Clutch became super light after replacement
 

I just got my clutch + flywheel replaced with the Exedy oem clutch kit and am noticing that my clutch became super light with no resistance or weight to it. Is this normal for an oem clutch replacement? Will it go back to normal after a few drives? I am fairly new to driving manual so I am inexperienced to understand what happened. I’m just hoping there wasn’t an issue with the installation...

Happened to me with my last car. I believe the clutch gets heavier as it wears out, but it's gradual so you don't notice the transition until you replace it and see how light a new one is. I remember I stalled 3 times on the new clutch pulling out of the parking lot. It was freakishly light

Perfectly normal - I put a new clutch in my Toyota p/u 5 years ago and thought there was something wrong with it, but then I remembered from school that as the disc gets thinner and as the pressure plate gets thinner, the angle of the "fingers" on which the t/o bearing rides changes - the fingers are now up at a higher angle and that decreases the mechanical advantage of the clutch linkage, resulting in a stiffer pedal. You can get a textbook at your local community college auto tech program which explains all this stuff.

^^ this

The way the fingers on the pressure plate angle out more as the disk surface wears which makes it harder to push but in addition to that the grease gets contaminated and dry which also has a big impact. Simply greasing up the release fork and TOB will make it much softer feeling.

Edit: I guess I should read all the responses before replying. jcw99 already explained the fingers but in more detail. :)

OP, I haven't replaced my clutch but I have cleaned and lubed the quill and TOB bushing. Major difference in operation. I believe that is the difference you feel. The binding on the quill can get so bad that clutch forks are bent/broken. It happens so slowly over time that unsuspecting owners never notice it.


Enjoy your new clutch. :)

Just wondering, how did you lube the TOB bushing? Did you have to do the transmission?

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Yes. There's no real substitute for removing the transmission to disassemble, clean, and lube those components. It sucks but, for me at least, it's worth it. I'm about to do it again in another month or so.

My clutch was also super light after TOB / clutch replacement / flywheel resurfacing a few weeks ago. Give it a thousand miles and it should start to feel better.

I've replaced several clutches in my lifetime and none changed the way they feel like my most recent one in a V6 Jeep KJ, which coincidentally also happened to be an Exedy. I had a few people comment on the lightness as well; it's FAR lighter than the OEM setup. ~20K miles on it now and it hasn't really changed. I've driven Honda Civics with heavier clutches. Not complaining, just noting the brand coincidence...

That's interesting. Does it also not engage until the pedal is fully released? I have a theory that there's something unique about the pressure plate mechanism.

Nope - engagement start and end points are the same, or close enough to not have noticed a change. Just the weight of the pedal itself changed. I'm fine with it now, but it took some getting used to...I was convinced something was wrong and the clutch was going to eat itself up. There's zero slip though, even when trying to get it to. Clamping force must be fine on the disk; I just assume the fingers on the PP have been redesigned. Now that I'm thinking about it, it came in an Exedy box as part of an Exedy kit, but the PP was stamped 'Sachs'... Still no complaints with that, but weird again.

Whatever - sorry for the hijack..

What is this theory ?

Feeling like the clutch pedal is lighter after a clutch replacement is normal. This lighter feel comes from cleaning and greasing of the fork and bearing support/quell/transmission snout, and not having years and 10's of thousands of miles of clutch disc debris in the pressure plate assembly. The debris in the pressure plate collects around the pivot rings ( what the diaphragm spring pivots against) and this debris increases the pressure needed to make the spring move and translates to a higher release load, stiffer pedal feel and a crunchier/not smooth pedal feel.

I can assure you that the pressure plate included in the FJK1005 (OE replacement kit for the Twins) has the same clamping force, release load and lever ratio as the genuine pressure plate that came in the car from the factory, the only difference is the part numbers laser etched are the EXEDY aftermarket numbers not the Subaru/Toyota numbers.

It's moot with Ventura's response. There's always some slop in the clutch mechanism which takes up pedal travel before the clutch begins to disengage. A mechanically stiff system will have a sharper engagement curve -- I'm making up that term -- than a sloppier one with the same holding force.


I suspected that there might be something special about the pressure plate making the movement more precise. I'm over it.