Clutch feel changes after hard acceleration
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 441
From: Arizona
Clutch feel changes after hard acceleration
Stock car has an oem replacement clutch that is about 25k miles old. (Total car miles 60k. Decided to put a new clutch in bc of convenience that the rear end was taken apart for a diff leak.)
if i accelerate hard after completely disengaging the clutch the next time I put the clutch in the clutch “feel” changes. Not every time. But about 50%. It’s much more sensitive. Clutch “feel” becomes much closer to the floor board than before. Then the issue completely goes away. If i don’t drive too hard there are no problems. (Clutch fluid is new and clear).
Im thinking throw out bearing or master slave. Any way I can diagnose or narrow what is the problem?
Thank you.
if i accelerate hard after completely disengaging the clutch the next time I put the clutch in the clutch “feel” changes. Not every time. But about 50%. It’s much more sensitive. Clutch “feel” becomes much closer to the floor board than before. Then the issue completely goes away. If i don’t drive too hard there are no problems. (Clutch fluid is new and clear).
Im thinking throw out bearing or master slave. Any way I can diagnose or narrow what is the problem?
Thank you.
Last edited by STRMLNE; Mar 19, 2019 at 06:27 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 1,113
Likes: 144
From: Miami
Welcome to the club. Common issue with OEM clutch hardware. You're boiling the clutch fluid hence losing fluid pressure and feel. Do you have power mods on the car? It's worse as you make more power and heat. There's also tons of threads on this.
Last edited by turabo87; Mar 20, 2019 at 01:03 PM.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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I agree that it's oem and oem style clutches that cause the issue but my opinion is the pressure plate causing the problems and not heat... at one point I believed it could be heat but I tried very expensive fluid with a high boiling point and also rerouted and wrapped the clutch line along with a tick master cylinder, none of which worked... after all that there is no way the clutch fluid could get that hot that fast from just a pull to redline in one gear... sounds like you might be in for another clutch if you really want to fix it, this is why I always recommend a quality aftermarket unit instead of an oem replacement
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 441
From: Arizona
Car is completely stock. Clutch fluid is DOT 4. Problem only recently started happening. Never had the issue in the past and I’m in AZ. I guess I’ll keep an eye on the clutch. Doesn’t slip at all, etc. I’ll go with an after market next time I need it changed.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
You replaced the CLUTCH but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Did you replace the master cylinder???????????????
If I were in your shoes,, I would change the Master Cylinder and see if that has any resolve on the problem. They get clogged up with nasty clutch dust slime and loose volume, leak and act al wonky. Easy repair and HEY, it may just fix the issue.. Not expensive either.
Bill
If I were in your shoes,, I would change the Master Cylinder and see if that has any resolve on the problem. They get clogged up with nasty clutch dust slime and loose volume, leak and act al wonky. Easy repair and HEY, it may just fix the issue.. Not expensive either.
Bill
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 113
Likes: 21
From: Phoenix, AZ
Stock car has an oem replacement clutch that is about 25k miles old. (Total car miles 60k. Decided to put a new clutch in bc of convenience that the rear end was taken apart for a diff leak.)
if i accelerate hard after completely disengaging the clutch the next time I put the clutch in the clutch “feel” changes. Not every time. But about 50%. It’s much more sensitive. Clutch “feel” becomes much closer to the floor board than before. Then the issue completely goes away. If i don’t drive too hard there are no problems. (Clutch fluid is new and clear).
Im thinking throw out bearing or master slave. Any way I can diagnose or narrow what is the problem?
Thank you.
if i accelerate hard after completely disengaging the clutch the next time I put the clutch in the clutch “feel” changes. Not every time. But about 50%. It’s much more sensitive. Clutch “feel” becomes much closer to the floor board than before. Then the issue completely goes away. If i don’t drive too hard there are no problems. (Clutch fluid is new and clear).
Im thinking throw out bearing or master slave. Any way I can diagnose or narrow what is the problem?
Thank you.
I don't worry about it, since the clutch runs fine at all other times, and it hasn't caused any issues. I have done the ranger method to swap out the clutch fluid, may do that a few more times, right now, the clutch fluid seems to be staying pretty clean, but it was nasty when I changed it out (45K miles, pretty sure it had never been swapped).
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,638
Likes: 245
Agree with boiling the clutch fluid. I get that all the time with m hard driving
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 441
From: Arizona
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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Instructor
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 145
Likes: 8
From: Nashville, TN
yep, ive shifted from 3rd to 4th before at 6K and the pedal was stuck to the floor and couldnt even get the shifter to go in gear. gave me a fright for a minute while cruising at 100+ mph in the far left lane with no ability to shift.
just had to keep messing with the pedal to get it to come back up, then started pumping it until i could re-engage a gear.
just had to keep messing with the pedal to get it to come back up, then started pumping it until i could re-engage a gear.
Last edited by Leftlane_1; Mar 22, 2019 at 10:13 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 12,412
Likes: 1,750
From: DFW TX
Same suggestions here - Most likely the clutch hydraulics, not the clutch itself. Invest in good quality MC, Slave, and bleeder - stock clutch will last a long time at stock power levels with reasonable use.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,638
Likes: 245
yep, ive ****** from 3rd to 4th before at 6K and the pedal was stuck to the floor and couldnt even get the shifter to go in gear. gave me a fright for a minute while cruising at 100+ mph in the far left lane with no ability to shift.
just had to keep messing with the pedal to get it to come back up, then started pumping it until i could re-engage a gear.
just had to keep messing with the pedal to get it to come back up, then started pumping it until i could re-engage a gear.
Sucks if your pedal drops and thats a horrible feeling i would imagine
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 441
From: Arizona
I’ve been using the turkey baster method of changing clutch fluid. Is there any substantive benefit to using the bleeder or is it just a time saver? (A remote bleeder was installed on the clutch swap)
Last edited by STRMLNE; Mar 21, 2019 at 07:11 PM.
