98 GT Clutch wont disengage, new issue

[shutter]

I can’t put into words how much I appreciate the help from you guys so far, hopefully I can figure this out soon. Clutch is 1000% on correctly and i’ll take a video of shaft play tomorrow once I drop the trans again. I’m also just going to try reinstalling everything from scratch to see if I just screwed up somewhere. Wish me luck

 

[shutter]

I do see the cable off at the top pic
How far of travel to engage the clutch

The clutch doesn’t release even with full pedal press. It’s pretty tight as it is and I’ve tried it looser as well as tighter and nothing changes

 

[RAU03MACH]

I'm trying to figure it out with ya

Is the cable streatched to the point it will only pull so much
All the bolts are tight around disc housing
No defect in clutch disk
Aĺ fingers on the clutch housing are tight not weak pushing on
The fork in right position the right throw out bearing
There are many things to checking a clutch
Make sure fully seated flush on flywheel

 

[shutter]

I'm glad to announce that I have finally found the problem. They either sent me the wrong clutch kit or something went wrong during manufacturing but the clutch plate will not slide up and down on my input shaft. Because of this, when the trans was bolted down, it just pressed the clutch plate down onto the flywheel, and since it couldn't slide no amount of pressure from the TOB could get it to release. So now I have to buy a new clutch. Thanks for everything and I will probably post here again if something else goes wrong.

 

[ttocs]

isn't it both nice, and yet SO F'ING ANNOYING when you find out it wasn't something you did?! I mean you get to do it all over again now because of them, but at least it wasn't because of you. Good news is the 2nd time goes faster and easier than the first from my experience.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Yea that's one of the reasons I always put the disc(s) onto the input shaft first because Team Beefcake Racing (what a name) send me a 23 spline setup instead of a 26 and luckily I caught it very early on before I ran home the bellhousing.

 

[shutter]

Great news guys, the new clutch I ordered from McLeod has the exact same issue and won't slide on the input shaft no matter what. I've been attempting to file down my old one since I can't return it anyways to see if I can get it to fit but pretty much no matter what I do it won't slide on all the way. Since my old clutch slides on fine, I am pretty sure it isn't an input shaft issue, but I can't be sure since it seems a little twisted. Lastly, I also wanted to mention that my alignment dowel thing for installation fits easily into both clutches, and when they are layered on top of each other they are nearly identical. I would appreciate some thoughts on this and this really sucks that I keep having problem after problem. I attached some pictures below of what I'm talking about.


twisted input shaft?

"new" clutch that won't slide

old clutch that does slide

 

[shutter]

I'm very much tired of this so if any of you guys recommend any certain brands or clutches for me to buy I would very much appreciate it.

I need a clutch that can hold at least 450hp since I plan on going FI soon.
I also have a stock T-45 with a 10-spline.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Tolerances for drivetrain in general are supposed to be on the tighter side. Recommend you take a scotch brite pad and some acetone to all surfaces and get everything clean, then get a light film of high temp red grease to those contact points you mention (just no matter what don't get any lubricants on the clutch disc / flywheel friction surfaces). Then try it again. I doubt an input shaft was twisted at the car's current power level even if it is a ten spline.

 

[RAU03MACH]

i would say a defect on the new clutch disk
looks awful tight

 

[weendoggy]

As mentioned, clean the input shaft good. Scotchbrite, acetone, mineral spirits, etc. Dry it good then apply a thin film of grease on the splines. Reason for this is when you slide the disc on, you should see where the high spot is when it stops and you remove the disc. You may just have a slight issue although I've never really come across this on a "normal" car, but have seen this in off road equipment and then massaged it with a file etc. to clean it up. Using a micrometer or other measuring device you should be able to see if it's out of round and/or twisted with a good straight edge.

 

[shutter]

I’ll give it a shot this evening. Idk if it’s a manufacturing defect though since both the clutch I bought 6 months ago and the one I bought this week don’t fit, unless I’m just that unlucky.

 

[RAU03MACH]

wow 2 of them
try cleaning that spline shaft as mentioned
i would even try a wire brush the size of a tooth brush

 

[shutter]

Been a while, wanted to give an update:

So, I shaved down my clutch teeth after cleaning my input shaft spotless and it still wouldn't work, so I bought a new trans. The clutch I had fit perfectly so it was a warped/twisted/something input shaft on the one I had previously.

Bad News:
The new trans works great, every gear shifts smooth and works correctly but it has a strange humming noise in neutral with the clutch out (clutch pedal not pressed), as well as a whining noise that increases with speed and it's pretty loud. When I was putting my clutch fork and things onto the new trans I noticed some whirring type noise when I spun the input shaft by hand, but didn't think much of it at the time since I'm not too familiar with transmissions (if you guys haven't noticed). Im gonna give replacing the input shaft bearing a shot next week or the week after and I wanted to know if any of you have done anything similar, especially if there's anything I need to look out for while doing this.

Good News: The car at least drives, the clutch doesn't slip, and the trans works as it should besides input shaft noise.

any tips for when I open up the trans are much appreciated

 

[lwarrior1016]

Been a while, wanted to give an update:

So, I shaved down my clutch teeth after cleaning my input shaft spotless and it still wouldn't work, so I bought a new trans. The clutch I had fit perfectly so it was a warped/twisted/something input shaft on the one I had previously.

Bad News:
The new trans works great, every gear shifts smooth and works correctly but it has a strange humming noise in neutral with the clutch out (clutch pedal not pressed), as well as a whining noise that increases with speed and it's pretty loud. When I was putting my clutch fork and things onto the new trans I noticed some whirring type noise when I spun the input shaft by hand, but didn't think much of it at the time since I'm not too familiar with transmissions (if you guys haven't noticed). Im gonna give replacing the input shaft bearing a shot next week or the week after and I wanted to know if any of you have done anything similar, especially if there's anything I need to look out for while doing this.

Good News: The car at least drives, the clutch doesn't slip, and the trans works as it should besides input shaft noise.

any tips for when I open up the trans are much appreciated

Look on line for the t45 rebuild pdf, I found it a bunch of years ago and don’t know if it’s still out there. To change that input shaft, you’re going to have to take a bunch of things apart. The input shaft is held in behind the cluster gear. So you have to pull things apart on the back of the transmission to allow the cluster shaft to move over and get the input shaft out.

It’s not hard, just very technical. You’re going to need pullers, and transmission snap ring pliers. Make sure to locate that manual.

When you put it together, you want that input shaft to be shimmed as tight as you can without binding. When you bolt the front cover back on, the shaft should have very very little wiggle the goal there is no wiggle but that’s hard to get without binding. The shim is selective and goes under the race in the front cover.

 

[lwarrior1016]

@shutter where are you located?

 

[shutter]

I'm in Central Ohio. I've been thinking over the last couple of weeks and I'll most likely take it to a transmission shop to have it done. I don't really know a whole lot about transmissions so It makes more sense to just save up and have a professional do it