LS1 clutch hydraulics FTL
 

I'm not sure if it's my master cylinder or slave cylinder that is making my clutch stick. At the track I've had a problem with the clutch sticking to the floor on the launch a few times(I think the master is at fault). But then last night I went to powershift into 3rd and the clutch stuck to the floor again(probably the master again), but ever since then my clutch peddle has not felt right. It will come up all the way, but after about 3/4 of the way up it releases slower. Also, I had a lot of trouble getting the car to go into reverse and 1st today.


If I replace the master cylinder with an adj. one that flows more fluid will it prolong the life of the slave cylinder that may be on it's way out? The reason I ask is because I just purchased a tick adjustable master cylinder for the car and wanted to see how far I could push the stock clutch, but I won't make it to the track if the slave cylinder takes a ****.

What exactly fails in the slave cylinder? And would having more fluid flow to it make it last a little longer?

you have to do the drill mod to the master cylinder line. GM restricted it for some ungodly reason, and you need to drill it out bigger...

and it would be a good time to upgrade to 01-02 hydraulics

I know about the drill mod, but I figured that since my master has 180K on it it'd be smarter just to replace it. I got a good deal on a tick adjustable master cylinder. The Tick Performance master cylinder includes a larger outlet line that feeds the slave cylinder, so the car will essential have the drill mod and then some. Idk if that'll fix my sticky clutch under normal driving problem though. I was searching over on LS1tech and it seems to be pointing to the slave cylinder when the clutch sticks under normal driving. So will flowing more fluid into a weak slave cylinder make it any stronger?

pedal sticks to the floor when the clutch slips and the fluid boils causing air bubbles in the fluid. same thing used to happen to me under heavy acceleration, got a new clutch and no more pedal sucking to the floor

The car was pretty cold when I first noticed the problem. At first I thought it was the clutch so I got on a road and put it into 5th at 35 mph and punched it. It held so I don't think it's the clutch. The clutch grabs right off of the floor and only has roughly 50k on it. I'm kind of hoping that it's the master cylinder because I don't feel like dropping the trans....yet.

do you have stock clutch?

Yes, and the clutch has seen about 40 passes on it at the track.

I was talking to my dad about it(retired mechanic), and he said that if it's not the clutch hydraulics, I may have damaged the pressure plate. I'm going to take the car out for a spin in a few minutes and see how it holds.


Edit: Just took the car for a spin on the parkway. I think I can almost rule out the clutch. The clutch is grabbing and holding well. I spin all the way through the top of 2nd. Also, I dropped it down into 6th at 45 mph and punched it and the tack very slowly rose from 1000 rpm. The peddle feels very spongy to me, I have never flushed the hydraulic system since I got the car, but with the car cold and off, the peddle still feels spongy. I'm guessing this is from having a weak master cylinder?

91Droptop, thanks for all of the replies.

tick master, new gm slave = no more problems

That's the way I plan to eventually go. I just didn't want to have to drop the trans already. I wanted that as a nice summer project.

The tick master is a great upgrade, but nothing will improove the function of a failing slave cylinder if it is indeed dying. You don't have to worry about drilling out the fitting with the tick master because it comes with a larger line in the kit..

Yea, that's why I was willing to spend 2x the $ of a regular GM master cylinder. I don't want to mess around with drilling the line out. Think you could PM me a price on a slave/flywheel/and clutch. I'd want something that's a good street/strip clutch that could easily hold 450rwhp if I decide to spray.

While you have the trans down for josh to do the clutch, get the trans done. If you are gonna be at the track a lot you are gonna want that peace of mind of having fresh, improved equipment to rely on.

BTW, Josh did my clutch and it is sweet.

haha...will you be paying for the bill? Last time I checked I'm a 17 year old high school student with a part time job making 10K a year if I'm lucky. Right now I'm going to do the master cylinder and see how it works out. The car actually is driving a little better, I haven't had the clutch get stuck to the floor in the past 2 days.