SolaraGuy.com

Hey guys ive got a 2000 se 5speed v6 had it for almost two years. and about two months ago i noticed a slip in my clutch. when im in gear lets say 3rd and im accelerating quickly my RPMs go up but my speed slowly accelerates. Clutch slipping? it does this in all gears except 1st. i thought it was the clutch going out but ive been told its the slave and then clutch agian.... im lost.... please help!!!!

you're more likely to slip in higher gears. I'd plan for a new one and a slave cyl while you're at it

so i need a clutch and a slave? ive read some on clutches i want to put a stage two in i have an intake but nothing major and i like to run off the stop lights sometimes. any specific brand that i should get? i know there are cheapies on ebay for like $140

Yeah, I'd avoid those. They may work, but you don't want to take the chance of having to do the job twice just to save a few bucks. I'm still on whatever clutch was in the car when I bought it 50 something thousand miles ago and during that time I've abused the absolute sh*t out of it. The last 10k have been under boost. I have a Spec stage 2 waiting to go in. My suggestion, stick with a stock replacement if you're planning on staying lightly modded (minor bolt-ons). A stock-ish Solara isn't going to dominate a stoplight grand prix. If you're planning a major power adder in the near future, upgrade

yeah if your running an intake and minor stuff just leave the oem clutch on there. No need to go crazy unless your planning on supercharging it soon. A stock solara wont launch like a bat out of hell either. So my opinion get the stock clutch on there and call it a day.

I have a new autozone clutch for sale for $100 with life time warranty. Let me know if youre interested.

Yeah there's no way ill be sc it unless I hit the lotto. So I guess stock it is. I just want it to be fixed. It sounds like I don't know how to drive a clutch if the gears slip. I've been babying her the last month or so. I'll probably make my purchases within the next week. Thanks for the help guys!

my clutch went around 130k. slipped all the time in 3rd gear between 2-3k rpm. then it exploded when a audi a3 wanted to race at a light lol, still won too! anyways i replaced it with a Exedy clutch. nothing special it was basically the same a OEM one. did it in my garage and now it feels brand new. only mods i had where an intake and exhaust. now im about to s/c my solara (planning on installing today, BUT now its snowing out)
either way i didnt think the clutch job was too bad. i didnt drop the sub frame either. simply took out the drivers side axle and slide the tranny into the wheel well. had more than enough room to install the pressure plate and throw0out bearing. AND forget to re-surface your fly wheel or get a lightweight one. otherwise you'll ruin the new friction disc. GOOD LUCK

Even the best brand of clutches can fail !! I'm in the process of replacing my less than 25K (about 2 1/2 years of street driving & only 1 track day) ACT stage 2 clutch. As you can see I had a straight up parts failure with the clutch disc.

One of the duel dampner springs came right out of the clutch disc case while my wife was down shifting and exiting the highway last week.

Not only did it take out the clutch, but the smaller inner spring also ruined the flywheel face !! I am now installing a Exedy Racing stage 1 kit that has an organic disc & a Fidanza lightweight flywheel. The Exedy pressure plate is rated just as high as the ACT stage 2 and instead of a six puck Kevlar disc it has an organic full disc. The ACT 6 puck disc really ate up the OEM flywheel, so even if the spring didn't damage the flywheel, next clutch replacement it would have needed to be replaced anyways !! So, unless you have a lightweight flywheel with replacable surface (like the Fidanza), I would stay away from the Stage 2 & stage 3 Kevlar discs. The Exedy Racing kit was also Half the price of a ACT or SPEC clutch !! The Exedy Racing Kit for the Solara 1mz is 16803A. This kit includes Organic disc, Stronger pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing (not used) & alignment tool. I found this kit on the internet for $275 which is a far cry from the over $400 ACT kit that failed. The Fidanza flywheel number I used is 130881. The flywheel I found for $294, which was still cheaper than the OEM Toyota one that cost $360 at my dealership !! If you are going to use anything other than OEM, I would say Exedy would be the way to go. I know for a fact that the OEM Toyota discs and pressure plates are made by Exedy in japan, so even a Exedy OEM replacement would be just as good as OEM, but cheaper !! If you need a bit better disc and a little more holding power the Exedy Racing kit would be the way to go..........Just my 2 cents !!

that is very common in ACT clutches, they are a local shop to me and I used top use their clutches all the time. NEVER AGAIN. Now im a Southbend Cllutch fan boy. I have their clutch in every one of my cars. that includes my Supra and Dodge truck. they make an awesome OEM replacement called the TZ. i also suggest getting the Fidanza Flywheel. they are an excellent combination.

^ +1 on NEVER using ACT again !!

It's been a few weeks with the new clutch and it's great !! This was a great match for the car, The clutch is very streetable, hardly no chatter, a very strong pedal feel to it and the light weight flywheel finished the package very well. I used to have a decent dip while in the power band, but with the way lighter setup (shaved 11.5lbs off the end of the crankshaft) it roles through the RPM's much smoother and has a consistant pull all the way through the power band, no more dips! I'm very happy thus far, I just hope the reliabilty is there as well.