Clutch pedal assist return spring: Alternatives?

[TheBrightSide]

I’ve seen manual Chevy C6 Corvette owners swap their factory OEM clutch assist spring, with the OEM one from the C5 Corvette. Of course, I’ve also seen the one that Lingenfelter has designed; although I personally think it’s far too expensive as an investment, personally…

I personally went the DIY route of installing a hose clamp almost halfway up the clutch pedal “arm”, and then installing a spring of my choice. The spring is most definitely at least ~35 ft/in of torque, at least from my estimations; it has to be enough to pull back the clutch pedal all the way back up, in the case that hydraulics completely fail.

I know I’ve used O’Reilly and Autozone’s Dorman parts #59207 and 59001. These two are variety packs of various springs, ones which have “J” styled hook ends. There’s other kits that might have what you need, or you can simply go to a hardware store near you and select one. I would, however, try to reference the Dorman spring kits mentioned here, as they fit the best.

If you decide to go with a shorter coil spring, meaning that it will stretch itself further at all times; this means the spring will eventually settle and lose some to most of it’s original torque. If you decide to go with a longer coil spring, the spring itself will probably stretch itself just a bit or enough, and it will most likely retain most of it’s original torque; to which I suggest the latter.

[TheBrightSide]

On another note, does anyone know if the C5/C6 Corvette factory clutch assist/return spring is similar at all, to the one in the 5th gen Camaro V8’s; or whether they’re entirely different..? They look fairly similar, but I haven’t had the opportunity to put them side to side to compare.

I figured that the factory clutch assist spring isn’t ideal, mainly because of the “assist” function, where it helps to hold down the clutch pedal near the very end of it’s travel when depressed. But since the C6 owners like the C5 pedal spring because it’s less strong, I figured it might work out in our favor the same manner.

I don’t mind running the DIY clutch return spring setup, although after a few months or so, the “J” hook end that’s hooked onto the hose clamp at the pedal arm, begins to bend outward.. This ends up basically allowing the hook end to slip out and pop off. I can bend it back with pliers and then reverse the ends, but then it eventually does the same thing and gradually weakens the metal. This is probably the only other reason I was considering potentially re-running the factory clutch pedal spring, since it’s way more durable (at the cost of feeling slightly inconsistent).

[MidBubSC]

The C5/C6 clutch pedal spring is a similar design, but too different to work in the 5th gen Camaro.

I own a Chevy SSR which uses the C5 clutch spring (Part# 1255505), and hated the inability to feel clutch engagement with the OEM spring. When the spring broke, I could fully feel clutch engagement and disengagement like the "old school" clutches I was accustomed to, and I did not want to go back to the OEM spring - so my search for a better spring solution began.

I found a spring manufacturer that produces small batches and had them make a reduced tension spring. This provides great pedal feel, but has enough tension to hold the pedal up firmly which allows the Clutch Master Cylinder ports to line up for pressure equalization and self-bleeding, and it also keeps the Cruise Control Switch engaged so it doesn't drop out.

I have been running this spring in my truck for over a year now and am AMAZED with the pedal feel! Particularly when letting the clutch out after stopping on an incline. You know when the clutch is starting to engage - no more accidental stalling the engine or barking the tires! This spring provides a very linear feel - no more fighting the spring. I have been selling these on the SSRfanatic and CorvetteForum forums.

How does all this help Camaro owners - be patient, I am getting there.

I have co-worker who is a fellow gearhead and owner of multiple generations of Camaros that has patiently listened to my clutch pedal spring complaints, trials and errors, and eventual success over the past several years. He currently owns a 2002 Camaro SS, and a 2013 Camaro SS, both manual transmissions. He has always said he prefers driving his 2002 vs the 2013, even though the 2013 has more horsepower, etc.

A month ago he commented that he has finally figured out that he does not like the clutch engagement feel on his 2013 and that is why he prefers the 2002. This begged the question - "What kind of clutch pedal spring does the 5th gen Camaro use"? It is the same basic design as the C5, but has different overall dimensions and angles.

He took one of my C5 Reduced Tension springs and heavily modified it to get it to work in his 2013 Camaro. After several iterations he was grinning from ear-to-ear and said he now loves the clutch engagement feel on the 2013 and will not be going back to the OEM spring!

