soccer1061287

OK SS4LIfe, yours is hitting the bell housing exactly where mine is, only your interference was greater than mine. I sent pix to clutchmasters last night and asked that they overnight it to me for saturday delivery so I can have the car back on the road by monday. We will see how far they are willing to go to minimize the inconvenience they caused the customer who spent good money on their product. In the downtime, I will install my stage 2 and eibachs. Just FYI, use your best business attitude in this case, becasue most courts would side with clutchmasters regarding your consequential damages that resulted from their product. IE - whatever you get over and above the new design clutch is good will on their part. I would think that they would give you one of their flywheels, but the starter is a bit of a stretch. Looking at your pix, I would suggest that you check into taking the nose piece off and having that area aluminum welded ($20 - 30) and then grind the outside surface to proper profile and have a machine shop run a boring bit down in the hole to reshape it. Easily all under $100. Another option is to check out junk yards and ebay for a used starter. All you need is the cone.

2K5SS/SC?

WOW! You definately win the worst damage thus far award! That really sucks!

SS4LIfe

They are working with me on the problem and I spoke with lonnie (not ronnie lol) but he has great customer service. He said to that he didn't want pics all over the internet since the problem is sloved so thats why i took them down, He said he didn't care if i took them down or not but, since he helped me i will help him.

2K5SS/SC?

I suppose I could do the same here. Give me a little bit to do so.

SS_SC_Cobalt

well CM contacted me via email and we just spoke, def a stand up group, they are 3 daying the new FX clutch to me and call tagging the old one ASAP, seems they are finding that the G85 equipped cars are having the problems.... but it's definitely got them on their toes A++ customer service!

JBP should learn from them big time!

soccer1061287

Yeah, I got a call from them too. I thought you were being a bit harsh on them regarding the picture thing. It makes sense that we take pictures to document the issue, but since they are being so pro-active about the solution, I think they deserve to be complimented as you have done. Unfortunately for a company that sees the big picture like these guys, there are probably 5 that only look at the short term bottom line and proceed to do the wrong thing. So us consumers of products have come to anticipate that we are gonna get screwed which affects our outlook. I'm glad I bought my Clutchmasters setup and that my gamble with a relatively unproven product appears to have paid off.

2K5SS/SC?

Great new and a little rough news.

Great news: The clutch is in the car and it doesn't squeal anymore!

Rough news: We could not get the car into 1st or Reverse! They pressure bled the clutch, which I heard was bad for our system. I told them they need to vacuum bleed it for it to work wright. It is going to be vacuum bled, but the mechanics are waiting until Monday to do so because they wanted to get out the door ASAP since it's friday! I hope after we do that, all will be well.

SS4LIfe

awww i'm not likeing the sound of that, i don't have anyway to vacumm bleed, i was told to press the clutch in open bleeder, close bleeder, repeat, like bleeding brakes but with out the pumping.

2K5SS/SC?

This system has to be vacuum bled. There is no other way if you want it to wrok properly.

Floridas Finest SS

Well i'm having you same prob 2kss but mine won't disengage properly and its impossible to get into reverse without cutting the car off, so i called they told me to vacuum bleed i did it then, same problems my mechanics are pulling it out monday and talking to clutch masters.

2K5SS/SC?

Try this trick I just learned to finsih bleeding after most of the air is out. Push down the pedal slowly with your hand. Hold it to the floor, and have a friend open the bleeder. Once fluid comes out close the bleeder. Slowly pull the pedal back up with your hand, and then slowly press down to the floor again. Do this until you feel good resistence. Then once again slowly press the pedal to the floor and have your buddy open the bleeder to get the air out, and close it again. Repeat the hand pumping procedure until all the air is out. It has to be done by hand and really slowly to work right. Do not let the spring push the pedal back up or it won't work right. After a few times you should be able to start the car and get into gear without any problems! I guess Volvos, Saabs, and other have the same difficulty getting all the air out of these systems.

GSoccer24

^^how much did you pay for install?

2K5SS/SC?

I haven't paid a dime yet. The job still isn't finished. We'll see how the pay thing goes since the original problem was the car made a squealing noise that GM needed to fix before the clutch wnet in.

soccer1061287

CM overnighted my new clutch to me and like yours, 2K5SS/SC, the new one stacks up about 1/4" shorter than the other. I was installing my GMPP stage 2 and Eibach springs at the same time. The total install is about 1/2 done. Maybe I will finish on wednesday night. I cleaned the casting marks off of the supercharger while I had it out and painted it body color. Looks pretty good.

