my master cyl when i bought it, if you are in need i will not change mine i would be willing to sell it. If not I will install it anyways just for the sake of it, ill be doing it next weekend so if you let me know before then that would be appreciated. thanks.
Jeff.
I just bled the slave, I didn’t have an 8mm wrench, smallest was a 10mm, so I had to use a socket on top of the bleeder valve.
It was only liquid coming out, slave cylinder was moving fine, no air bubbles or hissing that I could notice. I did about 5-10 squirts, very little fluid, but we had to pack up and leave. I’ll try it again after exams.
Car felt exactly the same after the little bleeding session, squeels with clutch depressed, hard to put into gear, notchy shifting. Fail.
i had similar symptoms…and i had snapped half of the damping springs on the clutch, and and some rotational bending in the metal disk that the springs rest against…put in a good clutch, and all was happy.
Once I’m done with exams on Saturday, I’m gonna start working and then save up for the Clutchmasters Stage 3 clutch that Varun is selling for $375, seems like a decent purchase considering I plan on going KA-T later.
Have any of you used that clutch? Any recommendations for clutches?
I was also thinking about the Act Stage 1, which apparently holds 267 ft.lbs and has near stock feel.
Thanks guys.
Edit: Should I attempt the clutch install myself? It seems relatively straight forward judging from the DIY articles except for the bearing pulling and reinstallation part, and the transmission removal while keeping it supported. I will have to borrow a torque wrench from someone in exchange for a Heineken. lol
^I don’t have big power, it’s completely stock at the moment (power wise) and I don’t plan on going over 220whp anytime soon. I daily drive the car, and I already get annoyed during rush hour with a stock clutch. Sorry, I am not man enough to drive a stock secretary’s car. lol
To add to that, I’m such a pansy that I want to add more soundproofing to the car to enjoy my SQ oriented audio setup, and the quietness especially on the highway when the KA is revving at fucking 3200+rpm and there’s loads of wind noise. I also have a stock exhaust at the moment, which I think is loud enough for a 155hp 4 cylinder car.
I bled the clutch properly today, and adjusted the pedal way too high.
It shifts like BUTTER now, it’ll go into first while moving, and I can put it in reverse using a single finger. OH YEAH!!!
Still has that stupid cricket chirping noise from the TOB, and it feels like the clamping force is very weak. Still, its all good until I save up for a performance clutch.
I got a little ambitious withe pedal adjustment, I went almost all the way. Now my knee hits the steering wheel when I have to clutch, and I have to let the pedal lift up like 6 inches before it starts biting. lol Gonna adjust that soon.
1-3mm of freeplay is the spec. too high and you should start to feel it slip. i had mine set a bit too low and the gear changes were sticky. i put it back around 3-4mm and it`s good now.
I gotta make some time to get to the throw out bearing as well… although mine only makes that horrible noise occasionally it still is annoying when it does.
it is soo niceeee