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Finally bought my first corvette a 2001 6 speed convertible. The clutch pedal was very hard to push. The “dealer” I bought it from had no info on the car but thought it had a “racing clutch” which caused the pedal to be so stiff. Odometer reading abut 84,000 miles. Had the clutch replaced along with the slave cylinder and throughout bearing. Flywheel was resurfaced also. The new clutch was a standard clutch from Auto Zone. The clutch is still too hard to depress. I’ve driven stick for over fifty years and have never had to apply this much pressure to depress the clutch pedal. My other car is a six speed Mini Countryman which had a cultch pedal pressure which I consider normal. My question is : Is there a solution for this situation?
Without putting my foot on your clutch I cannot tell you if it is stiffer than stock. You might check the spring underneath the clutch pedal and see if it is present or broken, it is there to make the pedal easier to push. I have however driven Minis before and their clutch pedals are far lighter than a C5 with a stock clutch and pedal assembly.
My next step would be to look into the clutch master cylinder. One of the major "upgrade" options, the Tick MC kit, uses a larger bore size master cylinder which requires more pedal force to actuate. It's possible a previous owner installed one of those kits.
And a question I have: does the clutch work, other than just having a really heavy pedal?
Stiff pedal can be subjective. I'm in my 60's and have driven many manual transmissions over the years. I find my C5 pedal to be easy compared to many other clutches I've owned. Just to get a baseline I'd go out and look at some used C5's. You can compare those pedals to yours. MetalMan2 also brings up a good point about the master cylinder. The Tick kit is stiffer.
One of the major "upgrade" options, the Tick MC kit, uses a larger bore size master cylinder which requires more pedal force to actuate. It's possible a previous owner installed one of those kits.
Quick question: does your clutch pedal line up with your brake pedal and depress all the way down, or does it have shortened travel?
Shortened travel and stiff pedal is absolutely a sign of an aftermarket clutch master cylinder that has a wider bore than usual.
Wider bore means more cross-section, which means more fluid moved for the same amount of travel. Thus, the pedal is higher effort, and you get less travel from end to end.
Mine had the same 'issue' - one shop spun me a story on how it might be broken this-or-that. A good shop (shout out to Abel) immediately said, yeah, that's an aftermarket master cylinder.
Thx for your insight. Having someone who has experienced both a Mini and a C5 clutch helps. I’m hoping its possible there is a fix to decrease the pressure needed to depress the clutch
Find out what the actual cause is, let us know, and we're happy to throw suggestions at you. Definitely do not throw parts at it without finding out the cause.
Stiff clutch pedal
