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torsen spec 2 clutch noise?

tasso said:
MY man if you are going cmomment at least know what you are talking about. Have you ever done a clutch job? I will answer for you, NO.
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:rolleyes: Hmm okay. Look who is new to the world of Contours. Tasso.

You can install wrong! The PP can be over torqued and not torqed in the correct order?!!!!!!!!! The flywheel can also have grease on it and not machined evenly! You get a clue!!!! If you're such a genius why did you have a shop do it?
 
Yes it is possible to put it in backwards. However if you know what you are doing it is pretty much impossible to do it wrong. The general rule to follow is the springs always go in the pressure plate. The side that goes in is always fatter unless you have a real oddball like some of the Nissans and they always mark on the side that goes in so you dont goof it up. If you put it in backwards the springs would grind against the flywheel, it would make alot of noise engaging..
 
Hey Tod, lets talk. I am a 45 year old man who does machine work for a living. Right now in my shop on stands I have 1 fe engine that is going in my 68 big block mustang, I have 1 performance l67 engine that is going in 1 of my 3 GM 3800 supercharged cars I have 2 3.0 engines and a grand national short block., I also have 2 Ford SVT Contours and 1 SVT Mustang Cobra. Most of the major distributors of gm l67 performance parts carry my products, superchargersonline carries my products. I am a authorized seller to GM dealerships for rebuilt superchargers. I also have 2 ebay power seller accounts that I sell rebuilt superchargers and performance parts at the store link, comp cams distributor etc.. Shoot me a email on ebay through one of my listings and I will tell you your a toad. I own the trade name AmericanSupercharger and produce modular pulleys for all Eaton and Kennebell superchargers under that name. You can hold my jockstrap when it comes to cars and performance and thats about it. When I tell you the Spec clutches failed that is what happened!!!
http://stores.ebay.com/SuperchargedPerformance
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...RK:MESE:IT&viewitem=&item=180100468600&rd=1,1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MESE:IT&viewitem=&item=220096117546&rd=1&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Must...039934376QQcategoryZ33741QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thats my background Tod, what is yours???
 
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Y2KSVT said:
Kevlar + expensive = why? :help:

Mark
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i will say that i did not look around before i got mine. my stock was done when i bought the car. but i had it put in before i found this web site. but it has taken one hell of a beating and still strong. Ive got about 10k on it. but when i get a HMS trans I'm going back to stock svt clutch. because thats all i will need. yea i don't really recommend mine because of cost. but this clutch holds
 
I can say that my svt flywheel was prepped and surfaced prior to having my spec installed when it was new. I got a lot of shuddering during launches, which I thought would have been part of the break-in but it still does it. However, during my engine rebuild last summer I had the shop install my spec flywheel. I am starting to suspect that maybe the shop didn't resurface or prep the flywheel as they should have. But when they got to that part of the rebuild they called me and told me my clutch looked terrible and would need replaced. They said they would install a new one for free and I could buy it from whoever I wanted, but they suggested it looked pretty bad. I, being the dumba$$ that I am, told them it was impossible that my clutch was going out because it was barely two years old and was a reputable brand. I chose to believe that my clutch was fine, and here I am with a bad clutch. I admit that it is my fault for not making sure the new flywheel was prepped correctly (it may or may not have been), and my fault for not taking the shop seriously when they said my clutch needed replaced. :blackeye:
 
If you had used a stock svt clutch that typically lasts 75,000-100,000 miles or more you would not be in the position you are now and neither would I. Spec clutches are garbage!
 
tasso said:
If you had used a stock svt clutch that typically lasts 75,000-100,000 miles or more you would not be in the position you are now and neither would I. Spec clutches are garbage!
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will you please get over yourself .... even classvt says he wasn't sure if the clutch was installed right ... so it pretty much seems to me that most spec clutch failures are from miss installation since no hard evidence has been shown that the clutch was what really was wrong and failed ...

please provide hard evidence of why your clutch failed and not hersay, along with everyone else and let every deside for themselves ...

stop forcing the fact you hate spec clutches down our throats :nonono:
 
I will tell you why. Because there are a couple people who continue to tell everyone to buy Spec clutches and always have a excuse for the clutch. Let me throw your point right back at you now. Give me some examples of stock SVT clutches that are failing and or having the problems that these Spec units are? Miss instalation is BS!! When Matty K takes his out this weekend and the clutch is toast I bet money a couple dim lightbulbs will be on here saying that his problem was that the clutch was installed wrong. IF so many clutches are installed wrong PLEASE get back to all of us with examples of the SVT clutch having ALL these installation failures????
 
