Clutch still slipping

[AZPete]

I thought I had the slipping clutch solved when I was just go-karting around the neighborhood but now that I have plates and I can tromp it, the tach needle goes up quickly as the speedometer needle climbs slowly. Lots of rev/little Go. Does your clutch lever rest on the bell housing opening like this photo? Is the lever pivot adjustable? The pivot has a 19mm hex base but the FSM has no mention of adjusting it. (06 WRX 5MT with new disc and cover) Thanks.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/AZPeteCobra/clutch%20lever%20at%20rest.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/user/AZPeteCobra/media/clutch%20lever%20at%20rest.jpg.html)

FIXED! See the end of this thread about seating the pivot into the arm.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Pete
these are the best picture I have with the slave cylinder sitting in the engaged position. unfortunately the boot is on.

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Is it possible the ball isn't snapped into the arm?
Bob

[AZPete]

Thanks, Bob, for the pics. The plunger of the slave cylinder is sitting in the dish at the top of the lever arm. When you say "the ball snapped into the arm" do you mean the rounded end of the pivot? I'm not at home now but I don't recall it snapping into the lever arm.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Thanks, Bob, for the pics. The plunger of the slave cylinder is sitting in the dish at the top of the lever arm. When you say "the ball snapped into the arm" do you mean the rounded end of the pivot? I'm not at home now but I don't recall it snapping into the lever arm.
it snaps between to two rods
51839

I don't think the ball is adjustable, it just screws in tight.

Sometimes the nose of the transmission gets damages and doesn't allow the TO bearing to slide freely. They make a sleeve and special bearing to fix this.

Bob

[Zarf]

Hi Pete
When the clutch is in a free state there should be no pressure on the clutch pressure plate other than the necessary very light contact if you have a lot of tension on the fork the clutch could be applied causing slippage..
Hope this helps Andrew :)

[Loring]

+1 for not seated on the ball, though I have to say, I'd think one application of the clutch would force the clip into place.

Seeing that the boot isn't on, can you take a borescope/mirror and flashlight and see where the pivot is hitting. Sometimes phone camera pics with flash can give you a good eye on what's happening.

[AZPete]

Thanks guys! I can see that the ball end of the pivot is snapped between the rods like Bob's photo. Compared to Bob's photo it looks like my lever arm is further frontwards (towards the flywheel) than his and my slave piston is less extended than his. I'm wondering if I installed the disc or the release bearing backwards. (One trouble with DIY is there's nobody else to blame!) I found pics taken when I installed the disc, pressure plate and release bearing. I think the disc and pressure plate look right, but now I question the release bearing. The FSM doesn't show it very well but I installed it with the prongs towards the back of the car, away from the flywheel. It looks right because it seems to hold the arms of the lever, but is that correct or installed backwards?
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I guess my next step is to remove the rear body piece, axles, transaxle, and clutch and reassemble but I'd like to know what I'm looking for if any of you guys have a clue. There's no oily evidence of grease on the disc. Zarf, I can't tell if the lever arm is under pressure because the slave piston is pushing it more than I can move by hand.
Thanks for your help!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Pete,
Your pressure plate fingers are different than most. Did you double check the application?
Bob

[wallace18]

Pet is the disc a Kevlar unit? If it is and some slipping has incurred it is most likely shot. You have to do a break-in period on those. I had one in my 78 vette resto I did and did not break it in correctly and used it up in 5 minutes.

[bompus]

Pete,

One more possibility. Make sure your axles are fully inserted into the transmission. I've heard reports that if one or both of them are not fully locked in, it will simulate a slipping clutch situation.

[Loring]

I just took a look at a few things, and I'm not sure from your pictures if this will help or is the problem but...

It looks like your third picture in your past post shows the fork is too low. The pivot point in the fork isn't aligned with the ball on the transmission. I was just playing around with mine and it was easy to do, and it would appear that it might be the case based on the position of the fork. This, however, would cause the slave cylinder to be misaligned with the fork, so it should be pretty obvious. If you need pictures, let me know. My transmission is on the ground (and still dirty AF).

[AZPete]

First, thank you guys for the help!
Bob, I found a photo of the donor pressure plate and I think my new one looks the same. And, I expanded the new photo enough to read the part number, which is what the FSM lists. So, can I check this off my list?
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Tom, thanks for the idea but my disc is not Kevlar, it is an OE WRX disc.
Loring, I agree that it seems like a problem with the release arm and the pivot but the arm and pivot seem to be in the correct position. I can see where the pivot ball contacts the arm and it is in the recess. The slave cylinder plunger is aligned with the recess in the top of the arm. I found a photo of the donor release bearing and arm as received, and the new parts look correct, right?
52033

Bompus suggested that the axles may not be seated - a good idea that would explain everything. So, I jacked up the rear. In neutral, each wheel turns freely and the wheel on the other side does not move. In gear, each wheel turns and the wheel on the opposite side turns the opposite way. I then lowered the car down and in neutral the car rolls, of course, and in gear the car tries to turn the engine over when pushed, as expected. Is this a good test for the axles being engaged in the transaxle?

I'm really frustrated that I can't find the cause of the slipping clutch! This evening, I'll remove the intercooler and take the slave cylinder off in hopes of finding a problem with the release arm (under tension?) as Zarf suggested. I've checked the hydraulics and that system seems to be working fine. Again, I've burned out a lot of brain cells on this clutch mystery and appreciate your suggestions!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Pete,
The only thing I can think of, is that the pivot ball is not screwed in tight.
Bob

[AZPete]

Bob, I think the same thing, so today I bought a short 19mm open-end wrench that might work better than the 19mm I tried before. I'll try it tonight after I try to clean the threads of the pivot post. Fingers crossed.

[Zarf]

got a strange suggestion for you before removing the gearbox to check the clutch how about releasing the clutch slave bleeder letting the pressure out then put the car in say 2nd & crank start the engine to drive the car obviously you won't have a clutch but the idea is to eliminate the possibility of the master cylinder retaining pressure which will cause the clutch to be held on making it slip..
I've seen this at my workshop once in a ford laser by replacing the master I fixed a slipping clutch.. Very strange fault

Maybe worth a try..
Regards Andrew from oz

[michael everson]

Is it possible that its not the clutch slipping but something wrong with the 2 wheel drive adapter?
Mike

[AZPete]

Yes! It's fixed! Thanks to all!
I tried to screw on the pivot more and then noticed that maybe the pivot ball was not in the bottom of the cup in the arm. All this time it looked okay with the pivot snapped between the two rods but I pried the arm upwards with a long screwdriver and POP - the pivot ball seated into the arm! It was too late last night to test it, but this morning I did. This thing is now QUICK! All you guys helped but Bob, Zarf and Loring all were directing me to the arm and pivot. It turns out that Loring was exactly right. It looked good to me, as in the photo on the left, but I was wrong.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/AZPeteCobra/Pivot%20before%20after.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/user/AZPeteCobra/media/Pivot%20before%20after.jpg.html)
Thanks to all! But, what can I do on Sunday now that I don't have to replace the clutch? Oh . . . . I know . . . more test drives!!

[Zarf]

Good stuff :cool: well done...

[Loring]

Glad you got it all set up, buddy. You can see it on your "donor as received" picture that the shiny spots on the fork are sticking out below the t/o bearing. Also, I noticed that there appeared to be a 'gap' between the t/o fork and the top of the t/o bearing (where the fork makes a 'U') when the fork is in correctly.