Transmission doesn't want to go into 1st, notchy changes.
 

I changed my clutch last month in preparation for a turbo. Everything was fine for a few hundred miles. Then it started getting harder and harder to get into first while stopped. It never goes in on first try now. 2nd or third time, it will go. Sometimes, it seems to go halfway in and stop. Same goes for reverse, and even if I try to put it into 2nd before going to 1st.

All other changes while driving also feel harder, kinda notchy as well.

I'm 99.99% sure I didn't screw anything up, but I suppose I must have. What in a clutch change could cause this? Fluid is good and full. Everything was torqued to spec (in a star pattern where applicable).

Keep in mind, this showed up after the clutch had broken in. Everything was fine at first. Could it be dragging or something when the pedal is out?

The only thing I'm thinking it could be would be that I put the disk in backwards, but I made sure to put the side that said "TM side" towards the back of the car.

ETA: Also installed Velox clutch fork.

Yes. Clutch is dragging. Classic symptoms.

Disk may be hanging up on the input shaft. These transmissions make enough noise that, as the clutch is modulated in neutral, you should be able to hear exactly when the innards start and stop spinning.

What clutch do you have?

I have an ACT SB7-HDSS clutch kit (also with a Velox fork) and I'm experiencing the same issues about 5k into the new clutch.

Does it only happen when the car is warmed up? Mine is fine when the car is cold -- Only when I've been driving for 20+ min does it start to show these issues. It's gotten so bad that I've been locked out of all gears once I'm stopped.

When I'm at a light, holding down the clutch pedal for 5+ seconds before shifting seems to help get it into gear first try. But this is of course is undesirable long term.

I've adjusted the pedal height, replaced the clutch fluid, and replaced the slave cylinder to no effect. My friend says to try and get more throw out of the pedal, but I'm not sure how to do that.

This issue has truly been making the car unenjoyable to drive. :thumbdown:

Same here with bully stage 4 clutch, I have change everything even tranny, I also have a hard time going from second to neutral if I a arrive to a stop. all this when driving 20 min or more.

I have the Southbend SBD clutch (somewhere between a Stage 2 endurance and stage 3 daily).

YIKES, fellows ....... a bad day for after market clutches ......:sigh:

The only thing I might suggest is to bleed the clutch system (again) to make sure there isn't any air in the system ........ :iono:


humfrz

There's no air in the system. I've bled multiple times by now.

If there is a way to adjust for more travel from the pedal (not the height of catch point), so the master / slave can push the clutch fork further, it might disengage better.

I got about 1mm more by removing the little rubber bumper off the pedal stop. Interestingly, it seems to have given me enough to make it tolerable. There's a loud clunk every time I push the pedal though :(

Also, I had adjusted the upper pedal stop a long time ago, so I set it back up to the top, just to see if it helped. It did, but I don't know why. I thought it just changed the amount of deadzone at the top of the pedal stroke. Shouldn't give you any more disengagement, right? Oh well.

I think I might be an idiot. I'll have to check with I get home from work, but I forgot how to adjust the clutch pedal, and was only looking at the top stopper/CC switch. I had adjusted the proper way, putting the bite point way down near the floor board a long time ago, and forgot about that. I bet if I back it up, it should fix my problem.

Doubt it, I have never adjusted the clutch height and still have the exact same issue. Im willing to be some others with this problem have also never adjusted the pedal. But if you do get it to work properly, please report back so I can give it a go myself.

Thinking about it more, I'm not as hopeful as I was. Because despite it apparently dragging, there is still a pretty big gap between the floorboard and when the car starts to move forward. So it seems more like the disk isn't floating freely between the flywheel and pressure plate. I made sure it moved freely on the spline before closing everything up, but IDK. It's frustrating.

We'll see in a couple hours.

Next step, if this doesn't work will be fluid change, then opening everything up again and going back to stock fork, assuming everything looks right about the clutch itself.

Yeah. I considered it at first but you said it worked ok for some time after the replacement. That's why I never mentioned it. I think either the pressure plate failed or the disc is warped.

Yeah, brought the pedal way out. Like twice the throw I had before. Still have problems getting into gear while stopped. Changing gear on the go isn't bad.

I guess I'll be back under the car to have a look at the clutch this weekend:mad0260:

Do you have trouble getting into gear when it's cold? If so, you can check for disc warp easily. If it only happens after hot, then heat-related distortion is automatically a safe bet.

Also check to see how freely the disc hub slips over the input shaft splines.