Breaking in the spec stage 1

[MustangMulch]

Ok guys, i had my spec stage 1 clutch put in about a week ago, and since then i've put about 400 miles on it. Spec suggests 450 miles to break it in properly. Well i've been taking it easy for 400 miles, but still whenever I start off in first or reverse, or when I let the clutch pedal out during a downshift, the clutch chatters and makes my exhaust hit my body and suspension and it makes the whole car vibrate. Also, i'm occasionally smelling burnt clutch after this chattering. I spoke with someone at Spec, and told him all these symptoms, and he said it's all normal, and to just get to 450 miles, and if it's still doing it call him back.

Well, i'm almost there and it's doing it as bad as it was when I first started breaking it in. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it possible it will just go away in the next 50 miles? Doesn't seem likely to me, and I don't like smelling my clutch. I don't wanna burn it up... i just spent an assload of money on the thing.

 

[Demented4.6]

sounds like misadjusted clutch cable. id check it. Do you have a firewall clutch adjuster or aftermarket quadrant?? When I installed mine all the break in i gave it was the 15 miles to the track. then about 13 5500 rpm launches.. still shifts great.

 

[MustangMulch]

I have a firewall adjuster and aftermarket quadrant. I also have an adjustable cable (which i plan on replacing with a stock one), and the transmission guy adjusted everything a couple times and he thinks it's right where it should be. I've tried messing with the firewall adjuster, but it's the same no matter what. I'm not sure what the problem is.

 

[Stang8URMPRT]

Did you have the flywheel turned or replace it?

Nick

 

[MustangMulch]

Yeah, he replaced the flywheel for $40, so i dont think it should be chattering so much with a new flywheel.

 

[92GreenGT]

Me and my dad put in my Spec Stage 1 in my driveway. Got the flywheel resurfaced and put it all in ourselves. First time we had done a clutch install, works as smooth as the original one. No problems here, didnt even seem like it had a break in period. Id be checking more in depth on the issue, I dont know a whole lot about the clutch semptoms but it doesnt sound very good.

Dave

 

[cjman15]

yeah, that does sound weird... i had a new ford racing clutch put in a week or two ago and since i've put on over 500 miles on it and i got on it a bunch of times within tha 200 miles i got it... and i never smelled anything or felt anything bad... works great

 

[super302]

I would take it to wherever it was installed, just tell them you already drove 500 miles and make them fix it for free, don't think it should be doing that stuff....by the way you drove 400 miles in ONE week, thats like 5 weeks for me.

 

[90mustangGT]

I have a spec III and I gave it about 300 miles to break in. It's been almost 1000 miles and it is now just getting the way it should be.

 

[MustangMulch]

I would take it to wherever it was installed, just tell them you already drove 500 miles and make them fix it for free, don't think it should be doing that stuff....by the way you drove 400 miles in ONE week, thats like 5 weeks for me.

Yeah when i hit 450, i'm gonna call spec back and see what they say. I'm just worried about the smell mostly. I hope it's not hurting my brand new clutch.

I've driven 400 miles in one week because all I do is just cruise around the city so i can break that bad boy in. I haven't even gone above 3k rpms once this whole week!

 

[Michael Yount]

"Yeah, he replaced the flywheel for $40......"


???? That sounds questionable to me. Is that all a new flywheel costs?

 

[92GreenGT]

"Yeah, he replaced the flywheel for $40......"


???? That sounds questionable to me. Is that all a new flywheel costs?

Maybe he meant he got it resurfaced for $40. I believe I paid around $20 for mine to be resurfaced but I cant remember exactly.

Dave

 

[MustangMulch]

Well when I asked originally how much it would be to get the flywheel resurfaced, he told me it was $40, and he would either send it out to get resurfaced or swap it for an already resurfaced one which is what I think he did.

 

[stangbear427]

First of all, if you smell the clutch, it is being damaged. Additionally, the flywheel is being dressed unevenly, which will lead to a continuation of the problem, and sometimes a premature and dramatic failure of the clutch itself. I have a SPEC I myself, with thier own billet steel flywheel, and didn't notice even the faintest of chattering during the breakin period, which (working in a shop) I observed religiously. This screams to me of an installation problem. SPEC will stand behind it if it comes to that, but even though I've heard this story about stage I's before, I still think it is an installer problem not a warrantee issue. It only takes one little mistake during break in to throw it off for life sometimes too. Just my $.02, good luck.

 

[MustangMulch]

My original thought was also that it was a mistake in the installation, so that is why I brought it back to the guy a couple days later. He looked it over again and said he was sure that it was aligned correctly. He said he used an alignment tool to make sure.

This still doesn't convince me that it was installed right, but what can I do when he is so sure he did it right? I don't wanna have to pay another shop a bunch more money to fix his mistake. I know it wasn't a mistake in the break-in period because I have been taking it easy for the last 500 miles.

 

[stangbear427]

Stick with your plan. Drive it till you've racked up the appropriate miles, and give SPEC a call if it doesn't change. I'd give it an extra few hundred miles, but not over 1000. Hopefully, they will tell you what was wrong with it if you send it back, and you won't be going back to your technician without some evidence. Or, you may have gotten a bad one. I doubt it, but it happens. A knowledgeable tech should see what's wrong right away when he takes it out too.

 

[92GreenGT]

Stick with your plan. Drive it till you've racked up the appropriate miles, and give SPEC a call if it doesn't change. I'd give it an extra few hundred miles, but not over 1000. Hopefully, they will tell you what was wrong with it if you send it back, and you won't be going back to your technician without some evidence. Or, you may have gotten a bad one. I doubt it, but it happens. A knowledgeable tech should see what's wrong right away when he takes it out too.

I found the bill for my resurfacing, it was $20 at Car Quest. I havent had a problem out of mine, maybe he swapped it for a flywheel that wasnt in the best shape. I dont know man, but like StangBear im thinking its a installation error. Good luck bud.

Dave