silenceikillyou

So my clutch doesn't seem to engage enough on startup, and is locking out 1st and reverse. A few times, when I was able to get it to work, once I got going on the road, everything worked fine. It only happens when the car has been sitting for a while.

I also noticed that the bite point moved farther into the clutch right after a cold start, meaning that instead of it being where it normally is, the second I would slightly move the pedal off of the floor, it would bite hard, but after I got going, it would move back to it's normal position.

I gently got it past the lockout once, and soon figured out that the main shaft in the transmission was still spinning, even though the clutch was pressed all the way to the floor.

Where should I begin? The car is stuck in reverse at the moment, and I can't move it to get it out because the clutch won't engage to allow me to take it out of gear. I don't know where to begin with diagnosing it, and I don't just want to throw parts at it, because it's got a SPEC stage 2 clutch and flywheel, which would cost over $400 for the new clutch, friction plate, and all of the other parts like the throwout bearing, etc. Anybody seen this before or knows where to start without just throwing parts at it?

PNYXPRESS

Will it come out of reverse with the car shut off?

Who installed the clutch? How many miles on clutch? Did you upgrade the clutch line?

Sounds like due to the stiffer than stock pressure plate your not fully disengaging the clutch possibly because the stock rubber line is bulging

bl817

+1 on replacing the stock clutch line. I replaced mine with an SR one from AM. its a BITCH to change but well worth it. oem is made of plastic and may be shot and expanding when you press the clutch pedal and not letting all the pressure release the clutch plate.

Simon1

The SPEC clutches are known for causing problems with our cars. The symptom you describe sounds like a throw out bearing issue, not a bulging line. But since it's a spec, who knows. If I had to replace anything in the clutch assembly I would get a complete different set up.

05StangZz

Did you replace the slave cylinder along with the clutch/flywheel?
I made the mistake of not doing so and had to have the tranny ripped out a second time within a few months.
But while i had the slave cylinder replaced, the clutch line was replaced as well as the pilot bearing. Everything feels perfect now.

kevinmalec

At 65K, (OEM clutch) the slave cylinder/throw out bearing went bad and I had difficulties trying to shift into ANY gear. I had to jam it into every gear in order to get it to the nearest shop. Thankfully, the nearest shop was only a mile down the road. I ended up replacing out everything, except for the master cylinder.
I am not sure if this is your issue, however I wanted to relay my experience.
Good luck!

Simon1

I used the stock clutch on mine until about 41k. I had the stock clutch, a RPS and a Mcleod.

05StangZz

You like any one of them better than the other? And were the replacements OEM type or stage I,II ?

Simon1

Most any guy on here with FI will get a Mcleod. It's a twin disk, uses the stock slave and everything else. It almost as light as stock, quiet, easy shifting, strong (800 hp), durable. It's also more expensive.

There are others that work good but most people on here with high HP cars and manual trannies use the McLeod.