Possible Clutch Problem?

I took my 94 GT out racing last night and I've noticed this before but now it's starting to piss me off when it does it in a race. I just got a brand new clutch about 2 months ago. I got the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, etc. replaced on it. When I'm racing or even sometimes just driving in town I notice that it seems to slip. I can dump the clutch shifting into second when racing and instead of clamping down and rippin second gear it sounds as if I'm slowly letting out of the clutch and it will barely bark 2nd now. What could possibly be causing this? Could it be too hot or misaligned or what. I don't know much about transmissions.

Its not misaligned, more than likely the clutch needs to be rerplaced again. Any slipping shows that the clutch is worn or glazed, however you want to look at it.

This brings several questions to mind......

1) What clutch did you get?
2) Do you have a firewall adjuster?
3) Did you consider moving up to a stronger clutch?
4) Did you resurface your flywheel?

if you are stil using a stock clutch cable its possible that it could have streched...dunno if thats your problem though...just an idea

I forgot the brand name. The mechanic shop ordered it, the mechanic is a friend of the family. I'm thinking he said a Hays clutch. I know it had a short name like that but it's made of kevlar. He asked me if I race my car any and he said that would be a good choice. I don't think my clutch cable was changed nor my flywheel resurfaced and I babied the clutch for at least the first 500 miles before EVER trying to shift fast or rough it up any. There's maybe 3,000 miles on the clutch now. I don't have a firewall adjuster and it's not a stock clutch it's supposed to be an upgrade from stock. I spent around 800 bucks for this thing so it better not need to be replaced or else my mechanic is gonna hear about it b/c this weekend was my first time to race it, at least from a stopped take off.

Oh and to the mods, my bad if I put this in the wrong forum I forgot there was a problem diagnosis forum. sorry

I forgot the brand name. The mechanic shop ordered it, the mechanic is a friend of the family. I'm thinking he said a Hays clutch. I know it had a short name like that but it's made of kevlar. He asked me if I race my car any and he said that would be a good choice. I don't think my clutch cable was changed nor my flywheel resurfaced and I babied the clutch for at least the first 500 miles before EVER trying to shift fast or rough it up any. There's maybe 3,000 miles on the clutch now. I don't have a firewall adjuster and it's not a stock clutch it's supposed to be an upgrade from stock. I spent around 800 bucks for this thing so it better not need to be replaced or else my mechanic is gonna hear about it b/c this weekend was my first time to race it, at least from a stopped take off.

Oh and to the mods, my bad if I put this in the wrong forum I forgot there was a problem diagnosis forum. sorry


You should get yourself a firewall adjuster, and maybe even a clutch quadrant. You might wanna hit up Steeda for those parts. Hays makes pretty good clutches, but not all of them are meant for Street /Strip applications. You want something with a Carbon Metallic type material, which has alot of grip. You might want to even look at a 4 or 6 puc designed disc. Those have a higher holding power than a regular shaped round disc.

the only bad thing is that I don't have the money for a new clutch so I'm hoping it's just the clutch cable or something cheap. How hard is it to install a new clutch cable or a firewall adjuster?

the only bad thing is that I don't have the money for a new clutch so I'm hoping it's just the clutch cable or something cheap. How hard is it to install a new clutch cable or a firewall adjuster?


Very easy, two screws in the firewall that needs to come out. One screw that covers the plate on the tranny access. And 1 plyer to slide the cable out of the hooks.

I took my 94 GT out racing last night and I've noticed this before but now it's starting to piss me off when it does it in a race. I just got a brand new clutch about 2 months ago. I got the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, etc. replaced on it. When I'm racing or even sometimes just driving in town I notice that it seems to slip. I can dump the clutch shifting into second when racing and instead of clamping down and rippin second gear it sounds as if I'm slowly letting out of the clutch and it will barely bark 2nd now. What could possibly be causing this? Could it be too hot or misaligned or what. I don't know much about transmissions.


Well, my friend I've been building cars since I was 16 years old, I'm 54 now.
It sounds like your clutch is gone. There is a couple of possible tests you can do.
When you are just starting out and you engage the clutch does it engage at the top of the peddle travel or closer to the bottom. If the car starts moving with the peddles up closer to the top then you may just need to adjust the end of the cable at the transmission. This will engage ;the fingers on your pressure plate a little sooner and mabee solve your problem.

Another thing you need to check is if you have any oil leaking from the bottom of your bell housing. If there is oil you may have a rear main seale leaking. This could cause oil to get on the surfaces of your clutch pressure plate and flywheel. It doesnt take long for this situation to glaze over your clutch, and you have exactly what you've described.
If the damage isn' too severe, you can pull the clutch out and clean it up by taking a sanding disc and grinding a little of the surface until the slick surface disappears (sometimes this works).
But then you need to have your rear main seal replaced so the problem doesn't return.

AHUUUU!!

Good luck with it

Kent Mathew
Dallas, TX

I had my rear main seal replaced when I had the clutch replaced and also my pedal engages at the bottom and it has engaged at the bottom since I first got it back from the mechanic. I hope it's not an expensive fix and I guess I'll look up something to guide me through the clutch cable adjustment. Do I need to buy anything the adjust my clutch cable or just some basic tools cuz I got plenty of tools. Thanks

I had my rear main seal replaced when I had the clutch replaced and also my pedal engages at the bottom and it has engaged at the bottom since I first got it back from the mechanic. I hope it's not an expensive fix and I guess I'll look up something to guide me through the clutch cable adjustment. Do I need to buy anything the adjust my clutch cable or just some basic tools cuz I got plenty of tools. Thanks


If the clutch pedal engages at the bottom of it's travel there is no need to adjust the pedal, it is in proper adjustment. If the rear main seal has been replaced and you have no oil leaking then that is not the problem.

It looks like there is only one item left. The clutch is bad.

You need to find out what clutch was put in the car and get on the internet go to Hayes clutch web page.They have a tech line ##216/658-6312 you can call thenm 9 t0 5. You can give them the model # and they can tell you what clutch you have and what clutch you need.

I think this one is definately bad.

Kent Mathew
Dallas, TX


PS: Find someone who sells Service manuals for your make, model and year. ie Haynes etc. Buy your self a manual. They don't have all the information there is, but it will help you with basic information. They have all the torque specs etc.

The truth of the matter is, if you have tools and moderate skills you should be able to do a clutch swap in your driveway. The best way to learn is get in there and tear it apart. All the bolts have to be torqued to spec.

I would replace the clutch myself but torquing the nuts and bolts to spec is a problem b/c I don't have a torque wrench. I have a chilton's book for my car but I haven't looked at it yet b/c I haven't looked at the option of doing it myself. I will check exactly which kind of clutch I have and I guess I will see where I can go from there. I did take it up to my mechanic who installed it and told him what it was doing. He said the only thing he can do is take it back apart and see if he can't find the problem. If it cost me anything I can't do that so I'm gonna view the more inexpensive options first.

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on this I really appreciate it

ok I just got the receipt from when it was installed and it's a Zoom Performance Clutch. Price was 463 bucks. For that price it better not be f-ed up already. oh and I also got a new pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, transmission mount, rear main seal and also had my front brakes replaced and ac recharged. Total cost of $1,102.76! Damn...