well today i got my car running agian and went todrive it a bit before i took off to go racing. well i got on it then went to shift to second and felt a pop on the clutch peddle as i pressed it in. i lifted but the peddle only came up about half way....grrrrr!!! when i press the clutch now you can hear grinding noise and of course it not going into gear. i assume itis the throw out bearing that went but it is a 100k mile car so i guess it time to replace clutch ect. i have never had one go like this b4 but who knows. so what is a good clutch/throw out bearing ec to get. i am open since i am so new to the c4 suff. i have a 90 l98 zf. zip ans mid america have a kit for 350.00 is this a good stock replacment? i know the t/o bearings blow but as for the clutch? and can i do this in my drive or am i screwed on this one without a lift?

 

get a Centerforce and be done with it, but dont buy it from them, go to Summit or J4egs and rememebr that the 89-93 1/2 has a larger ID Release Bearing than a 1994-1996, otherwise they are the same.

Or consider the RAM conversion clutch package if you dont need a flywheel.


http://www.ramclutches.com/zen-cart/...ex&cPath=44_43

 

i just bought a full factory replacment kit for 200.00 new! after some searching thru a ton of post to find the info it looks like that the best thing for me. and since the old stock one made it 100k miles... ne way i will be looking for more power this winter for it and will look into something like the ram unit then. so how about doing it my self with out a lift...am i nuts???? ok i know i am but is it possible

 

A broken throwout bearing will send the clutch to the floor, and then the clutch will "pump up" as the slave rod extends fully, then the clutch pedal won't go down.

Double check your master cylinder and slave cylinder before you pull the trans.

It sounds like a loose or broken pivot stud or fork though. Let us know the result. The ZF throwout bearings are crap. Does it scrape with the clutch all the way in as if the fork is rubbing the pressure plate?

 

yeah it makes a scraping noise when depressed. also have to have pedal in just the right spot to start that ingauges the nuetral start switch with out trying to turn the clutch making the scraping noise. i didn't pump it as i seen no reason to so i am sure if i did it get solid. what is the bushing you are talking about though. i have seen anothe post about it but not sure where that is located. but they didn't mention the scraping i am hearing

 

I didn't mention any bushing. The scraping noise is probably the fork hitting the pressure plate. Your pivot stud or clutch fork is probably bad. Sometimes the pivot studs back out of the hole in the bellhousing. Either of these or a broken flange on the throwout bearing will require pulling the trans. Don't buy any parts until you get in there to take a look.

I said to pump the clutch up with the slave disconnected to verify the clutch hydraulics are working. There is a damn good reason to do this test because if it's a clutch hydraulic problem, you don't want to be pulling the transmission out of the car!

 

Come on over to my place and you can see my car with the engine out and I can explain what you need to do.

I-65 & Southport Road

 

sorry to much info in 12 hrs. the pivots stud is what i was reffereing to. also i ment i hadn't tried to pump the clutch up. i haven't touched it since i brougt it home.

ld85 i just pm'd you
thnaks

 

Welcome to the C4 club, the one thing that you now have to consider is the duel mass flywheel (dmf) that appears to have a life of about 100k miles. If you replace your clutch at 100k, you need to replace the dmf. Sooo you are in for a new stock or custom clutch flywheel system. I have a slightly modified 91 L98 (intake, cam, exhaust) and use the stock setup and it works great and does not have the tranmission noise or launching problems you can have with the non-stock clutch/flywheel setups. Do your reseach in this forum, there are some great posts and discussions.

BTW your replacement cost for the dmf is $700 to $1,200 depending on where you pick it up. I would recommend getting, what ever clutch/flywheel system from carolina clutch, good parts cheaper price. They have the dmf for lesser of the two prices above. Clutch, presure plate, bearing and new bolts for the DMF about 350 to 400.

If you do this yourself get a copy of the GM manual and replace the transmission oil with the Caster Oil product from BMW while you are taking things in and out.

Also look out for the master and slave cyclinders on these beast's may not be assembled correctly, so when and if you replace these check out the threads on this forum for that also. When you put the clutch hydrolic's back together use the GM oil it seams to work better and does not hurt the rubber parts in the system.

BTW 2 if you replace the stock clutch without the flywheel you will get about 15k to 20k before you have to do it again.

