Here is the story. New customer with a 997 S. Needs a clutch, and is planning on doing a few mods down the road, so started researching options. Southbend didn’t have anything ready to ship, but Spec did. So, ordered a Stage 1 clutch, ground shipping. Pulled the transmission, cleaned everything up nicely, had the flywheel turned, and installed the clutch. Trans back in, everything went together perfectly, no hiccups. Didn’t even need to bleed the slave, since you just remove the slave with the line attached. Started the car in the air, no problem, everything felt good. Topped off coolant, and buttoned everything up underneath.
Put the car on the ground, pushed the clutch in, selected first, and turned the key. At that point, the car lurched forward. Ok, that was odd. Turned it off. Pumped the pedal a few times, but shifter in neutral, and started the car. Tried to select first, engine running, and couldn’t move the stick. Great. For some reason, the clutch isn’t disengaging.
Raised the car back up. Pulled the slave off the transmission and checked the pushrod. No problems. Looked in at the release fork. Also no problems. Reinstalled the slave, and bled it out just in case. Still having the same problem.
Pulled the transmission yet again. Checked throwout bearing. No problem. Looked at the diaphragm springs on the pressure plate. Yep, obvious that the bearing was contacting them. Pulled the pressure plate and disc, and started looking. Here is what we found.
Notice the riveted “block” at the lower part of the edge of the pressure plate.
Notice the burnt spot on the flywheel
Pressure plate again
on-edge view of the riveted block
Disc showing burnt outer edge
So, I question the riveted block thing. It’s actually loose, floating. I call Jeremy at Spec and describe the problem and tell him that I also have pictures. So, I email him the first picture, and he calls back 10 minutes later. He says that part should not be there and that it should have been removed before shipping. It’s some sort of an assembly guide/gauge. So he’s going to issue an RMA for this plate, and send me a new one. Fine. I’m not even asking for reimbursement for extra labor, and just want this car off my rack.
In the next email, he says that it’s ready to go, UPS ground shipping. I email back saying that since it was admittedly a problem with their part, could they please expedite shipping? I even said that 2nd day was ok, rather than overnight. His response was no, since that’s how I ordered the kit in the first place.
Here is the rest of the email exchange:
From spec:
Since the original order was shipped via ground that it the method we would cover. If you want to pay the difference between this and the cost of your selected method I can do that. The disc and flywheel should be fine.
From me:
Ok, here’s my issue. I have one of my 3 racks tied up due to a manufacturing defect by you folks. I’ve got x hours of extra labor tied up for the same reason. I’m not even asking for labor to be covered. However, I would expect for future business sake, that you guys could spring for a shipping solution that will get this job turned around in a reasonable amount of time.
If that’s not possible, please issue an RMA for the entire kit, as I can have another solution shipped to me tomorrow.
From spec:
I understand where you are coming from, and I also understand our policies. I have offered to build and ship a kit to you and if this doesn’t work then I will issue an RMA and you can send the parts back to us. I would handle this the same way for any customer, because it is our policy. Let me know how you wish to proceed.
From me:
Seriously?
You’re balking on spending an extra 30 bucks in this situation where the fault is clearly in Spec’s lap?
If that’s the final word, then yes, issue an RMA for the complete kit. I’ll have it boxed up and will ship it out tomorrow, and will never buy from or recommend Spec to another customer.
From spec:
I am sorry that you feel this way. I have offered to assist you within our policies and procedures. This isn’t a Jeremy rule…it is a SPEC rule and though I am the manager here I have already spoken with the owners about this. I am doing what I can. I will email you an RMA and you will be credited for the parts when they are returned. Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.
So with all of that said, I recommend against buying anything from this company, as their manufacturing processes are obviously suspect, and their customer service is the worst I’ve experienced in a long time.
