Depressing clutch causes stall?

[Blues13]

Specs:
1990 240sx - S13 blacktop
RPS Max Street Puck clutch
Toda flywheel

Situation:
I just recently replaced the slave cylinder as it was leaking. During the replacement, I also swapped out the clutch dampener box with a braided stainless bypass line.

Problem:
The mushy pedal feel is gone which is great. However, the disengagement point on the clutch is at the very top of the pedal stroke. Pushing the pedal just half an inch seems to disengage the clutch. The bigger problem is that when I depress the clutch a little it seems to be putting a heavy load on the engine and the car starts to bog and then stalls - this is in any gear even in neutral. Additionally, it seems to be causing my belts to slip (?) causing a horrendous screeching noise.

Other than the above symptoms, car drives fine.

I did a bit of searching and it seems like I need to adjust the clutch pedal. However, some questions:

- Do I lengthen the pivot point so more of the rod is through the firewall?
- Do I need to drain the fluid before I can adjust the rod length?
- Why would this cause my car to stall and belts to slip??

Please help - thanks!

[burnsauto]

you may want to start with adjusting it at the pedal like you thought of, and go from there.

[Chrischeezer]

check for crank walk... sorry

[jorgezee1]

you do not need to drain the fluid to adjust the the pedal. also do a little at a time. you want to shorten the rod. seems odd the changing that caused so many side effects. try adjusting your belts make sure they are not to tight. you should be able to push on the belts and have some give to them. check the fsm manual for correct procedure.

[Blues13]

Thanks for the advice guys. I tried looking at it today after work, but I couldn't get the fork off the clutch bracket. I tried pushing on it but couldn't get enough leverage to push the rod in so that I could get it off the clutch pedal bracket.. any tricks to this? The clutch pedal is really stiff with the aftermarket clutch..

What stumps me is why it causes a load on the engine in neutral enough for it to stall the car. The hydraulic lines / system are totally separate from the engine.. right? Why would it cause the revs to dip?

[Chrischeezer]

crank... walk
seen it happen to a 2jz just like that...

the belts started sqeeking... then the rpm's started dropping... then motor would shut it self off

When the clutch pedal is depressed you should see the crank pulley move, if you can.. you have crank walk.

[holemilk00]

crank... walk
seen it happen to a 2jz just like that...

the belts started sqeeking... then the rpm's started dropping... then motor would shut it self off

When the clutch pedal is depressed you should see the crank pulley move, if you can.. you have crank walk.

I think they thought you were throwing a DSM joke in there, but thats what it sounds like to me too.

[Blues13]

Ok, well adjusting the pedal didn't do jack.. belt noise is still there and it still stalls when I depress the clutch in neutral. I checked the belts for play, but they seem fine.

I hadn't heard about crank walking before and now I wish it never existed.. after doing some reading it does sound similar to the symptoms. Considering that I had a full rebuild w/ forged rods, pistons, etc two years ago this is not happy news.

Anything else I should check before I take it to the shop for a second opinion?

My guess on the cause may be the aftermarket pressure plate.. will replacing the clutch / pressure plate magically reverse the harm? *crosses fingers*

[Chrischeezer]

never...

the damage to the main is done. i would pull it apart before anymore damage is done.

you can have a hard pressure plate but if your main bearings are weak or warn expect that crank to start moving around..

[Blues13]

Just to close this case:

The problem was finally solved and luckily it wasn't the worst case scenario.. It turned out that the throwout bearing WENT THROUGH the pressure plate 'fingers'! I don't know how that happens as it's not supposed to be able to fit through, but it looked like the fingers just gave out.

Swapped out new belts, master / slave cylinder, clutch (definitely not using RPS again..), resurfaced the flywheel, and all seems OK now.

[Chrischeezer]

RPS

know for making crank walk.