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How did you route your hydraulic lines? We routed them wrong the 1st time. With the pedal pressed, they would just barely rub against the pressure plate.
Just note, I had my dad's help installing and removing the trans itself. We had to put the trans in with the bell housing attached to the trans at the same ttime. I don't remember having that issue of the trans not wanting to fully go in. That said, we both had to push on it. But I'll ask my dad if we had this issue and report back.
Did you use a lift or jackstands?
My car is on jackstands and I'm not sure I'll be able to maneuver tranny/bellhousing onto the block.
How did you route your hydraulic lines? We routed them wrong the 1st time. With the pedal pressed, they would just barely rub against the pressure plate.
I'm not sure about your question...I routed mine just like the pictures from grandspt and pedricd and the instructions, right out the old slave's hole.
Replaced my clutch last fall in the driveway. Amazing how high the car needed to be jacked up. The big challengers were lowering the transmission to clear the shifter in and out. And for me removing the exhaust cats from the bell housing with the fixed brackets, especially the drivers side.
I ended up making my own C Beam captured nut bracket. It’s was a puzzle for sure getting the drive shaft out through the C Beam.
How did you route your hydraulic lines? We routed them wrong the 1st time. With the pedal pressed, they would just barely rub against the pressure plate.
Well, well...I finish up the install on Monday and guess what? It appears my lines are rubbing to. It only happens at the very bottom of the pedal travel...the last inch or two.
How did you route your lines? I assume you tilted the fittings back towards the transmission side?
I'm beginning to tear everything back off again, so any tips on the line routing are welcomed.
Update: The noise in the video was indeed one of the lines rubbing against the pressure plate cover. I had a small grove, but not enough to compromise the integrity of the line.
A most definite silver lining: I have realized that if it wasn't for this hiccup, I would have ruined my new clutch. I did my measurements correctly; however, when I did the math, I was subtracting bearing face-to-transmission face measurement FROM the bellhousing-to-finger measurement. This is actually backward from what it should be. Essentially, I had so many shims (all 8) that not only was there no .133 - .200 gap, but I was actually pushing the fingers in when installing the tranny. No wonder it gave me such a hard time going in the last 1/2".
In any case, the lines will be angled back a bit to clear the PP. As for the shims, I have removed about half of them to get to a .180 gap.
That sucking sound worried me as well! I still have that sucking sound. Mike Norcia, from RAM, told me it is normal.
I do notice that sucking sound is less audible once the car has been fully warmed up.
That sucking sound worried me as well! I still have that sucking sound. Mike Norcia, from RAM, told me it is normal.
I do notice that sucking sound is less audible once the car has been fully warmed up.
What clutch and flywheel did you go with?
How is your pedal effort compared to stock?
How is your bite point compared to stock?
I went with the 90-0810S kit...steel flywheel and their basic organic disc.
I still have the car in the air since the end of March. I did other things on it as well...rear main, oil pan gasket, and filter stand gasket.
I'm always trying to find time between baby, wife and her work, and my own job.
As for the sucking sound, I'm glad it wasn't something I did wrong. I've screwed up enough already.
Update: I have finally installed and driven the new clutch setup.
Well, it was somewhat of a long road...a little over a month to get this job done. As I previously mentioned, aside from converting to a Ram clutch/bearing setup, I also did the ZF doc shim for the transmission, replaced the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, and filter stand gasket. I tackled all of this entirely on my own in my garage using jackstands (6-ton) and homemade wooden blocks for the rear tires.
First impressions:
- The clutch effort/feel is light compared to the factory setup. I would estimate 30-40% lighter. Using an endoscope, I confirmed proper operation of the hydraulic TOB. The slightest touch on the pedal translates to movement on the TOB. I will bleed the system again to see if it firms up a bit more, but so far everything seems to be working as intended.
- Shift smoothness seems to be very good. I did switch from Redline MTL to Valvoline Synchromesh, so I don't know if it was the fluid or the clutch that made shifting better. Maybe both.
- The awful clutch chatter I had with the OEM stuff is GONE! Backing into my garage with the sloped driveway was smooth as it gets. Taking off is smooth as it gets. The car doesn't shake itself to death anymore.
- Taking off now is quite different. This clutch (organic disc) has an extremely smooth engagement. Although this may sound great, it feels a bit weird. There is no bite or positive feel to it. There seems to be a disconnect between my foot and the clutch. With other clutches, including OEM, you can tell exactly when the clutch engages...not with this one. Perhaps this is due to the hydraulic nature of the system.
- Gear rattle or gear roll over noise. WOW! I fully understand why GM used the DMF on these vehicles. It is absolutely awful at low speed/high load. I did the shim replacement, and I don't know how much that help, but I find it hard to believe it can be worse. I also have the rattle at idle...not super loud, but it is easily detected. Mind you, I still have the rubber boot off the shifter and so is the trim surrounding the shifter. So, I expect the cabin noise to come down significantly, but I am positive it is going to be louder inside the cab than before.
Overall, the job is not difficult, but it does require preparation.