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well this isn't about SVT clutch failures its about spec failures ... and its safe to same that most who have had to replace the clutch have upgraded ... so the clutch was installed at the factory so you can so any miss install proof there ...

you seem to forget on a whole those who are running a spec clutch have no issues ... but you insist on saying the majority is wrong and that the clutch is crap ... I'll believe it when I see proof ... but the majority of proof is that clutch works fine if installed correctly sicne that is what has happened with the majority ... maybe there was a bad run, who knows ...

and btw I am not telling people to get a spec ... people need to research and make a choice ... now you just keep yelling they are bad without proof .... :rolleyes:
 
HOLD ON there you cant have your cake and eat it to. My point is very simple and solid. If so many people mess up on clutch installs and put them in wrong then the stock SVT clutch replacements would also be failing from poor installation. WHERE ARE THOSE FAILURES I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THEM!???
 
My SPEC stage 1 is close to hitting 40k, 3.0L miles.

My factory installed SVT stock clutch went 37k miles before needing replaced.(Yes, I'm the original owner)

My OEM replacement(LUK) clutch went 14k miles before the PP came apart and the springs came flying out.

Kind of strange how the stock SVT clutch and the stock replacement(LUK) clutch went out with just a 2.5L, while my SPEC clutch is holding up perfectly after almost 40k miles on the 3.0L. :idea:

Mark
 
OK that is one svt that went at 40,000 miles, and your right that is lower mileage but I do not think typical of the mileage most get. I dont think I would compare that to the 6 Spec issues in this thread alone. I want to hear about stock svt replacements having issues because of bad installation at the low mileage that these Specs are? You are missing the point of my question. It is being said that the Spec units are failing because of bad installation. If that is true and so many people cant put these in the right way where are the stock SVT clutch failures from poor installation at low mileage?
 
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And Slimshady had one go at 36k. And Conner had one go as well. Those are just off the top of my head. I lose count of the things I've read over the years I've been here. I can tell you dropping a trans isn't my idea of a good time. If I had any doubts of the quality of clutches I install I would change. Until something happens to one of my installs I might think about changing to something else. BTW the Spec SZ 07 shipment arrived yesterday!!! Woot on $100 gift certificate, 10 t-shirts, license plate frames and stickers. LOL! Best company I've delt with.
 
tasso,

There are plenty of guys here that have run the spec clutches for a long time without failure, and there have been noted issues for problems as well. Every product has some % of bad parts, but I find it statistically very hard to believe that you got 4 of the worst parts that Spec ever made for the contour. This leads me to believe that there is something wrong with your installation process or driving habits, or whatever that is contributing to your excessive number of clutch failures. Even if spec really was the worst clutch manufacturer known to man it is pretty much statistically impossible for you to have that many random quality related failures.

Now, if you want to continue any sort of discussion here, let's try to be rational and intelligent; and try to bring some technical content that contributes to the discussion rather than unsubstantiated claims of failures. Do you have pics of any of the failed parts? More accurate descriptions of what was happening when the part failed? (specifically the 15 mile old failure) How they failed, etc etc etc.

And don't play the qualifications game in here, I guarantee I've got you beat by a long ways (and I'm still nothing special in the automotive world), as do a number of folks here just in general. And for contour specific stuff, there are a few guys in here that I regularly go to for answers myself . . .
 
