God Damn Stupid F*c*ing Jinxed ass POS!
05-31-2014, 12:23 AM
#1
God Damn Stupid F*c*ing Jinxed *** POS!
Ahhhhhhhh! 
That is about he point I am at with this stupid POS c4 corvette that I have owned for 2 years now and have barely driven! This week we got the new procharged 383 Lt4 that I have been steadily working on for 2 damn years in and When we fired it up, she sounded awesome! I thought it was going to be promising and have little to no issues! BOY was I wrong, First I had one of the LS7 coils go bad within a few minutes of test driving (LTCC)...After I fixed that, I found out the god damn clutch is slipping with anymore than 25% throttle input! Its a Spec stage 2 + with a fidanza aluminum flywheel. When It went together everything went perfect. zero issues. engagement is good. It does engage a little fast I think but its smooth and feels good until you get into boost. It feels like the throwout bearing is presisng up against the fingers of the pressure plate and not allowing the clutch to fully engage. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I am at my wits end with this car. Its about to get burnt to the god dang ground......As I said, It went together great and it seems smooth but she slips extremely easy. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
That is about he point I am at with this stupid POS c4 corvette that I have owned for 2 years now and have barely driven! This week we got the new procharged 383 Lt4 that I have been steadily working on for 2 damn years in and When we fired it up, she sounded awesome! I thought it was going to be promising and have little to no issues! BOY was I wrong, First I had one of the LS7 coils go bad within a few minutes of test driving (LTCC)...After I fixed that, I found out the god damn clutch is slipping with anymore than 25% throttle input! Its a Spec stage 2 + with a fidanza aluminum flywheel. When It went together everything went perfect. zero issues. engagement is good. It does engage a little fast I think but its smooth and feels good until you get into boost. It feels like the throwout bearing is presisng up against the fingers of the pressure plate and not allowing the clutch to fully engage. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I am at my wits end with this car. Its about to get burnt to the god dang ground......As I said, It went together great and it seems smooth but she slips extremely easy. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
05-31-2014, 12:51 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
there is a different throw out bearing depending on if you have a blue tag or black tag zf6, and i think the difference is very hard to notice. maybe you have the wrong one??
05-31-2014, 03:31 AM
#4
I believe the difference in throwout bearings is the size of the shaft on the two different transmissions? Anyone know for sure?
05-31-2014, 08:27 AM
#6
05-31-2014, 11:15 AM
#7
Safety Car
Ahhhh, the joy of owning a 20+ year old sport car. Especially when modding said sport car. I would get in contact with Spec and Fidanza and ask them a bunch of questions about your set up and their products. There has to be a simple explanation or different part.
I DD my '85 and it is bone stock. Every week I pray that nothing major will happen to my only transportation to earn the money to help support my family so I may have a different view than you. I can tell you I work on my car EVERY weekend to try and keep up with what breaks. Last weekend it was an oil change and replace one headlight and find out why the other didnt work on low beam and lubed up my sticky throttle cable. Weekend before was fixing my console pad that had let loose and replaced both window switches. On and on. This week is replacing a bad LCD and tach filter. Oh, and the inner window sweep which popped off yesterday when letting the window up.
Now if anyone has a reason to burn their C4 its me but I dont want to ride the bus.....and I dont have full coverage.........and I have an honest heart.
I guess what I am saying is I definitely feel your pain. Our cars are something special and like that special woman take constant attention and finesse. If that "woman" is giving you so much trouble you want to "kill" it, its best to walk away and get a divorce....from either before you do something you will regret.
I hope you find your answer here or with the suppliers. Good luck with your project and remember that best laid (modding) plans can get derailed pretty quick. Adapt and overcome!!
I DD my '85 and it is bone stock. Every week I pray that nothing major will happen to my only transportation to earn the money to help support my family so I may have a different view than you. I can tell you I work on my car EVERY weekend to try and keep up with what breaks. Last weekend it was an oil change and replace one headlight and find out why the other didnt work on low beam and lubed up my sticky throttle cable. Weekend before was fixing my console pad that had let loose and replaced both window switches. On and on. This week is replacing a bad LCD and tach filter. Oh, and the inner window sweep which popped off yesterday when letting the window up.
Now if anyone has a reason to burn their C4 its me but I dont want to ride the bus.....and I dont have full coverage.........and I have an honest heart.
I guess what I am saying is I definitely feel your pain. Our cars are something special and like that special woman take constant attention and finesse. If that "woman" is giving you so much trouble you want to "kill" it, its best to walk away and get a divorce....from either before you do something you will regret.
I hope you find your answer here or with the suppliers. Good luck with your project and remember that best laid (modding) plans can get derailed pretty quick. Adapt and overcome!!