So, based on his encouragement, the first batch of custom "5th Gen Camaro Reduced Tension Clutch Pedal Springs" has been ordered and should arrive before the end of July.

When they arrive I will make a new post on Camaro5 forum.

[TheBrightSide]

Originally Posted by MidBubSC

The C5/C6 clutch pedal spring is a similar design, but too different to work in the 5th gen Camaro.

I own a Chevy SSR which uses the C5 clutch spring (Part# 1255505), and hated the inability to feel clutch engagement with the OEM spring. When the spring broke, I could fully feel clutch engagement and disengagement like the "old school" clutches I was accustomed to, and I did not want to go back to the OEM spring - so my search for a better spring solution began.

I found a spring manufacturer that produces small batches and had them make a reduced tension spring. This provides great pedal feel, but has enough tension to hold the pedal up firmly which allows the Clutch Master Cylinder ports to line up for pressure equalization and self-bleeding, and it also keeps the Cruise Control Switch engaged so it doesn't drop out.

I have been running this spring in my truck for over a year now and am AMAZED with the pedal feel! Particularly when letting the clutch out after stopping on an incline. You know when the clutch is starting to engage - no more accidental stalling the engine or barking the tires! This spring provides a very linear feel - no more fighting the spring. I have been selling these on the SSRfanatic and CorvetteForum forums.

How does all this help Camaro owners - be patient, I am getting there.

I have co-worker who is a fellow gearhead and owner of multiple generations of Camaros that has patiently listened to my clutch pedal spring complaints, trials and errors, and eventual success over the past several years. He currently owns a 2002 Camaro SS, and a 2013 Camaro SS, both manual transmissions. He has always said he prefers driving his 2002 vs the 2013, even though the 2013 has more horsepower, etc.

A month ago he commented that he has finally figured out that he does not like the clutch engagement feel on his 2013 and that is why he prefers the 2002. This begged the question - "What kind of clutch pedal spring does the 5th gen Camaro use"? It is the same basic design as the C5, but has different overall dimensions and angles.

He took one of my C5 Reduced Tension springs and heavily modified it to get it to work in his 2013 Camaro. After several iterations he was grinning from ear-to-ear and said he now loves the clutch engagement feel on the 2013 and will not be going back to the OEM spring!

So, based on his encouragement, the first batch of custom "5th Gen Camaro Reduced Tension Clutch Pedal Springs" has been ordered and should arrive before the end of June.

When they arrive I will make a new post on Camaro5 forum.

Interesting… So, the spring was modified to just fit, but essentially still works more or less just like the factory Camaro clutch pedal assist spring then..? Or was there some way to modify the C5 clutch pedal assist spring, to not only fit the 5th gen Camaro V8’s, but to also not hold the pedal down at the nearing end of the pedal travel? I didn’t think that was possible?

Also, I really hate having to run a clutch return spring, because you’re essentially stiffening up the clutch pedal, and it feels like a mega heavy clutch even though it’s not. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but I’d prefer a clutch pedal to have whatever pressure it is, directly being fed from the clutch hydraulics, as well as the clutch plate(s) itself. If you happen to remove the factory clutch pedal assist spring, the clutch pedal is super light. It almost surprised me to have such a light clutch in a V8 muscle car.

I’ve been paranoid about the pedal returning all the way up to the very top, since that’s what the clutch pedal spring was made for. Apparently, the clutch master cylinder can fail or have other issues, if it doesn’t continually return to the top and correlate with the self-adjusting “mechanism” for the level of the clutch plate wear. In my other manual cars, a lot of them actually don’t have clutch pedal springs at all (ex: Honda, Acura), and they’ve worked perfectly fine.

Also, with the high(er) clutch bite/engagement point, it’s kinda tricky to modulate the clutch pedal, especially when you have a return/assist spring that introduces false harder pedal pressure, at least in my opinion anyways.. Driving this car on a tiring day is a PITA, and I’ve had a handful of days where I’ve simply un-hooked my DIY return spring, to drive the car with a clutch pedal that has no clutch pedal assist spring whatsoever.

[Pkeen]

I removed my factory spring and called it a day. I've not had any issues.

[J35Y2]

Originally Posted by Pkeen

I removed my factory spring and called it a day. I've not had any issues.

