RPS Clutch - You won't believe how wrong things could be....

[ffffanman]

So my buddy orders in a RPS clutch and receives the proper tagged box.
My other buddy puts the clutch in.
I stand and watch and supervise as usual.
The car starts, the car gets slammed into gear, and nothing.
Nothing, nowhere, notta,.......no movement.
Phone calls go out to all the special agents out there.
Larry B., Shad, Ryan......
Well, out comes the trans again....
This thing is eating up my buddies time and me as well.
I got to send about a hun down to Larry to cover his cell phone charges, miz well have flown him up.....lol
Bud checks everything, I throw in my 2 cents and a couple of sockets and then there its is.
Wrong disk..... the splines are for a MR2 and are so large in diameter that the input shaft on the trany never touched the disk.....
Go figure.
Now we wait for the replacement.
Trev

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Now that is a one issue I could not have diagnosed over the phone. It was just obvious from our discussion, that the trans was coming out.

Glad you guys found it, Sorry you had to pull the trans again, and very glad I am not the guy at RPS getting this phone call.

When you get the correct disk MAKE SURE the disk splines slide freely on the mainshaft. They have had an issue with this spline not being cut properly, and this leads to a clutch that will not disengage.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[ffffanman]

Ok, further notes:
We did not try the disk on the input shaft of the trans before the install.
The clutch came out of sync to the operation and threw train of thoughts out the window and its easy to look back and say, what the heck.......!
No tool was used or hurt during the disk clutch assembly.
Another reason why this was not caught on the front end.
Up here in Edmonton we choose not to harm tools if they need not to be harmed.
Obviously we have to review our laws.
Fault still falls on someone else cause thats the way I say it is going to be.
Trev.

 

[NCC-1701D]

This is where I wished I had a dummy input shaft like the ones you get with those Dyna Pak clutched. I used a universal conse style clutch alignment tool. I took for granted that the clutch was for a NSX since the flywheel and pressure plate are for a NSX and all NSX years use the same splines. Never would I have ever guessed that a MR2 clutch disk got packaged with a NSX flywheel and pressure plate.

I will on all future clutch installs, match the clutch with input shaft.

I did clean the input shaft and I did apply a some slight grease on it.

The only bright side is that I am really good at removing a tranny now and I can see a clutch job done in under 8hrs.

Thanks Larry B and Shad for the help on the phone.

 

[PhiAlpha44]

I've got the same clutch on my car. Thank GOD that didn't happen to me. I would've gone bezerk. Seems I'm pretty lucky. I hear poor Customer Service stories about RPS a lot.

 

[amengineering]

sorry to hear about your problems. I am thinking of doing this clutch in my car and was wondering on difficulty. I have done around 20 civic/integra/prelude clutch jobs and feel I am qualified, but it seems like everybody makes a big deal about how qualified you have to be to work on an nsx. I would imagine most people would say I should definently go to the acura dealership or send my car across the country somewhere to have it done right. Is it really that hard to drop the tranny and swap out the clutch in this car?
thanks,
andy

 

[NCC-1701D]

sorry to hear about your problems. I am thinking of doing this clutch in my car and was wondering on difficulty. I have done around 20 civic/integra/prelude clutch jobs and feel I am qualified, but it seems like everybody makes a big deal about how qualified you have to be to work on an nsx. I would imagine most people would say I should definently go to the acura dealership or send my car across the country somewhere to have it done right. Is it really that hard to drop the tranny and swap out the clutch in this car?
thanks,
andy

Really not that bad at all. Slightly - moderately harder than a prelude clutch. There are a couple of tricks that make the job go faster. Never remove the ball joints. Have the tranny out about 1/2 - 1 inch and REMOVE the clutch fork . When installing the tranny. Make the sure to put the clutch fork back in with the tranny about 1 inch from the engine. The tranny will not come out if the clutch fork is in the tranny and the clutch fork won't go in if the tranny is bolted to the engine

 

[angus]

Don't you guys' know that the mr2 clutch disc is the new secret weapon against street racers!!!

