Help! Is my clutch on the way out?

[xc_SS/RS]

yeah if bleeding doesn't take care of the issue then parts are starting to go bad

clark how's the clutch holding up/how many miles ya got on it? i'm still on the fence about what clutch to go for

[Clarkstar]

5000 miles. Its perfect. Pedal is a touch stiffer, but not bad at all. It grabs and holds so much better than stock. Once you replace the stock parts, you will realize how bad the stock clutch really is...

[shaggy2002]

72K miles on mine and same issue. Pedal returns but doesn't engage until almost the floor when the car is hot. Seems to run fine in cool weather. Just the nature of the beast with these cars.

[terry_b]

Steve from monster clutches thinks it may be a straight up clutch failure. I'm seriously not ready to spend $1300 + install

[terry_b]

Does anyone have a part number / source for the OEM GM clutch? All it shows when I search is the flywheel.

[Clarkstar]

Originally Posted by terry_b

Does anyone have a part number / source for the OEM GM clutch? All it shows when I search is the flywheel.

Don't get the oem... at a minimum get the spec...

[Clarkstar]

Get a spec clutch and flywheel, tick speed bleeder and monster support with OEM throw out. That's like $700...

[terry_b]

Well, I tried to bleed the system. Either I ended up with a bunch of air in the system or the symptoms are just worse in general... Now the car won't go into gear. Clutch doesn't disengage enough to put the car in great.

So fortunately the car is stuck in the garage. Now I need to decide if I'm up to the task of replacing it myself or need to have it towed to my shop.

I'm kinda leaning towards monster at this point. Purely because of the outstanding customer service I've gotten so far from Steve.

[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by terry_b

Well, I tried to bleed the system. Either I ended up with a bunch of air in the system or the symptoms are just worse in general... Now the car won't go into gear. Clutch doesn't disengage enough to put the car in great.

So fortunately the car is stuck in the garage. Now I need to decide if I'm up to the task of replacing it myself or need to have it towed to my shop.

I'm kinda leaning towards monster at this point. Purely because of the outstanding customer service I've gotten so far from Steve.

what is he suggesting? lt1-s is a good choice but it is on the heavy side. it'll feel like stock but hold more power. i wouldn't be so quick to jump to a clutch change just yet though personally

how did you bleed it? be mindful of the fluid level in the reservoir. gto reservoir is TINY so a helper to keep the fluid filled up is a good idea

[terry_b]

Basically, I crawled under the car and put a wrench and tubing on the bleeder valve and had my girlfriend pump the pedal. The reservoir never went empty, I made sure.

There's a chance I messed up and just didn't get a good bleed because of the absolutely AWFUL bleeder location. I definitely saw some fluid dripping inside the bellhousing afterwards but I didn't really move much fluid through the system.

The remote speed bleeder just showed up in the mail so I suppose I could give that a shot to get a better bleed.

Is it going to be a bad thing to have some fluid drips inside the bellhousing?

[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by terry_b

Basically, I crawled under the car and put a wrench and tubing on the bleeder valve and had my girlfriend pump the pedal. The reservoir never went empty, I made sure.

There's a chance I messed up and just didn't get a good bleed because of the absolutely AWFUL bleeder location. I definitely saw some fluid dripping inside the bellhousing afterwards but I didn't really move much fluid through the system.

The remote speed bleeder just showed up in the mail so I suppose I could give that a shot to get a better bleed.

Is it going to be a bad thing to have some fluid drips inside the bellhousing?

usually you want the bellhousing area bone dry, so its not a great thing. but i would imagine a few drops isn't going to ruin anything so try to avoid any more fluid getting in there. i think if you gravity bleed the lines you should notice a major difference:

1 open the reservoir cap, top off fluid
2 get under the car and put tubing and then a wrench on the bleeder
3 open bleeder and let fluid flow while keeping reservoir topped off (while
bleeder is open do not touch the clutch pedal) - no need to keep it open
long with the gto reservoir so a few seconds should do
4 close bleeder and pump the clutch. you should notice more resistence in
the pedal after 10-15 pumps
5 top off fluid

repeat steps 3-5 two or three more times and let us know how it goes

[terry_b]

So I was doing this wrong... I was bleeding the way you would for brake calipers:

1) crack bleeder
2) push on pedal
3) close bleeder
4) return pedal to top (it was still sticking at the floor)

I did that for around 3-4 reservoir top offs but the pedal never returned to normal. It stayed close to the floor the whole time. Before attempting to bleed, I had just enough travel to still put the car in gear and it was drivable - now it won't even go into gear.

I don't know if that's because I didn't bleed it right or maybe the slave is going bad?

[terry_b]

I have a remote speed bleeder from tick to install. What's the best way to install that? Start with a gravity bleed to get the fluid out of the system, remove and install the remote bleeder (not even sure if I can get a wrench in there to be honest)? Maybe I'll just let the shop do it.

Also, I ended up getting the whole package from monster... Steve provided absolutely amazing customer service, it's too bad a lot of the vendors aren't around here anymore to chime in.

I may try the gravity bleed one last time, then I'll likely just tow it to the shop and have them take it apart. Worst case, they'll have all the parts they need and can just fix it right up. Best case, it's just a hydraulic system issue and I can send the clutch back. I don't know if I wanna go through the whole process of dropping the tranny myself.

[xc_SS/RS]

this forum doesn't seem too friendly to vendors so that may be why he hasn't chimed in here. he usually does on ls1tech though...

either way, try the gravity bleed and if it doesnt work then tow it. good luck with the monster! stop bleeding it like you would bleed brakes and i wouldn't try and install the speed bleeder. leave it for when you change the clutch

edit: before the bleed pump the clutch a few times. it might work some air out