05-31-2014, 11:55 AM
#8
Drifting
Member Since: Dec 2007
Location: Sumter South Carolina
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I had same problem with my spec 2+. Did you break the thing in first? Cause you cant just go stomping it and expect it to be perfect. I drove 500 miles on mine (very slightly modded L98) and it still slipped. I ended up having to drive for about a month and a half on the sucker ~1000 miles before it finally started locking up. Now I track the car hard and no problems what so ever. It just took a long time to finally break in. It still chatters a little every once in a while but not enough for me to worry about.
Ill take second in line if you want to give it away. If I were you just slap a carb on it and go. I know its tempting to do everything at once but sounds like you really took on a big job and chances for something to mess up is a lot higher. Fix two, upgrade one.
Ill take second in line if you want to give it away. If I were you just slap a carb on it and go. I know its tempting to do everything at once but sounds like you really took on a big job and chances for something to mess up is a lot higher. Fix two, upgrade one.
05-31-2014, 02:03 PM
#9
Welcome to the world of modifications.
My car breaks every other day too. And I've only put about 1000 miles on it since October when I started modifying it, since then there has been a problem all the time.
My car breaks every other day too. And I've only put about 1000 miles on it since October when I started modifying it, since then there has been a problem all the time.
05-31-2014, 05:23 PM
#10
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2001
Location: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, SoCal, back to Boston MA
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Welcome to the multi year build club 
Don't know about your clutch but my dual disk is holding up well with my Supercharged 383
Perhaps the latter gen guys can help out with the coil?
Don't know about your clutch but my dual disk is holding up well with my Supercharged 383
Perhaps the latter gen guys can help out with the coil?
05-31-2014, 07:37 PM
#12
Safety Car
06-01-2014, 07:43 PM
#14
Race Director
Not that my 2 cents worth means squat....but you 'should try' to not allow the boost to engage. The clutch DOES NEED to have time to seat.
What type of disc material did you use? I know the Kevlar discs so not like to be allowed to slip. They like shifting to be quick.
I tell all my customers with new clutches....that if it comes back and it is burnt, hot-spots or badly worn...WITH the 500+ mile break-in time....it is on them.
I use ONLY SPEC clutches at my shop...and have not had a problem with them EXCEPT from people who 'think' they know how to use a manual..but in reality...they do not.....and I am not writing that you do not know how to use a clutch. I take a drive with the customer and watch how they work the clutch, shift, etc...and 'try' to correct bad learned behavior....but in some cases it is met with opposition.
DUB
What type of disc material did you use? I know the Kevlar discs so not like to be allowed to slip. They like shifting to be quick.
I tell all my customers with new clutches....that if it comes back and it is burnt, hot-spots or badly worn...WITH the 500+ mile break-in time....it is on them.
I use ONLY SPEC clutches at my shop...and have not had a problem with them EXCEPT from people who 'think' they know how to use a manual..but in reality...they do not.....and I am not writing that you do not know how to use a clutch. I take a drive with the customer and watch how they work the clutch, shift, etc...and 'try' to correct bad learned behavior....but in some cases it is met with opposition.
DUB
06-01-2014, 08:15 PM
#15
Melting Slicks
06-01-2014, 08:35 PM
#16
Le Mans Master
The Input shaft of the black tag is thicker. I saw a post awhile ago that had the exact difference, but that's not a big deal. The TO bearing for the blue tag has a white nylon sleeve inside, the black tag bearing does not. If this is the original, and it's a 1990, then it is probably a black tag. Blue tags were '94 -'96.
It sounds like you might have to go back into your clutch assembly, and that sucks, but hey, there are worse things out there.
There are two things I would look at. First, check for glazing on the friction surfaces. When I did my clutch last year, I was told by a couple of people in the know that I should put about 500 miles of easy driving on it before really getting into it, and glazing is the reason why. I also roughed up the surfaces a bit with some maroon scotchbrite, and cleaned and dried them really well, being extra careful not to get any oil of grease on the friction surfaces. Which easier said than done in the belly of an almost 20 year old car.
The other thing to check is the pivot stud and clutch fork. The pivot stud can get worn with grooving on the contact points, which can defect the fork, and make clutch operation an overall P.I.A. It is also entirely possible that a procharged 383 LT4 could be throwing a bit more torque than that stage II can deal with. Not sure about that though.
Two good resources I found were Jim Jandik at powertorquesystems.com and Bill Bourdreaux at ZFdoc.com.
It sounds like you might have to go back into your clutch assembly, and that sucks, but hey, there are worse things out there.
There are two things I would look at. First, check for glazing on the friction surfaces. When I did my clutch last year, I was told by a couple of people in the know that I should put about 500 miles of easy driving on it before really getting into it, and glazing is the reason why. I also roughed up the surfaces a bit with some maroon scotchbrite, and cleaned and dried them really well, being extra careful not to get any oil of grease on the friction surfaces. Which easier said than done in the belly of an almost 20 year old car.
