The Good, The Bad...

[techspy]

Well, good new is I found that the back pressure valve was not operating and when I locked that in the open position....WOW..light speed! Bad news is..the clutch slips in 3rd under wot now. I don't think it is slipping in the other gears, but I will do more "testing" tonite. Honestly, 1st and 2nd gear run out sooo fast now, that it was hard to tell.
A little history. I had the red hose replaced with the stailess while I had the car stored. And as a rule my mechanic doesn't drive the car while I am away, but does test drives after maintainance, although it is done in a moderate fasion. Therefore, is it possible something just needs adjusting? If it slips in all gears or just one, does that indicate an adjustment needed in one situation or the other? If so, how should I go about making the adjustment? If it needs a clutch, I am not that worried about it. Fortunatly it won't be a problem finacially, and it will be in storage for about 6 months so I won't miss the car while I am home. But, if it needs a clutch, I want the very best. Any recommendations? By the way, does the engine get pulled for a clucth change or just the transmission? If the engine comes out, I want to put on another timing belt while it is out.

Thanks, John
94 S4

[Skerd]

Once it starts slipping it is inevitable to get worse and worse. Mine got to the point the car literally could not move at all! The engine does not need to come out of the car to change the clutch. What kind of car do you have? A good aftermarket clutch upgrade is from Moto-concept. They also have a 2 pound lighter flywheel. Do both at the same time and it should be a good improvement.

[techspy]

Well, it is obvious that it slips in 3rd and 4th under high boost. I really can't tell if it is in 1st or 2nd, but it doesn't up to the rpm I am willing to go wot to, which is about 5500-6000. Whats strange is that it seems to slip to a point them grab. Maybe when the boost is brought under control and reduced a bit it can handle the power again. But I am still wondering if since the red hose was replaced that the clutch is adjusted properly. Any advice?

John
94 S4

[lotusguy]

techspy said:

Well, it is obvious that it slips in 3rd and 4th under high boost. I really can't tell if it is in 1st or 2nd, but it doesn't up to the rpm I am willing to go wot to, which is about 5500-6000. Whats strange is that it seems to slip to a point them grab. Maybe when the boost is brought under control and reduced a bit it can handle the power again. But I am still wondering if since the red hose was replaced that the clutch is adjusted properly. Any advice? John 94 S4

John,

As has already been mentioned, once slippage occurs, it's only going to get worse. I suspect that you're also slipping in 1st and 2nd as these gears have the greatest torque differential save that of reverse.

Coming on boost merely aggrevates an already faulty condition. And while clutch replacement is nothing to cheer about, ignoring it will lead to scoring or tempering the flywheel which will then need to be replaced, and would really be something to cry about, especially once you see the bill. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

[Lasse]

Hi!

Is the clutch slipping because it is beeing worn out? First you better check that the clutch slave cylinder is correctly adjusted. If you grab the "pin" between the clutch-fork and the slave cylinder you should be able to push it into the slave cylinder, producing a gap between the fork and the pin. If you can't it mens that the clutch isn't fully engaged. As the clutch friction plate wears the fork will get closer and closer to the slave cylinder. This can be soved by adjusting the adjustment screw on the fork.

Good luck!

Best Regards /Lasse

[techspy]

Thanks for all the info. I went ahead and ordered an S4s clutch, flywheel etc. From what I have been told, it is a decent upgrade over the stock S4. I will give some feedback when I get to test it...sometime next year sadly.

John
94 S4
http://24.31.219.162/ (still under construction)

[Lasse]

New clutch or not, check the adjustment of the slavecylinder. If it goes into the bottom of the slave cylinder it means that the clutch can not engage properly. This will DESTROY your friction plate in no-time.

Best Regards /Lasse

[madmike]

Techspy,

Was just wondering, why did you unltimately decide on the S4s clutch? What other options had you looked at? And of Marcus' clutches, or perhaps the AP racing clutch?

Just wondering for the (hopefully) distant future. If I ever need to replace my clutch, I will definately want something stronger.

[techspy]

Lasse, I will be sure they check that after the new install.
As for why I went with the S4s clutch, after talking to JAE and Dave Bean, I was told that the S4s design is a bit different and has more clamping force. But to go with an S4s clutch, I had to upgrade the flywheel to an S4s design. I got a really good deal from JAE for everything for the price of just the flywheel from other places I checked. On the next clutch change, since I will have the S4s flywheel, I may upgrade to higher spec clucth.

John
94 S4

[cnh1990]

Not sure is the master and maybe the slave have to be changed out to use the S4s clutch. In the SE model these have to be changed out as the clutch will not release without these changes.
Calvin