Here lies the remains of what used to be a stage 3:






And the aftermath with the flywheel






Well this would explain the problem I was having with clutch disengagement. The springs popped after approx. 3 months of driving. I never dumped the clutch, and anytime I would hit WOT in it, I would shift slowly / easily, trying to avoid damage. Looks like it wouldn't of mattered, though. Unfortunately, I found out that they are notorious for this AFTER I had installed it.

Needless to say, I'm calling them tomorrow to see what they're going to do about this, because that is BS. I've heard some people say that they offer a discount to upgrade to the stage 4, but I really don't know if I can trust another one of their clutches. I believe I remember someone on here posting that their stage 4 was still causing problems, and it created some sort of large vibration. I'm also going to call Centerforce tomorrow to see how much I can shave off without weakening the flywheel.

It seems like I read somewhere on this site that every aftermarket manufacturer uses the same PP, but a different clutch on the LT-based T56 transmissions, so if that's true, I think I'll look at a McLeod clutch and keep my current PP. I can't buy their entire street twin setup because it's made for a camaro, and in case you missed my sig, this setup is in a 280zx, so their flywheel won't fit my two-piece crank, and their adjustable m/c wouldn't work either. If any of you have any suggestions as far as other options I have, feel free to post them. I'll be keeping you updated.

 

Damn Zee, i am sorry that this happened to you, and i would also liek to thank you in confirming my decision between Mcleod or SPEC stage 3... heh... hope all works out for you in the future, and my advice is to go with a Mcleod Clutch, on thunder they go for $483.00 with PP disk and t/o bearing. best of luck to ya!

 

That sucks man! Seeing this makes me a bit nervous, since I just purchased a Spec stage 3 clutch and steel billet flywheel.

FWIW, Spec does make a flywheel for a 2-piece rear main LT1, w/larger bolt pattern. give them a call, I don't think its listed on their site.

 

Call them and raise hell. I did. They claim there is no problem Anyway, mine was 3 years old, but had only 10k or so easy miles on it. They sold me the clutch of my choise for 1/2 price. They tried like hell to sell me a stage 3. I said I couldnt trust their sprung hub, and went with a stage 4. Its a 6 puck, and carbon fiber I believe. Im very happy with it. They said it was very harsh etc, but its very smooth. I absolutely love this clutch, and it wont break Whatever anyone tells you, the stage 4, 6 puck, carbon fiber is very smooth. Very streetable. Hell, Ive driven mine in stop and go traffic for hours and I still love it

 

Josh, do you remember who you talked to? I called SPEC, and they basically told me that since the clutch is out of warranty, I'm SOL. As an update to the clutch problem, I bought a McLeod clutch disc, but re-used the SPEC pressure plate, since it only had 2,000 miles on it. I re-surfaced it so it would help break in the new clutch. Anyways, the clutch doesn't want to disengage -- at all. I bought this disc:



which I'm assuming is supposed to be a replacement with the factory pressure plate, and since I've been reading on this site that every aftermarket company uses the exact same pressure plate, I figured I could use the SPEC PP with the McLeod clutch disc. Anyways, after I hooked the transmission and everything else back up, I verified that the slave cylinder was pushing the fork back, so I know hydaulics aren't the issue. I just pulled the transmission back off a couple of hours ago, and I'll look into it in the morning. Any thoughts?

I've been thinking about going with a Stage 4, but since SPEC just blew me off like that, I figured I'd be better off going with McLeod. Josh, would you be able to give me any other info about your deal you got through SPEC? How much did they sell you the Stage 4? Did you have to send in your Stage 3 first? What type of friction material did you go with?

Thanks!

 

It must be the luck of the draw. My Stage 3 has 15,000 miles on it after 2 years of driving in traffic, and a dozen trips to the track, dumping at 4K RPM on ET Streets trying to do wheelies, and it still drives great. The Stage 4 should be a great disk with no springs. I hear it drives just like the 3.

 

I'd like to know the answer to the Mccleod problem as well. The same thing happened to me so I had to put a cheap clutch and pp in.

 

Well, I just had the McLeod pressure plate overnighted here, so I installed it today and the clutch works, but I have this horrible knocking / ticking noise that I can't figure out -- it sounds like it's coming from the bellhousing, and it only started making that noise when I installed the McLeod PP. Any ideas?

 

Nevermind, I found it...a bent dust pan can make a lot noise, ya know?

 

lol... hows that Mcleod clutch holding up for you? mine should be here in 3 days... heh