Rara,

First I have not had 4 Spec failures and did not say that anywhere in this thread. I have posted all this but here goes again. 1st Spec unit failed at 18,000 miles. Had alot of fine powder in the housing, the friction surface wore out. Car was driven modestly. Put the second spec unit in and that day the clutch at a stop sign had no grip at all. Pulled the tranny and the Spec friction plate on the flywheel side was fine, looked like new. The other side the material had disentegrated into powder. Car was driven like grandma for those 15 miles and there was no install issue. So now the third clutch is in and it is a Stage 2 which moans and makes noise upon engagement. It has not failed but it is pretty obnoxious to live with.

I played the qualification game with one person on here. If you look at his posts he has a tendency to come accross on the belittling side. I would like to hear how you have me beat by a long ways, send me a pm and tell me about it. I am at Atco New Jersey every weekend in the summer if you ever want to see me or my son run!

As for me being rational and intelligent my questions are right on. We have someone here who keeps insisting that any problem with a spec clutch is caused by installer error. He has also said in this thread that I am the only person that has ever had a issue with a Spec clutch. Several people are posting issues who have Spec clutches installed. If so many people can not do the install the right way, my question is totally "RATIONAL AND INTELLIGENT". Where are the people who put STOCK SVT replacement clutches in the wrong way with low mileage under 20,000 problems?

Just an add here about the second Spec that failed immediately after install. At the same time a new Fidenza Flywheel was installed with the second Spec clutch. The flywheel had no damage or hotspots when failed clutch was removed.

Also a second add just because I mentioned Atco. The Contours have never been to a 1/4 mile track in case your thinking we race these and get abused. The cars we do take to the track run in the 10's-12's. I used to have a 8 second car but I got tired of rebuilding the engine every 50 runs.
 
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BrApple said:
will you please get over yourself .... even classvt says he wasn't sure if the clutch was installed right ... so it pretty much seems to me that most spec clutch failures are from miss installation since no hard evidence has been shown that the clutch was what really was wrong and failed ...

please provide hard evidence of why your clutch failed and not hersay, along with everyone else and let every deside for themselves ...

stop forcing the fact you hate spec clutches down our throats :nonono:
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Yes but that doesn't mean that it was installed incorrectly. I can't prove it either way. But Tod, how is it that I should have it replaced after two years just because the tranny is out? That's ridamdiculous. A clutch should last longer than the 15k miles that I put on it during those two years of fairly easy driving. And I have read more than a few posts about people having problem with spec clutches. Garbage?... I don't know about that. But this has created significant doubt in my mind that spec is as high of quality as oem or other brands. It would be one heck of a coincidence that more than a few people on different forums are all having their clutches installed incorrectly. I don't know what to think, honestly. I'm leaning towards oem.
 
todras said:
And Slimshady had one go at 36k. And Conner had one go as well. Those are just off the top of my head. I lose count of the things I've read over the years I've been here. I can tell you dropping a trans isn't my idea of a good time. If I had any doubts of the quality of clutches I install I would change. Until something happens to one of my installs I might think about changing to something else. BTW the Spec SZ 07 shipment arrived yesterday!!! Woot on $100 gift certificate, 10 t-shirts, license plate frames and stickers. LOL! Best company I've delt with.
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If that's all it takes to buy you, then I say go fer it.......SPEC RULZ I got a shirt to prove it!!!!!!!!!
 
Noise

Noise

Anyway, back to the origional subject, check your tranny fluid just in case. My SHO had no puddles of fluid, but went low and made the noise you described. I'll never do that one again.
 
Since this topic is back on subject and the need to look at it intelligently was mentioned, I would like to add the following.

Always take advise from the tree that actually bears fruit, not the one who just talks about it.

So, in order to maintain some sort of logic I propose we listen to the people whom actually have relevant experience based on the logically ordered set of criteria (these are "ands" for those familiar with logic statements):

1. Gainfully employed
2. Gainfully employed in the field of the topic in discussion
3. Actual experience in the field of the topic in discussion
4. Post High-School education in the field of the topic in discussion

Weekend warriors/shade tree mechanics need not reply.........

Then again, this is why I do not post here much, if at all...too many Ego's with nothing to back it up.

I will probably get all sorts of fun mail on this one, but......do not care....

Jeff
 
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