The other thing to check is the pivot stud and clutch fork. The pivot stud can get worn with grooving on the contact points, which can defect the fork, and make clutch operation an overall P.I.A. It is also entirely possible that a procharged 383 LT4 could be throwing a bit more torque than that stage II can deal with. Not sure about that though.
Two good resources I found were Jim Jandik at powertorquesystems.com and Bill Bourdreaux at ZFdoc.com.
Last edited by lt4obsesses; 06-01-2014 at 08:37 PM.
06-01-2014, 10:52 PM
#18
The Input shaft of the black tag is thicker. I saw a post awhile ago that had the exact difference, but that's not a big deal. The TO bearing for the blue tag has a white nylon sleeve inside, the black tag bearing does not. If this is the original, and it's a 1990, then it is probably a black tag. Blue tags were '94 -'96.
It sounds like you might have to go back into your clutch assembly, and that sucks, but hey, there are worse things out there.
There are two things I would look at. First, check for glazing on the friction surfaces. When I did my clutch last year, I was told by a couple of people in the know that I should put about 500 miles of easy driving on it before really getting into it, and glazing is the reason why. I also roughed up the surfaces a bit with some maroon scotchbrite, and cleaned and dried them really well, being extra careful not to get any oil of grease on the friction surfaces. Which easier said than done in the belly of an almost 20 year old car.
The other thing to check is the pivot stud and clutch fork. The pivot stud can get worn with grooving on the contact points, which can defect the fork, and make clutch operation an overall P.I.A. It is also entirely possible that a procharged 383 LT4 could be throwing a bit more torque than that stage II can deal with. Not sure about that though.
Two good resources I found were Jim Jandik at powertorquesystems.com and Bill Bourdreaux at ZFdoc.com.
It sounds like you might have to go back into your clutch assembly, and that sucks, but hey, there are worse things out there.
There are two things I would look at. First, check for glazing on the friction surfaces. When I did my clutch last year, I was told by a couple of people in the know that I should put about 500 miles of easy driving on it before really getting into it, and glazing is the reason why. I also roughed up the surfaces a bit with some maroon scotchbrite, and cleaned and dried them really well, being extra careful not to get any oil of grease on the friction surfaces. Which easier said than done in the belly of an almost 20 year old car.
The other thing to check is the pivot stud and clutch fork. The pivot stud can get worn with grooving on the contact points, which can defect the fork, and make clutch operation an overall P.I.A. It is also entirely possible that a procharged 383 LT4 could be throwing a bit more torque than that stage II can deal with. Not sure about that though.
Two good resources I found were Jim Jandik at powertorquesystems.com and Bill Bourdreaux at ZFdoc.com.
Last edited by smooth1990; 06-01-2014 at 10:54 PM.
06-02-2014, 10:19 AM
#19
Instructor
If you lived closer I could just head over there and help you get this thing running. Building a 383 is a cake walk I have no clue how the shop you brought it to messed it up 3 times. Don't need to remove near that much material to clear the rod bolts. Even if a hole gets put in the block I would rather try brazing the hole shut vs putting in some block seal crap and hoping for the best... Really hope you get some money back from them.
06-02-2014, 06:46 PM
#20
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2001
Location: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, SoCal, back to Boston MA
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Not that my 2 cents worth means squat....but you 'should try' to not allow the boost to engage. The clutch DOES NEED to have time to seat.
What type of disc material did you use? I know the Kevlar discs so not like to be allowed to slip. They like shifting to be quick.
I tell all my customers with new clutches....that if it comes back and it is burnt, hot-spots or badly worn...WITH the 500+ mile break-in time....it is on them.
I use ONLY SPEC clutches at my shop...and have not had a problem with them EXCEPT from people who 'think' they know how to use a manual..but in reality...they do not.....and I am not writing that you do not know how to use a clutch. I take a drive with the customer and watch how they work the clutch, shift, etc...and 'try' to correct bad learned behavior....but in some cases it is met with opposition.
DUB
What type of disc material did you use? I know the Kevlar discs so not like to be allowed to slip. They like shifting to be quick.
I tell all my customers with new clutches....that if it comes back and it is burnt, hot-spots or badly worn...WITH the 500+ mile break-in time....it is on them.
I use ONLY SPEC clutches at my shop...and have not had a problem with them EXCEPT from people who 'think' they know how to use a manual..but in reality...they do not.....and I am not writing that you do not know how to use a clutch. I take a drive with the customer and watch how they work the clutch, shift, etc...and 'try' to correct bad learned behavior....but in some cases it is met with opposition.
DUB
My tuner had me drive it off boost for 200 miles before he took it to the dyno
If it was an automatic he would have broke the engine in on the dyno