Help! Issues after ACT Clutch install.

[58Willys]

Bummer! Sorry to hear this, but hopefully they will figure it out for good.

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[SadRobot]

Bummer! Sorry to hear this, but hopefully they will figure it out for good.

Personally I feel like they made this clutch hydraulic system without thinking it would ever have a need to be taken apart. The design of the slave cylinder is just moronic. They use cheap molded plastic parts and then on top of that decided to have the clutch and brakes share the same reservoir.

I'm pretty sure they assemble the master, line and slave and pressurize it off the Jeep, then install it during the build. Once the system is opened in any way it becomes almost impossible to bleed all the air out.

 

[Gator Overland]

Hi all, I'm sharing my experience with clutch issues, as it seems many of us are encountering similar symptoms with varying mileage, some with stock clutch, some with centerforce upgrades, some with ACT upgrades. Reflecting on this has made me question if I should have addressed my shifting symptoms/quirks earlier.

Background

• About two years ago, I collaborated with ACT and they installed their JP6 clutch + ProMass combo after 62k miles on the factory clutch (which showed 50% wear and was on par for mileage).
• They did extensive testing of my OEM clutch as well as multiple installations tests with their clutch to show efficiency improvments dry and with grease and compared it to the OEM clutch tests to reveal a significant improvment in overall efficiency.
• The new clutch drastically improved pedal feel and engagement, eliminating the mushy and vague feeling of the factory clutch. Since then, I’ve driven 30k miles, including off-road adventures and towing, with excellent performance overall.

Symptoms
However, over time, I’ve noticed:

1. Occasionally needing to shift into 2nd before 1st gear.
2. Notchy shifts between gears, feeling resistance rather than smooth transitions.
3. Recently, difficulty getting into 1st and Reverse, especially when stationary.
   • At times, the vehicle creeps forward even with the clutch fully depressed.
   • Difficulty pulling out of 1st gear, despite the pedal being fully pressed.
4. No noticeable change in pedal firmness or engagement/disengagement distance (there may be instances that it feels as though im pushing the pedal through packing peanuts)
5. No groaning or screeching noises, all operation seems normal

Observations and Diagnosis

• The clutch master cylinder reservoir was at the MIN line.
• Visual inspection revealed:
  • Dry connections between the reservoir and clutch master cylinder.
  • Dry hydraulic line from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder.
  • Residual oil around the slave cylinder (SC) flange and bellhousing. (see photo)

This indicates a potential leak causing incomplete clutch disengagement or retraction. Comparing this to their ACT Jeep Gladiator install video where they used my truck (see photo), the oil residue is a recent development after 30k miles of use (92k miles total operation).

Plan of Action

Due to the holidays, correspondance with Dirk/ACT is limited, but they are typically very involved in resolving issues via forums and facebook groups. Thankfully I’ve sourced a replacement SC in Houston. My next steps are:

1. Inspect the Existing SC:
   • Remove the SC and check for visible oil on the plunger or internal parts (a clear sign of a leak).
2. Bleed the Pedal:
   • If no oil is visible, I’ll perform a pedal bleed to rule out air in the hydraulic line.
3. Replace and Bleed:
   • If oil is present, I’ll replace the SC, bleed the system, and test functionality.

Based on threads I've read, many of you report similar issues shortly after clutch install (@Jeremynolan94 @LatteSipper @ski-line900 @BHank0688 or even after replacing hydraulic components (@SadRobot) , so my confidence in resolving this issue with a part replacement is cautious. Nonetheless, I’ll document every step of this process, as detailed information on JL/JT SC or master cylinder replacement is scarce.

(photo below shows oil residue on slave cylinder @92K miles on ODO)

(photo below shows NO residue at the time of ACT install April 2023 @62K miles)

 

[fspalt]

Thanks for chiming in. You are probably the longest running ACT clutch in use so it’s interesting to see this happening to you as well. I had the same experience with the new install lasting for several thousand miles no issues. Like others have said maybe the clutch is putting additional stress on the slave and blowing out the seals prematurely. It would stand to reason that if the pedal is firmer than stock the factory slave may not be up to the task. The question is how do we move forward from here? Sadrobot has gone through the ringer on the hydraulics side.

Hi all, I'm sharing my experience with clutch issues, as it seems many of us are encountering similar symptoms with varying mileage, some with stock clutch, some with centerforce upgrades, some with ACT upgrades. Reflecting on this has made me question if I should have addressed my shifting symptoms/quirks earlier.

Background

• About two years ago, I collaborated with ACT and they installed their JP6 clutch + ProMass combo after 62k miles on the factory clutch (which showed 50% wear and was on par for mileage).
• They did extensive testing of my OEM clutch as well as multiple installations tests with their clutch to show efficiency improvments dry and with grease and compared it to the OEM clutch tests to reveal a significant improvment in overall efficiency.
• The new clutch drastically improved pedal feel and engagement, eliminating the mushy and vague feeling of the factory clutch. Since then, I’ve driven 30k miles, including off-road adventures and towing, with excellent performance overall.

