Failing pressure plate? Fidanza 4.3

Hmbre97

Eaton powered
Established Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2005
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Location
Austin, TX
To start, my setup is the Fidanza 4.3 26 spline with an OEM steel flywheel and an OEM cable.

I bought this clutch a few years ago and am just now getting around to using it. I installed it at the same time as my new motor so I've been taking it easy on both during break-in.

I put approx 125 miles on the car before I started having issues. Clutch engagement and disengagement were just fine and I had my firewall adjuster set so that there was just the tiniest amount of play between the TOB and PP fingers. The clutch engagement came about mid stroke on the clutch pedal so all was good.

Saturday I was driving back from a car show and was rolling up to a red light. I pressed in the clutch pedal and all felt normal until it got to about where the clutch would disengage. The clutch pedal then got soft all of a sudden like when you hit an air pocket in your brakes. The clutch still disengaged but a lot further down the pedal. Of course as I felt the mushy pedal, I depressed it a few more times and it felt very weird. It felt like a lot of the tension was gone and after 3-4 pumps of the pedal, I could no longer disengage the clutch. My first thought was something cable related but I could feel there was still some tension. Luckily I was close to home and was able to limp it home rev matching to shift.

Inspection of the cable didn't reveal anything and all looked fine with the shift fork; no excess play or wobbling. I adjusted out my firewall adjuster and now I could engage the clutch again but toward the bottom of the pedal. Took the car out for a drive and I could immediately tell each time I pressed the clutch pedal, the engagement point was moving further down the pedal, almost like the cable was stretching a little bit each time. Barely made it back home before I lost the engagement point again. Got back under the car and found something strange. I took the cable off the fork and found that there is lot more gap between the fork/tob and the PP fingers. The fork has to travel further forward before it even touches the pressure plate fingers.

Anyone ever heard of a PP failing like this?
 

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