Good Luck, Polo

 

wow sweet c4...tons of knowledge.....opening mine up now!!!! see you at sams larry

 

Also when you have the slave cylinder out, check the end of the clutch fork.

Does it look like it fell down away from where the clutch slave pushrod goes?

Is it really loose in any direction? (It should be held in place at the pivot stud and by the throwout bearing, with some slop.)

Can you feel if the fork pivot stud has exposed threads, that it backed out?

I always like knowing whats wrong before tearing into stuff needlessly.

 

well got to pulling the tranny today and i was correct in that the trhow out bearing came apart allowing the fork to rub on the fingers of the pressure plate.

 

Got any pics? This seems to be happening more common lately. Can you tell if the OEM bearing was made in China or not? I think all the replacements are.

 

yeah waiting for them to be approved. i got a acdelco replacemnet kit from gm so whatever bearing is in it. looked for cracks n is none thank god.

 

I think the ac delco p/p and bearing are the same offshore stuff as all the cheapo kits. Not sure about the clutch disc itself, but it's probably foreign too.

Usually the origin will be molded into the plastic on the bearing seal.

 

how to:
1. jack car up and put on ramps/jackstand. needs at least a foot of clearance, more if going to take tranny out from under the car.
2. remove exhaust system. first remove 6 nuts holding the pipes to the headers. then the middle section by the cat. with this remove you can lower the whole system and pull the mufflers out of their hangers.
3. now the fun part the c brace. you will need to prop the tranny up with the tranny jack....got mine from harbor frieght for 79.00.....and loosen the 4 bolts. there is 2 19mm bolts up front and 2 21mm ones in the back. i went to sears and fouind racheting wrench with these two sizes that was small enuff to get in there for 9.00. after i got the bolts out i slid the brace back to clear the tranny as removing seemed impossible anyway.
4. undo the for bolts holding the straps on the drive shaft. you will have to pry it forward to get it off the yoke. then slide it out and remove. oil will drain out the end of the tranny here so have a pan of some sort.
5. now you will need to remove the shift **** and console pieces around it. there is just a couple screws in the console but the shifter a bit tricky. you need to pry the top off and then you will see a metal wedge. grab this with some pliers and pull up. now the **** will unscrew. under that you will see the black plastic ring you pull up on to get it in reverse. there is a 1.5 mm allen screw in it you have to take out to get it off. now you can remove the console piece. put car in 3rd gear.
6. it is a good idea to remove distributor as when you lower the tranny/motor you run the risk of breaking it. also you can lower everything lower with it out which make bolt access much easier. just pull plug wires and undo tach,battery and signal wires from driver sideand the plug from passenger side. undo 14mm hold down nut and mark position with sharpie....if you dont do this you will have to get the car on tdc and re set it.
7. undo the 2 nuts holding the slave cylinder to clutch housing and tie cylinder up out of way. undo all wires going to tranny
8. undo the 5 tranny bolts and pull tranny out of clutch/flywheel. once out far enough lower it down to clear shift **** and then it out.
9. next you will need to remove the four bolts in the clutch inspection cover. you will have to lower starter to total remove cover from car.
10. next undo the 6 bolts holding the clutch bell houseing cover and remove it
11. now you are looking at the pressure plate and it it still there in one piece the trow out bearing. remove the bolts connecting the pressure plate to the flywheel. go a little at a time as it is under pressure. once they backed out enough that pressure is relieved you can remove the bolts. plate will fall if not holding it up when last bolt removed.
12. next comes the flywheel. 6 bolts and remove. i needed a impact here as crank turned otherwise.

 

the problem



cause fork to rub pressure plte sping fingers



so...up she goes



and out the tranny comes



how it looks now...waiting on fly wheel to be balance matched

 

I was accused of being Chicken Little for making a stink about these throwout bearings awhile back. That failure is identical to the other 3 I've seen on here that had pics.

I'm curious to see who makes that OEM bearing. Even still, the bearing mfr doesn't necessarily make the bearing assembly.

 

Good job Shane!

Thank heavens, I wont be having this ZF Pull clutch issue ever again.

 

all in do time. jsut didn't want to drop a grand on a clutch knowing it all coming out in short order! scott got my fly wheel supposed to have it back mid week...