Clutch spring removed...what a difference
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Clutch spring removed...what a difference
Well I took the clutch spring of today on my C6 and went for a ride. Its the one on the pedal that helps keep the pedal to the floor with less effort but i also slows the release of the clutch. Its probaly makes the pedal hanging up worse in some cars. I had already done this on my C5 ZO6. One thing I did note was the clutch spring on the C6 is twice the size of the ZO6 spring and maybe the reason why the C6 clutch felt a lot lighter than the C5 but made for slower shifts. All I can say is what a difference, quicker and smoother shifts. A simple and reversible mod for zero dollars that make a big difference. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Richmond Texas
I did this on mine and man, it's nice to see a cloud of tire smoke behind me instead of clutch smoke. The clutch doesn't feel any heavier than stock either. What was GM thinking when they put this thing on.
Safety Car
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From: Dallas/Valley Ranch TEXAS!!!
just crawled under the dash and took a look at mine... After operating the clutch several times by hand, it looks, to me, like the spring actually "returns" the pedal...
Jeremy
Jeremy
Drifting
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From: Ft. Liquordale Florida
Originally Posted by Mr.Big
just crawled under the dash and took a look at mine... After operating the clutch several times by hand, it looks, to me, like the spring actually "returns" the pedal...
Jeremy
Jeremy
Likely an assist. The pressure plate should actually "return" the pedal. There's also a "flow restrictor" down by the clutch slave, that a few people have drilled out.
Rick
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Originally Posted by SickRick
Likely an assist. The pressure plate should actually "return" the pedal. There's also a "flow restrictor" down by the clutch slave, that a few people have drilled out.
Rick
Rick
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by Mr.Big
just crawled under the dash and took a look at mine... After operating the clutch several times by hand, it looks, to me, like the spring actually "returns" the pedal...
Jeremy
Jeremy
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by SickRick
Likely an assist. The pressure plate should actually "return" the pedal. There's also a "flow restrictor" down by the clutch slave, that a few people have drilled out.
Rick
Rick
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by BigBlue
I did this on mine and man, it's nice to see a cloud of tire smoke behind me instead of clutch smoke. The clutch doesn't feel any heavier than stock either. What was GM thinking when they put this thing on.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2004
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Originally Posted by connor
Well I took the clutch spring of today on my C6 and went for a ride. Its the one on the pedal that helps keep the pedal to the floor with less effort but i also slows the release of the clutch. Its probaly makes the pedal hanging up worse in some cars. I had already done this on my C5 ZO6. One thing I did note was the clutch spring on the C6 is twice the size of the ZO6 spring and maybe the reason why the C6 clutch felt a lot lighter than the C5 but made for slower shifts. All I can say is what a difference, quicker and smoother shifts. A simple and reversible mod for zero dollars that make a big difference.
Last edited by archtop; Sep 29, 2005 at 08:08 AM.
Drifting
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From: Ft. Liquordale Florida
Originally Posted by connor
No doubt, I have drilled these out in other sports cars I have had, BMW loved to put these CDV's (Clutch Delay Valve as they call it) in their clutch hydraulics. For the Z series it was an actual valve you could remove, for the M series they thought they would be smart and hide it in one of the lines, of course people found it and drilled it out. So where exactly is it in the Vette?
I looked through the diagrams in my service manuals to try and figure out where they put this. The only thing I could see really, is a "coupler" that connects the line coming from the master, going to the slave (or clutch actuator as they call it in the manual). Wish they put (or sold) the parts diagrams for these, as the cut-aways in the manual really don't show the system as a whole, or adequately identify the parts involved.
That and having to re-bleed the system - which according to the manual requires dropping the h-pipe & tunnel plate to get to the bleeder on the slave. Wish I had looked more into this when I was putting my exhaust in...
Rick
edit: add comments about bleeding
Last edited by SickRick; Sep 29, 2005 at 09:53 AM.
