New Clutchmasters Stage 2 chatters

[nmatthis]

I just got a Clutchmasters Stage 2 clutch installed on my 99 Solara V6. I know it has to break in, but right now it chatters pretty bad when I try to feather it in first. Will this stop when it's broken in? Out of all the emails I read about people with this clutch, none said anything about chattering.

Neal

[cdssolara]

That clutch shouldn't make any noise, at all. I had one installed over 1 1/2 years ago, and it never made a chattering sound, even when brand new. I'd take your car back to the place that did the installation, and have them look at it. Either they did something wrong, or you have a faulty clutch.

[nmatthis]

Great. In first, I have to rev to about 1k rpm as I'm letting the clutch out to keep it from chattering. When it does chatter, it's not just a slight vibration. The car shakes. It's especially bad in reverse, where I really have to ride the clutch. Would a chattering new clutch be more likely a bad installation or a defective part?

Neal

That clutch shouldn't make any noise, at all. I had one installed over 1 1/2 years ago, and it never made a chattering sound, even when brand new. I'd take your car back to the place that did the installation, and have them look at it. Either they did something wrong, or you have a faulty clutch.

[nmatthis]

One other thing. The pedal is extremely soft. I was expecting the pedal to be at least a little heavier than with the stock clutch. But now, the pedal is extremely soft. Is that normal?

That clutch shouldn't make any noise, at all. I had one installed over 1 1/2 years ago, and it never made a chattering sound, even when brand new. I'd take your car back to the place that did the installation, and have them look at it. Either they did something wrong, or you have a faulty clutch.

[Mudd]

First off, if it's a high-performance clutch designed to hold any amounts of power over stock, it's going to chatter. That's normal. It gets better as you break it in. You may want to ask if your flywheel was resurfaced though - if it's not, that could be causing to clutch to not engage properly.

[cdssolara]

Great. In first, I have to rev to about 1k rpm as I'm letting the clutch out to keep it from chattering. When it does chatter, it's not just a slight vibration. The car shakes. It's especially bad in reverse, where I really have to ride the clutch. Would a chattering new clutch be more likely a bad installation or a defective part?

Neal

That clutch shouldn't make any noise, at all. I had one installed over 1 1/2 years ago, and it never made a chattering sound, even when brand new. I'd take your car back to the place that did the installation, and have them look at it. Either they did something wrong, or you have a faulty clutch.

I can't answer your question about whether it's faulty or a problem with the installation. I can tell you that mine has never had a hint of chatter, and I've never heard of anyone else with a Clutchmaster Stage 2 having a chattering clutch. One of the things that Clutchmasters advertises is that you get significantly more holding power than with a stock clutch, but the pedal feel is similar to stock. When I first had mine installed, I could barely notice any difference in pedal feel between it and my stock clutch. It maybe was a little firmer, but not much. This clutch should not feel like a racing with more abrupt engagement and an overly firm pedal feel. If it does, or if your chattering continues, there's something wrong.

[nmatthis]

Well, I guess I'll give it a couple hundred miles and see if the chattering stops. They did resurface the flywheel, but I wonder if I need a new flywheel. I went 90,000 miles on the original clutch and the mechanic said the clutch was pretty worn.

Regarding pedal effort, my new Clutchmasters clutch has significantly LESS pedal effort to operate than the stock clutch had, which was opposite what I was expecting.

Thanks very much for the responses.

Great. In first, I have to rev to about 1k rpm as I'm letting the clutch out to keep it from chattering. When it does chatter, it's not just a slight vibration. The car shakes. It's especially bad in reverse, where I really have to ride the clutch. Would a chattering new clutch be more likely a bad installation or a defective part?

Neal

That clutch shouldn't make any noise, at all. I had one installed over 1 1/2 years ago, and it never made a chattering sound, even when brand new. I'd take your car back to the place that did the installation, and have them look at it. Either they did something wrong, or you have a faulty clutch.

I can't answer your question about whether it's faulty or a problem with the installation. I can tell you that mine has never had a hint of chatter, and I've never heard of anyone else with a Clutchmaster Stage 2 having a chattering clutch. One of the things that Clutchmasters advertises is that you get significantly more holding power than with a stock clutch, but the pedal feel is similar to stock. When I first had mine installed, I could barely notice any difference in pedal feel between it and my stock clutch. It maybe was a little firmer, but not much. This clutch should not feel like a racing with more abrupt engagement and an overly firm pedal feel. If it does, or if your chattering continues, there's something wrong.