Bad Idle, stalling, clutch chatter, gear lockout, failed clutches: My story and fix

[Pneub]

This could be a well known problem as I don't stay as up to date with the community as I would like. If nothing in my experience is new or helpful I apologize.

That being said here is what happened. When I got my car in 2013, even stock, I had light transmission issues. My car would want to lock out first and reverse when cold. I hear this is pretty common. I modified my car pretty heavy from the start and started with an ACT Stage 1 clutch combined with a long list of engine mods. From this point forward I had a very rough idle, gear crunching, stalling and so on. My tuning shop, Evasive Motorsports in Santa Fe Springs, said the clutch was bad so they replaced it with a second ACT clutch with a different flywheel. This clutch after a few months had me completely locked out of gears. I couldn't get into first unless I pushed it in at a rolling stop. My car idle was still terrible and they tried to fix it through tuning. Eventually I changed my clutch again to an Exedy Stage 1. My shifting gears was fixed but I had loud clutch chatter, my idle was shit, car would still die randomly. The clutch itself would sometimes catch on take off and made the car driving experience very lurchy and my friends/passengers were not always enjoying the experience. My car spent more time in the shop trying to to work out the idle issues, and while somewhat improved, the experience driving my car was not the best.

Fast forward 35k miles and my clutch is starting to slip. Any acceleration from 4-6th gear would cause it to slip out. I made an appointment to replace my clutch and started doing more research, most of it point to an Exedy Stage 2. After my prematurely failed Exedy Stage 1, and two failed ACT clutches, I wasn't thrilled about any of this, nor the other clutch options that were incredibly expensive.

I took a leap of faith with South Bend Street Clutch. It held more torque than the Exedy, cost less, and all the reviews were stellar. Problem is there were so few reviews. The day before my service my clutch made a loud squealing sound when depressed and the car would die if I shifted. The throw-out bearing went bad. Car towed, new clutch installed.

Now the car has a stock resurfaced flywheel, a South Bend Street Clutch, Toyota pilot and throw-out bearings. Since picking it up and slowly breaking it in I've noticed that my car idle is just fine, there is no clutch chatter, no issues with the clutch grabbing at launch, a much lighter and easier clutch pedal feel, and better shifting in all gears.

I don't know what parts specifically fixed my issues, but if you're having some of the issues I've described it could be related and hopefully something in here is helpful. I am unfortunately not as knowledgeable and well informed as most of you but if you have insights on my issues and the eventual fix I'd love to hear about it. Just so happy to be driving a happy car again. Thanks for reading!

TLDR: Bad idle, car stalling, clutch chatter, gear lockout. Went through 3 clutches. Now have South Bend Stage 1 with Toyota bearings and all issues resolved.

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by Pneub

a much lighter and easier clutch pedal feel

You have a weaker pressure plate than the others you tried. Our weak clutch fork setup doesn't like strong pressure plates, I had issues with an ACT clutch too.

[Pneub]

Originally Posted by Scenic Driver

You have a weaker pressure plate than the others you tried. Our weak clutch fork setup doesn't like strong pressure plates, I had issues with an ACT clutch too.

Why do ACT and Exedy put on strong pressure plates that cause all these issues?

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by Pneub

Why do ACT and Exedy put on strong pressure plates that cause all these issues?

I have no idea. I'm actually surprised you had problems with Exedy, people had issues with them over a year ago and I've seen posts saying they were OK now.

[mdost03]

How does a clutch have an effect on idle?

[Pneub]

Originally Posted by Scenic Driver

I have no idea. I'm actually surprised you had problems with Exedy, people had issues with them over a year ago and I've seen posts saying they were OK now.

The Exedy clutch was installed back in mid 2014 so that might explain it. Wish I had been able to fix this back then.

[Pneub]

Originally Posted by mdost03

How does a clutch have an effect on idle?

I'm guessing this was a bearing or a flywheel issue but I'm not sure.

[VerusEric]

When installing a heavier than stock pressure plate, it is highly recommended to look into an upgrade clutch fork. OEM is a known weak point. Stronger pressure plates equate to higher torque holding ability.

Check out the thread here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104963

Post #64, #95, and #105 are some 3rd party testimonials.

Thanks,
Eric

[Pneub]

Originally Posted by VeloxEric

When installing a heavier than stock pressure plate, it is highly recommended to look into an upgrade clutch fork. OEM is a known weak point. Stronger pressure plates equate to higher torque holding ability.

Check out the thread here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104963

Post #64, #95, and #105 are some 3rd party testimonials.

Thanks,
Eric

I already installed my clutch without replacing the clutch fork. What are the consequences of leaving it in? The clutch pedal feels softer than stock. Does this mean it has a weaker pressure plate? Here's the new clutch I have installed: http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/sout...l#.V6O0KrgrKUk

[VerusEric]

Originally Posted by Pneub

I already installed my clutch without replacing the clutch fork. What are the consequences of leaving it in? The clutch pedal feels softer than stock. Does this mean it has a weaker pressure plate? Here's the new clutch I have installed: http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/sout...l#.V6O0KrgrKUk

You'll probably be alright. No idea for sure but with less effort, one can assume less force is being placed on the fork. Since the clutch has already been replaced, I wouldn't bother dropping the transmission again for this fork. Just a suggestion to others that may be looking at clutches in the future.

Thanks,
Eric

[Pneub]

Originally Posted by Norville Rogers

Probably don't modify a car unless it is in good mechanical condition first, if at all?

Good advice except that both the message boards and dealerships all said it was a common issue. I went and drove other BRZ's that also had the same stiff gears at cold start. The dealership said they wouldn't fix it under warranty. I thought by putting in a better aftermarket clutch and flywheel the problem would get better not worse.

[Cybmx]

I had the same issue when I put in my ACT clutch and lightweight flywheel. Fixed it by simply adjusting the clutch pedal higher to get more travel. These aftermarket clutches probably needed more fluid to move, so at stock pedal height you might not have enough travel to disengage the clutch completely, which results in premature wears and gear lockout