Drifting
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From: Ft. Liquordale Florida
Also keep in mind, part of the purpose of the flow restrictor was to minimize stress on the drivetrain by "buffering/softening" the abruptness of clutch release/application. The clutch pedal spring likely is to compensate for the return of the pedal, with respect to the effect the flow restrictor has on the system. 99% of clutches use the pressure plate springs for pedal return, and require no assistance.
Rick
Rick
Drifting
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Most systems also have a small return spring on the pedal. It looks like this spring is a dual-action sort of thing - that it acts as a return spring when the pedal is nearly out, but as an assist spring when the pedal is mostly down. If that's the case, then it will be harder to push the first part, but easier past the halfway point. A non-linear effort, in other words, which is what the clutch feels like.
In this case, a small replacing this monster with a small single-action return spring should improve the feel of the clutch quite a bit.
My only guess as to why they did this was that the letoff makes it easier to sit at a stoplight with the clutch pedal down. Mainly I don't do this, so I will happily trade greater clutch effort on the second half of the stroke for better feel and control.
In this case, a small replacing this monster with a small single-action return spring should improve the feel of the clutch quite a bit.
My only guess as to why they did this was that the letoff makes it easier to sit at a stoplight with the clutch pedal down. Mainly I don't do this, so I will happily trade greater clutch effort on the second half of the stroke for better feel and control.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: Southwest Florida
I did this on my 99 C5 as well. Before I removed the spring, the clutch would stick halfway up in cooler weather. With the spring removed, the clutch never stuck again. To me, it seems quite a bit harder to press with the spring out, but not objectionable at all. To remove it, just get a screwdriver and pop one of the two end pieces out of its hole and it'll pop right out. It's not that hard to get back in either. FWIW, I still have mine installed on the C6 as I've never had any trouble shifting mine and I like the lighter feel. I really don't think shifts will be any faster unless you have some sort of (other) mechanical problem that is exacerbated by the spring.
Mike
Mike
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From: stafford country, va. Avatar: Me on turn 3 @ Bristol (The World's Fastest Half-Mile)
so that's the two things I found on my floorboard... 
one fell out awhile back and I hadn't gotten around to putting it back, didn't figure it was causing much harm since the clutch was working. then a couple of weeks ago, another one (this one was larger 2 coil vs. 1 coil) fell out. hhmmm....
one fell out awhile back and I hadn't gotten around to putting it back, didn't figure it was causing much harm since the clutch was working. then a couple of weeks ago, another one (this one was larger 2 coil vs. 1 coil) fell out. hhmmm....
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by archtop
How do you remove it? We're talking about the coil lever spring attached to the pedal right?
Correct, its the spring that really looks like two springs with a loop in the middle that attaches to the clutch pedal (via the center loop). I used a large flat bladed screw driver and a flashlight so I could see. The spring is attached at its two ends through two holes in a bracket that is attached to the car, the middle of the spring which has the loop in it is attached to the clutch pedal. I simply used the blade of the screwdriver to pry out one end of the spring by placing it between the end of the spring and the hole it is slotted into. Then I did it to the other end and it fell out on the floor.
Boy is it a big sucker, twice the size of the one I took out of my ZO6.
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From: Baton Rouge LA
Originally Posted by SickRick
I looked through the diagrams in my service manuals to try and figure out where they put this. The only thing I could see really, is a "coupler" that connects the line coming from the master, going to the slave (or clutch actuator as they call it in the manual). Wish they put (or sold) the parts diagrams for these, as the cut-aways in the manual really don't show the system as a whole, or adequately identify the parts involved.
That and having to re-bleed the system - which according to the manual requires dropping the h-pipe & tunnel plate to get to the bleeder on the slave. Wish I had looked more into this when I was putting my exhaust in...
Rick
edit: add comments about bleeding
That and having to re-bleed the system - which according to the manual requires dropping the h-pipe & tunnel plate to get to the bleeder on the slave. Wish I had looked more into this when I was putting my exhaust in...
Rick
edit: add comments about bleeding
Well I am happy now the spring is gone, maybe save looking for the restrictor for another day.....