I might do so, but I've had 4 whole CMC's go bad, so I've just been super paranoid... There's a very, very tiny amount of play at the top of the clutch pedal, but just barely. If you don't notice it, or you re-bleed the CSC, it might not even be there, since you can get the hydraulic pressure super tight with the fresh re-bleed.

When the car heats up and cools down, the little amount of play at the top of the clutch pedal kinda changes here and there. Sometimes, I'll remove the cap off of my remote clutch fluid reservoir and pump the clutch pedal a few times, to see if that changes it. Back then, when the car would get hot, it would naturally soften the clutch pedal, but I think that was from the factory clutch line swelling at the rubber line section.

[Pkeen]

When that clutch fluid starts getting dark you need to bleed it out with fresh fluid. It definitely makes a difference!

[J35Y2]

Originally Posted by Pkeen

When that clutch fluid starts getting dark you need to bleed it out with fresh fluid. It definitely makes a difference!

My clutch fluid doesn't really seem to get dark(er) until maybe like 4-5+ months of daily driving. I average anywhere from 9-13k miles a year, and around 200-300+ miles every week. My clutch fluid has never gotten to more than like a light brown color, and I usually cycle new fluid in by then, using the "Ranger" method.

But seeing how some folks get away with not changing their clutch fluid for even YEARS, I feel like it might not be such an apparent issue for some others. I've seen some folks running low clutch fluid, or even clutch fluid that's damn near super dark brown, almost black! These folks have a separate, remote clutch fluid reservoir thankfully, or I can't even imagine how their brakes would be functioning at that rate...

Most recently though, I have been installing like a new clutch master cylinder once every year or so, and I get some contamination in the clutch fluid, from what appears to be the silicone lubricant that's put onto the CMC's during production. It takes me roughly 2-3 cycles of new clutch fluid, before all the contaminants seem to go away, leaving clean fluid without particles and bits. The silicone lubricant also leaves debris in bits, and collects up towards the top of the remote clutch fluid reservoir, and is super annoying to clean.

With that said, I was starting to speculate that the silicone grease, combined with clutch dust particles, "over-contaminated" my new CMC's that I installed, and that's why I've gone through the span of FOUR clutch master cylinders, in the span of barely THREE years! I opened the CMC and found nothing that alerted my attention or concerned me outright, besides the remnants of the silicone lubricant during production, which collected down towards the end of the CMC, and also around the main rubber seal of the CMC's "plunger".

I'm probably going to cycle in new clutch fluid maybe for the 4th or 5th time here, on my latest CMC. I'm still on the factory CSC, so that was a concern as well. However, the clutch pedal has seemingly held hydraulic pressure pretty well. I sometimes check the clutch pedal for play at the top, which indicates that air has gotten in, or that there's a leak; with it usually being the former, in my particular cases.

I find that sometimes pumping the clutch pedal with the reservoir cap off, also seems to either let air out, or do something to where it helps keep the clutch hydraulic system from having play. Unforunately, this GM hydraulic system seems to be rather poorly designed/engineered, so I'm constantly paranoid and feeling like the performance fluctuates every other few times that I drive the car...

[MidBubSC]

Originally Posted by TheBrightSide

Interesting… So, the spring was modified to just fit, but essentially still works more or less just like the factory Camaro clutch pedal assist spring then..?

The reduced tension spring will be a direct replacement for the OEM. This spring will provide no functional pedal assist, but has enough tension to hold the pedal up. It is a thinner spring wire, and has an extra loop on each side.

Here is a picture of the one I make for the C5 Corvette:



The reduced tension spring for the Camaro will be dimensionally the same as the OEM, and will snap into in the same mount points as the original.

[RickyC]

When can I get one????

[MidBubSC]

Originally Posted by RickyC

When can I get one????

The "end of June" estimate is now looking more like "end of July". I edited my previous post to reflect that.

[RickyC]

Originally Posted by MidBubSC

The "end of June" estimate is now looking more like "end of July". I edited my previous post to reflect that.

Thank you and looking forward to it!

[RickyC]

Ok…. Just took the spring off and went for a ride…….
It’s an unbelievable difference!
Wished I did this ages ago!
It feels like it should and I am very happy ��

[Bo White]

Yep just take the spring out all together.
No need to put a return spring in when you already have a spring pushing the pedal down.