Satori

Man, I read about 19 pages into timzcat's "Clutch poll" and decided to try removing that restrictor. What a huge difference! From the moment I got the car the clutch seemed kind of weak and unpredictable. Now that I’ve taken out the restrictor and had a good look at it I can see why. How the hell you are supposed to be able to get any kind of predictable clutch release from hydraulics flowing through that tiny pinhole is totally beyond me. Seems like Mitsubishi went out of its way to try and kill these clutches. Pictures just don’t convey how damn small that opening is. I couldn’t even downshift with the clutch before without bouncing the car around – I had to match engine speed with the driveline to downshift smoothly (i.e. like how you would shift a tranny without any syncros).

Anyway, now that it’s out of there the clutch feels 100% predictable. It’s still a little weird how much pedal travel there is before it fully engages but at least now it’s something I can get used to. I read some advice several times about removing the restrictor in my 2g DSM, and I never did so because frankly it was never an issue. The clutch always acted predictably and linearly. It is completely opposite with the Evo. It still feels a little weak, probably due to over assistance, not because of the clutch itself -- but I’m much more confident that I won’t damage my clutch now.

Thank you, timzcat, for calling so much attention to these issues about clutch longevity. I think you’ve just saved me a lot of frustration and not a small amount of money. I was starting to think I must be some kind of **** for not being able to get the hang of this clutch. I’m glad I caught it when I’ve only got 420 miles on the car.

cheers

exhaust_note

iTrader: (4)

cool... i think im gonna go read those 19 pages unless someone get give me some cliff notes...

Satori

lol, it's like 25 pages. 19 was as far as I could sit thru.

timzcat

iTrader: (10)

Satori,

I think credit goes to the DSM community for knowing about this already. I just wanted to contribute with some good conversation and /or information to the problem.


Cliff Notes:

The clutch has little to no feel with the restrictor as far as engagement point. Removal of the restrictor and spring gives you all that feel back and makes it "normal".

Upside, more feel of engagement, better drivability and as a result more clutch longevitiy. (less likely to slip and burn)

Downside, if you like to make 5000 RPM type clutch drop launches, like with drag racing, you risk breaking a drivetrain component. Knowing the fragility of the clutch and the potential to break something in the drivetrain, your ahead of the game if you do decide to drag it. You just have to find a nice smooth engagement to launch.

I have never smelled my clutch and have accidentally slipped it a couple of times. I also have never launched it at higher RPM.
Eventually I will make it to the track to see what it runs and some day it will need a clutch and I will probably just go with the ACT clutch.

Mxt 1

im curious about this clutch issue. do most people, who experience problems, drag race a lot and/or downshift by utilizing the synchros instead of rev matching? or does the clutch prematurly fail from normail daily driving. if this case is true, then it's should be an obvious oversight and auto magazines would have mentioned such in their reviews.

Satori

Tell you what, I put 50k miles on my Eclipse on the stock clutch and never used to rev match the tranny to donwshift. I also launched it very regularly while pushing 15 lbs. of boost and never had a problem with any driveline component, clutch included.

If these things are burning up at 5-10k miles, regardless of rev matching or hard launches, there is a severe problem. What the problem is is still open to debate, but it's there.

Granted, mine was a FWD and I could spin the tires whereas the Evo won't, but I still haven't heard of this many GSX owners with the stock clutch going out at this early stage.

exhaust_note

iTrader: (4)

thankx for the cliff notes timzcat... i read the thread any way...

Delta00

Pardon my non-knowledge of transmissions but, is the clutch restrictor and actual part to the clutch, if i were to get an aftermarket clutch, would the restrictor be replaced, or is that a completely different component? If it is not replaced, is it still recomennded to be taken out w/ an aftermarket clutch.

mitsuorder

iTrader: (106)

I'm thinking about taking it out, I have recently installed an ACT set up and want this restrictor the hell out of there, anyone around New Braunfels, TX care to assist me in taking it out, I don't know how to bleed the lines and stuff.

Satori

The restrictor isn’t a part of the clutch assembly. It’s inside the clutch release cylinder which is the part that applies pressure to the clutch spring via a fork. It’s actually pretty easy to remove yourself if you are so inclined.

As for it being recommended or not… that’s hard to say. I would personally recommend you remove it whether you get an aftermarket clutch or not. But keep in mind two things. First, by removing this piece, you are voiding the factory warranty on your entire driveline. And two, by removing this part it is possible to exert enough force on your driveline to actually break something – which is why it was put there in the first place. Mitsubishi would rather you burn up a clutch which isn’t covered under warranty, than a transmission which is.

If you are good to your clutch and willing to take responsibility for your actions I’d have to vote to remove it. If you want to beat the hell out of your clutch I’d think twice before removing it. Which would you rather pay for, a new clutch or a new tranny?

Satori

Bleeding the clutch line is exactly the same as bleeding the breaks, if you've ever done that. Only difference is you need to push and release the clutch pedal instead of the break pedal. Put a clear hose over the bleeder tip and loosen it a little. Have a helper push in the clutch. With all the pressure out of the line, the clutch pedal isn’t going to come back up by itself. This is a good thing! Tighten the bleeder back up and have your helper pull the pedal back out. Keep repeating this until no more bubbles come out of the cylinder. You need to keep the fluid reservoir full of brake fluid during this process or you’ll end up having to start all over again!

In fact, the place you put brake fluid in for your brakes is exactly the same place you put brake fluid in for your clutch. It has a separate little reservoir inside. If you look at the brake fluid reservoir from the driver’s side, toward the back you will see a separate hose that leads to the firewall. From there it goes back out of the firewall to the clutch release cylinder. The bleeder screw is on top of that cylinder and will have a little black rubber cap on it.

BTW, you can bleed the clutch line totally dry and it will still leave brake fluid in there for the brakes. You sort of need to overfill the reservoir when you start bleeding the clutch line out and keep that thing full. Once all the bubbles are out of the line, stop adding fluid. At this point you could either siphon out the excess fluid or just keep bleeding it until the fluid level goes down to normal.

I don’t recommend doing this from under the car unless you want brake fluid dripping into your face the whole time. It would also be much more difficult to bleed the line from underneath. You need to remove the air cleaner assembly to get to the clutch release cylinder from the top. It also helps a lot to remove the battery as well but I don’t think it’s mandatory.

Zeus

iTrader: (66)

Could have done it for you today if you'd have felt like making the trek up to Austin... Tomorrow, I'm slammed...

KillaJay

hei bro. i know this thread is like 5 years ago. but what are your final opinion on removing the clutch restrictor. safe to do ?
im changin my clutch to an ACT, so your opinion would really help.
thanks