Improper clutch adjustment will destroy your new unit! Damaged synchros due to improper clutch engagement will VOID YOUR WARRANTY!! If we get the unit back damaged due to the clutch, we will know! We will see severe wear on the sides of the synchro blocker ring teeth and friction surfaces, and damaged slider and gear dog teeth. Please follow the steps below to make sure your clutch is working properly:
1) Have the car running with the e-brake off so it can roll.
2) Push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor and hold it there.
3) Turn off your launch limiter in DSM link if equipped so the engine can hit 7K RPM.
4) Put the car into 1st gear.
5) Rev the engine up until you feel the car start to move forward.
If the car moves forward below 7200RPM, your clutch is dragging. DO NOT DRIVE UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED! Unit will also be hard to shift, so DON’T DRIVE OR FORCE IT INTO GEAR! If the car moves forward in the test above or is hard to shift, check each of the following:
1) Adjust the master cylinder under the dash.
2) Bleed your hydraulic clutch system.
3) Check for improperly torqued block-to-bell-housing bolts, flywheel, or pressure plate.
4) There should be 2 dowel pins.
5) Check for missing block-to-bell-housing bolts. For DSM transmissions, there should be 2 bolts on the top, 2 at the front of the car (1 in the 1G), and 1 hidden in the back that goes through the block.
6) Make sure the throw out bearing fork is not hitting the bell-housing when the clutch pedal is depressed, or damaged.
7) Check for incorrect flywheel step height.
8) Check for warped flywheel or pressure plate surfaces.
9) You may have a bad clutch master cylinder.
10) You may have a bad clutch pedal ‘z-bar’ (1Gs ONLY).
11) You may have a broken or bent clutch disk.
WARNING! A dragging clutch will destroy your new trans!! When a clutch drags, it is not letting go of the disk fully which overloads the synchros and burns them up quickly! Synchros work by speeding up or slowing down the input shaft and disk. If the clutch is dragging that little synchro is trying to speed up or slow down the engine, which is impossible for it to do. We believe that the synchros in all manual transmissions are brilliantly engineered and should last the life of the vehicle. If your synchros went bad and the trans needed to be rebuilt, ask yourself why. If the synchros, including the originals, should never go bad then why was yours bad? A dragging clutch is a very serious issue that is not taken seriously by the installers of your trans and/or clutch!! It is important to be 100% sure your clutch is not dragging or you will ruin the new synchros again in short time! Synchro damage due to a dragging clutch will not be covered under our warranty. If the trans is ruined due to a dragging clutch it will have to be rebuilt all over again. Save time and money by not burning them up and making sure the clutch is not dragging. Symptoms of a dragging clutch:
1) Synchros start to grind requiring a rebuild. If the original synchros were ruined from a dragging clutch, then your new trans will also be ruined if the issue is not fixed!
2) Shifting feels notchy and there is resistance while trying to shift. If the synchro is fighting you, it means that the assembly is having a hard time synchronizing the gear. DO NOT FORCE IT INTO GEAR! A dragging clutch will make the synchros work terribly hard so shifting will not be smooth.
3) Can’t shift at high RPM. Most clutches drag at high RPM. If you miss a shift or have a hard time going into gear at high RPM, the clutch is dragging and needs to be fixed.
4) EVO8-9 will not go into 1st or R at idle with twin disk Exedy clutch. This is a known issue with the Exedy twin disks and is in our FAQ at www.jackstransmissions.com with a fix for the problem. Again, if the trans is forced into gear the synchros will be damaged. This problem MUST be fixed before the vehicle is driven!
5) I have a new clutch, so I don’t need to check for a dragging issue. Wrong! 90% of new aftermarket clutches drag right out of the box. Many need adjustments for more throw under the dash or the pivot ball shimmed. Videos of how to do this are also on the jackstransmissions.com website.
6) I have a 7.25” twin disk and they don’t drag. Wrong! Small twin disk clutches can also drag badly. Warped floaters can make them drag worse than any single disk clutch out there.
We cannot stress enough how important it is to be sure your clutch does not drag. Jacks Transmissions has the longest warranty in the business and we value our customers. We want our customers to have not only a long trouble free service life, but we want it to perform perfectly as well. A dragging clutch can kill your trans within only a few shifts as the synchros are fragile. It doesn’t matter what they are made of or if they are double or triple synchro, they will be ruined if the clutch drags, period.
Please feel free to email us at sales@jackstransmissions.com if you have any questions or concerns over your clutch. We want to help and would be more than happy to be sure everything is right so you get the best performance possible out of your new trans!