[gratefullife]

Alright, so I'm not all sure what's going on, but I will try and explain it as best and simply as I can. My car has been running like garbage lately and has been since driving to VA from MS a few weeks ago and has gotten even worse within the past week. The problem is, when I put my clutch in, things work fine, it's when I go to transition gears and engage the throttle that I get some huge lag in there. I'm having to rev my rpms up quite high (like 3-4k) before the clutch seems to engage and my rpms drop back down to where they should be. Called and talked to my Dad the other day about it and he's suggesting either hydraulic pump going (slave cylinder?) or a glazed clutch. Need some words from the experts here on this one... I've been looking/shopping around and I'm really not looking forward to dropping a grand on my car this time of year, especially being that I'm not going to be able to drive it much with the training I have to start soon. I do however need it for another month and a half at least and as I stated, this is becoming more and more of an issue. As always, thanks in advance to those of you who have some helpful words here, I really do appreciate the help!

 

[RhodySVT]

Sounds like a clutch thats slipping/on its way out to me. So say you're driving along at 2000rpm in like 4th gear...if you mash the gas do the revs shoot up without the car moving forward as much as it should?

 

[gratefullife]

Yeah, you hit it dead on, that is the exact scenario we're talking about!

 

[gonzorelic]

yep slipping clutch. you will need to replace the entire clutch, pressure plate, slave cyl, flywheel etc. you can order the entire kit from hitepartsexchange.com for less than $500 shipped. great place to deal with. i just got my LuK replacement kit from them a few months ago and ive got about 20,000 miles on it with no probs. it grabs way harder than the oem one. good luck.

 

[chadman86]

Ya...clutch issues suck! Welcome to the club.

 

[gratefullife]

Yeah, I figured this would be more confirmation than anything, sucks but I guess that's the name of the game some times.

Noted on the hiteparts site, I may have to look in to them further. Question is, out of Exedy, Luk and CM, can anyone elaborate for me some more pros and cons in an idea on who to go with? Told the wife tonight that if I do in fact end up holding on to the Foci that I want to go FI so there is something to consder I suppose although I would only be shooting for a ballpark of about 250 since I'm already pushing 75k miles on the odo. Thanks again.

 

[gonzorelic]

luk is the oem replacement but non tsb. so basically its better than oem but nothing you would want to put behind a forced induction engine. its cheap and reliable if you want to stick with basic bolt ons like intake and exhaust etc... if your thinking of going FI in the future go ahead and get a good clutch. stay away from spec because they are hit and miss and you dont want to do this twice. get a fidanza aluminum flywheel if you want to do much twisties and a billet steel one if your more into drag racing style driving. get a ACT or clutchmasters 6 puck racing style clutch if your looking to turbo/supercharge the car. and reguardless of which route you go REPLACE the slave cyl. the luk kit will come with it. others wont. and lastly the luk kit will cost you about 1/2 to 1/3 of the rest of the options. look to spend 4-600 bux on a flywheel alone. the stock one cannot be resurfaced. even if it could its defected which is why the stock clutches go to crap so much. look to spend about $1500 on a racing style clutch/flywheel combo installed. the luk kit costed me less than $800 installed.

 

[gratefullife]

Man bro, haven't even fixed a bowl of cereal this morning yet and already your pissing in it. No really, I appreciate it. Seriously, a 6 puck racing disc? I'm not even really looking to race the car at all be it auto x or drag, I'm just wanting more power than what Ford was gracious enough to give us initially. So from what you're saying, the FX300 kit from clutchmasters isn't going to work? Massive's site has a real nice price on that kit right now is why I ask. I know it may sound like some belly-aching but as you say, this is not something I'm wanting to do twice and so want to ensure that I get it as right as I can the first go round.

 

[RhodySVT]

the FX300 is a stage 3 CM kit, I'm sure for your power levels and such it'll work just fine, just be aware that you need a new slave cyl and flywheel with that clutch. I'm pushing it on my clutch, have 234hp and 190tq on it and it's factory

 

[gratefullife]

Got it, misunderstood the listing and was under the impression that it was an entire kit. So if 6 disc puck then, the FX400 should be the deal then? and a Fidanza flywheel huh? And this hiteparts has the new slave cyl...should jsut be a direct replacement, right?

 

[gonzorelic]

yes the slave is a direct replacement. even if yours doesnt need replacing replace it. because if it goes out in 20,000 miles you will have to pull it all back down again and like i said its better to do it all once and once only. if your only looking for n/a power than a solid disc clutch should be fine. mine grabs hard and i love it. im pretty sure i could run a 40hp shot of nitrous with it with no problems. but if i even thought i were going FI in the future i would get a 6 puck clutch just for the fact that i wouldnt have to worry about it anymore. im not looking to piss in your cornflakes, just want you to know the different options you face and help you choose the right route for you. like i said before, the only complete kit is the LuK, the clutchmasters kit will only come with the clutch and pp. the flywheel and slave will not come in the kit. this is why i told you they will cost substantially more than the luk.

 

[gratefullife]

No, it's all cool, brother. Like I said, I really appreciate your help in all of this! It's things like this that you learn from and although I like the lessons in life that are free, some times you have to pay out a little to learn some things. So like I asked before, just for clarification, the FX400 CM clutch, a Fidanza alum flywheel and a replacement slave cyl...this should be it, right? Have to get ahold of Kyle to ask him about his deal on this stuff right now... Kinda looked over that hiteparts site real quick, do they carry anything for our cars other than the Luk direct replacement? Again guys, thanks. And don't mind me, I like to cut up every chance I get.

 

[gonzorelic]

yes that clutch setup should be fine. and im not sure if hite has any other clutches for our cars, you could call and ask they are great ppl and have great customer support.