 

[ffffanman]

You probably should send out your car to Edmonton so Eddie C and Trev A can work on it, we need all the experience we can get and your car is prime for us learning new techniques on.
Trev A

That reminds me i got to put on Dan D's new exhaust Tuesday or sooner and weld his headers.....

See Larry B, your not the only one that can have an Initial!
I think I'll Pronounce Angus T (T for Turbo) to the board as well.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

So what's the deal with the space before the initial? This is not official.

It will need to be:

EddieC
TrevA

You know what I mean, Treva??

Regards,
LarryB

 

[Synthesis]

I've got the same clutch on my car. Thank GOD that didn't happen to me. I would've gone bezerk. Seems I'm pretty lucky. I hear poor Customer Service stories about RPS a lot.

i had a problem with mine also (splines weren't cut correctly, so i carefully filed them down to fit properly, and then the rivets on the disk failed!), but RPS made everything right with no hassle. it's just a matter of going in there again

i would buy from RPS again, but i would definitely send back anything that is even a little bit off - it's just not worth the extra effort :redface: (ofc, things can go wrong anyway....)

 

[ffffanman]

Sounds like its ok to sell an inferior product.......
Maybe a guy should order 3 and use the best of them and send the other 2 back for a refund.
Labour is pretty expensive on this type of job and then to have the wrong part, have to wait for a new part, or have to tear it apart again.....

TrevA

 

[OLDMNSX]

Hey Guys,
If you still have the tranny sitting on the floor of your shop could you throw it on a scale and weigh it. We all would like to know what a naked (no bolt ons)tranny weighs.

Sorry to hear that your Toyota clutch really wanted to be in a NSX. That is a lot of extra work.

Thanks,
Brad

 

[jdnsx]

I have been intrigued now for six years on the endless oddball problems with the NSX clutch and it's venders. I helped SPEC be able to offer a six-speed clutch and they botched quite a few up after what seemed like a great standard was achieved. Larry knows about the wrong parts being shipped and only finding out after the trans was re-assembled. Most inconsistencies seemed to be with the six-speed clutch but I have been watching treads for six years and have seen new clutches with,

pins falling out
springs falling out
wrong fasteners
wrong bearings
wrong pressure plate
poor spline cuts
pedal too light
pedal too heavy
pedal too high
pedal too low

These problems have occurred with every clutch manufacturer out there. Please don't come back and say your particular clutch is great so buy that brand. I have been watching the threads for years and have come to the conclusion the NSX AFTERMARKET clutch is the most inconsistent new part made for the entire car.

I will say the one common theme I have noticed is the more experience (5+ installs) the installer has the less complaints from the buyer.

 

[ffffanman]

"I will say the one common theme I have noticed is the more experience (5+ installs) the installer has the less complaints from the buyer."

I would suggest this is because the installer knows now that there is no use in complaining and a waste of time to post his problems on prime, because he has done it before all ready 4 to 5 times.......lol.

Thanks for you experience.

Its just a bloody shame.

Trev

 

[Cody@LoveFab]

RPS and their products have gone above and beyond what I would expect from any company.

I have not had a single issue from their products due to quality control; however, I did push the clutch in the shop car a little harder than it was designed. The clutch was repaired and updated with no cost to me, and in a very timely manner(9 days including ground shipping both ways). This clutch is now supporting over 700 flywheel ft/lbs of torque, in daily-driven and abusive drag racing scenarios. All I have to say about RPS is Two big thumbs up!!!

I will continue to use and recommend RPS Products because of the excellent customer service and products that I have received.

It does suck that you had to pull the trans again, my condolences.

 

[PhiAlpha44]

Is it really that hard to drop the tranny and swap out the clutch in this car?
thanks,
andy

Call Source 1 automotive in Goshen Ohio. They can probably have it done in a day and a half. There is a mechanic there, Justin. He's an NSX freak. Did my Clutch and Tranny swap crazy quick. No problems. Installed my reverse lockout selinoid as well. :wink:
513-722-0223