SS4LIfe

got it all put back together now i won't go into any gear unless the car is off i didn't change my pilot bearing i don't know what to do any suggestions

and when i start it in gear it shuts off or when i do get in gear and put my foot on the brake it shuts off, i think the the bearing isn't disengaging

2K5SS/SC?

That's where I was at until yesterday opened a whole other can of worms. GM spilled brake fluid on the elctronics i.e. black fuse box and fried them, so my car wont even start now! I have no desire to get this piece of crap back now!

CobaltSS313

i take it you mean g85 and yes CM told me the same thing, the only thing is i dont have the g85 and mine still rubbed into the bellhousing. it happens to ALL the trannys not just the g85.


Secondly CM is shipping out my new clutch kit today and it should be here by tomorrow.

as for your SS 2k5 that is absoloutley horrible knews and i feel your anger and heartache, id definatley want the car back at GM's expense to fix it. That just SUCKS!!!

clutchmasters

Well first off, we have been working hard on this issue to get to the bottom of it and come up with a solution. We have redesigned the kits with a taller diaphragm and lowered the cover to gain extra clearance between the bell housing. We are testing a couple units right now that are working flawlessly.
Unfortunately our initial tests on these kits did not give us any reasons to believe that there were any fitment issues, this caused us to jump the gun on production. Now we see that there is a definite problem with fitment, whether it is just with the M86 differentials or all of them, we are now obligated to step up and replace ALL faulty kits with the newer thinner design! So, what we can do is issue a call tag for the old clutches and ship the new ones out to you (air freight if desired) at our expense. For those who have not installed the kits yet, simply ship them back for the new ones at your leisure. All returned kits must have a note included in the box including an return number which you will get when you call our techs to request the replacement.

We apologize for the inconveniences.

Please contact Lonnie at (909) 877-6800 for return information.

Thank you,

distillion

well thats good news, keep us updated on when the final product is available.

djt81185

Who is redoing ur clutch install? I just had mine installed and now I need another...there is approx 200 wasted in install...not too happy...they are sending me a new one so i hope it works.

Dan

CobaltSS313

Me and my dad tore it apart. The first time me and my dad did it in the driveway which was a nightmare so the second time me and my dad used my buddy's four post lift in his garage. Tore the tranny off the car in a little over 4 hours yesterday, just waiting for the new clutch to arrive and me and my dad are putting it in. My dad is a mechanic by trade and has been doing it for 20 years and is ASE certified. You should tell CM about having to pay for a second installation and see what they say.

xskier874

gotta love the guys at marathon. hope everything turns out ok

2K5SS/SC?

Lonnie at Clutchmasters has been AWSOME through this whole ordeal! Lonnie and your guys at CM are top notch, and I respect the fact that the mistake was corrected immediately! I am in no way trying to slander your name because you stand true to your great reputation and excellent customer service. Please don't take offense to these posts as they are not directed toward you.

I am pissed however that the GM technicians at Marathon Chevrolet in North Charleston, SC have destroyed the electronics under the hood of my car. Yet again GM will get another formal complaint about this, and I definately be more demanding for my compensation this time. This will be my third formal complaint in under a few months, so we'll see what happens. I finally got a rental because of this mistake on their part, so I have some transportation.

Xskier- DON'T EVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO MARATHON PERIOD! TAKE THE EXTRA DRIVE TO RICK HENDRICK CHEVY ON SAVANNAH HWY. By the way, thanks for the pass down the drag strip this weekend. It reminded me why I go through all this trouble sometimes.

Sorry for the caps above, but it's important that he not get screwed too. And so the saga continues on.....

soccer1061287

2K5SS/SC, I feel for your situation at the Dealer. I am an engineer at GM and can say with relative confidence that when they spilled brake fluid in your electrical distribution box, that the worse damage was blown fuses and a huge mess that needs to be cleaned up. The real concern that I would have is that if they take the connections appart, each one of them MUST go back exactly as it was. Otherwise, you will have wierd sh%#$ happening, like stuff that will work with the key off that shouldn't. I guess what I am saying is, 1. Don't get too freaked on this and 2. Check out every single electrical component your car has before you take it back from them. Cause like it or not, they will have to finish this job. No dealer anywhere wants another dealers mess. On a different note, did they ever get the clutch right. Mine is still only about 30" installed and quite honestly, I was waiting to see that SOMEONE got done and it was right this time before finishing mine. I have other work that I am doing on the car right now, but when I am done with that, the trans is going in come hell or high water, which may become a reality for you down in South Carolina with the Hurricane coming thru.

SS_SC_Cobalt

youre an engineer at gm? FIX THE DAMN SLAVE SITUATION, lol!