Centerforce clutch + "gear crush"?
 

Hi all, I did a search, but found no results that matched the problem I'm having.

I've posted a few threads, and those of you who read them know I had a Centerforce Performance I clutch disc, pp, and tob installed two weeks ago Thursday. The day after the install, I started to hear a noise that was intermittent, but really noticeable once you turned the A/C on. The noise is only evident when the clutch is engaged (foot off pedal), and goes away once you fully depress the clutch pedal. Like I said, for some reason the A/C being on exacerbates the noise, which is how I got a few mechanics to hear it.

I took it Tuesday to a transmission shop near me with a great reputation, and they called me this morning to tell me the noise was greatly reduced, or gone. As soon as I turned the car on and turned on the A/C, I heard the noise. It's not a problem with the A/C (so far as I can tell, anyway), but in 4th gear, doing 35mph, if you give the car some gas, you'll hear it plain as day, grinding away.

The trans shop called Centerforce, who said that with the extra grabbing power of the Centerforce clutch, that it puts extra pressure on the front of the transmission, causing "gear crush", and making this noise worse.

Has anyone heard of any of this, or know what the problem is?

The trans shop replaced the pilot bearing and input bearing, and checked the TOB and found that it was fine, and is almost at a loss.

Thanks,

-John

holy sh*t...im stumped man, somebody help this guy.

Yeah, this is a toughy - the owner of the trans shop that my stang is at has called all his friends, none of which can really tell him a whole lot. Centerforce seems to be the only one saying the noise is somewhat normal, and I did a lot of research on this and other websites, and didn't read anything about CF "Performance I" setups causing noises. I think the previous owner beat on my stang, and this is just it starting to fall apart.

An update on the situation: The trans shop got the OK from my extended warranty company (Toyota, ROFL) to basically rebuild the trans - they are going to replace all seals, bearings, and other little parts. The gears and synchros look OK, so no need to replace them.

Hopefully the trans is OK when I get it back, but I have a feeling that this car is not in a good way, unfortunately.

Thanks,

-John