Symptoms
However, over time, I’ve noticed:

1. Occasionally needing to shift into 2nd before 1st gear.
2. Notchy shifts between gears, feeling resistance rather than smooth transitions.
3. Recently, difficulty getting into 1st and Reverse, especially when stationary.
   • At times, the vehicle creeps forward even with the clutch fully depressed.
   • Difficulty pulling out of 1st gear, despite the pedal being fully pressed.
4. No noticeable change in pedal firmness or engagement/disengagement distance (there may be instances that it feels as though im pushing the pedal through packing peanuts)
5. No groaning or screeching noises, all operation seems normal

Observations and Diagnosis

• The clutch master cylinder reservoir was at the MIN line.
• Visual inspection revealed:
  • Dry connections between the reservoir and clutch master cylinder.
  • Dry hydraulic line from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder.
  • Residual oil around the slave cylinder (SC) flange and bellhousing. (see photo)

This indicates a potential leak causing incomplete clutch disengagement or retraction. Comparing this to their ACT Jeep Gladiator install video where they used my truck (see photo), the oil residue is a recent development after 30k miles of use (92k miles total operation).

Plan of Action

Due to the holidays, correspondance with Dirk/ACT is limited, but they are typically very involved in resolving issues via forums and facebook groups. Thankfully I’ve sourced a replacement SC in Houston. My next steps are:

1. Inspect the Existing SC:
   • Remove the SC and check for visible oil on the plunger or internal parts (a clear sign of a leak).
2. Bleed the Pedal:
   • If no oil is visible, I’ll perform a pedal bleed to rule out air in the hydraulic line.
3. Replace and Bleed:
   • If oil is present, I’ll replace the SC, bleed the system, and test functionality.

Based on threads I've read, many of you report similar issues shortly after clutch install (@Jeremynolan94 @LatteSipper @ski-line900 @BHank0688 or even after replacing hydraulic components (@SadRobot) , so my confidence in resolving this issue with a part replacement is cautious. Nonetheless, I’ll document every step of this process, as detailed information on JL/JT SC or master cylinder replacement is scarce.

(photo below shows oil residue on slave cylinder @92K miles on ODO)

(photo below shows NO residue at the time of ACT install April 2023 @62K miles)

 

[Gator Overland]

Thanks for chiming in. You are probably the longest running ACT clutch in use so it’s interesting to see this happening to you as well. I had the same experience with the new install lasting for several thousand miles no issues. Like others have said maybe the clutch is putting additional stress on the slave and blowing out the seals prematurely. It would stand to reason that if the pedal is firmer than stock the factory slave may not be up to the task. The question is how do we move forward from here? Sadrobot has gone through the ringer on the hydraulics side.

Yes, that's why i took the time to register in the JL group even though I have a JT. @SadRobot reached out to me after correspondence in the Jeep Clutch Recall facebook group and little did i know this instance is spread out a bit more than i anticipated. I would figure everyone else would have similar mileage on their install before experiencing issues. Your original post was pretty much nail on the head for my symptoms. I do think the composite slave is a cheap route vs other cast metal slaves, but ive read that these slaves are capable of over 300#, which should be well within the capacity of the clutch upgrade. Maybe someone will mill or cast and proper upgrade that is OEM equivelent (similar to centerforce) but is not a modified JK system and all the ratios work out. im hoping after the holiday Dirk will have a bit more insight on plans of action minus pulling the transmission. I'm would consider myself mechanically inclinde, but im a bit reluctant to so this slave replacment for fear that the fix might result in worse issues. But for the sake of not leaking fluid i will proceed. Kind of dredding the cussed bleeding process as well (laughing)

 

[SadRobot]

Yes, that's why i took the time to register in the JL group even though I have a JT. @SadRobot reached out to me after correspondence in the Jeep Clutch Recall facebook group and little did i know this instance is spread out a bit more than i anticipated. I would figure everyone else would have similar mileage on their install before experiencing issues. Your original post was pretty much nail on the head for my symptoms. I do think the composite slave is a cheap route vs other cast metal slaves, but ive read that these slaves are capable of over 300#, which should be well within the capacity of the clutch upgrade. Maybe someone will mill or cast and proper upgrade that is OEM equivelent (similar to centerforce) but is not a modified JK system and all the ratios work out. im hoping after the holiday Dirk will have a bit more insight on plans of action minus pulling the transmission. I'm would consider myself mechanically inclinde, but im a bit reluctant to so this slave replacment for fear that the fix might result in worse issues. But for the sake of not leaking fluid i will proceed. Kind of dredding the cussed bleeding process as well (laughing)

Personally I'm thinking I have two problems. I think I started to have issues shifting in 1st and reverse because the pressure plate wasn't releasing completely. I can only speculate as to why.

Then I either developed an unrelated leak or this malfunction of the clutch caused the leak. Then the shifting got worse because now on top of the original problem, now I have air in the line. So I stop the leak, bleed all the air out but now I'm still in the same boat. Underlying cause of 1st/reverse issues manifesting again.

I don't think I'll learn why until the clutch comes out.

 

[Gator Overland]

I posted a few weeks back about shifting issues in 1st and Reverse. I isolated the issue to a bad slave cylinder. If you’re having issues, it could be related to a hydraulic part or air in the line. I haven’t had any gear lockout issues in 600miles since install. Here’s my “how to” for replacement and bleeding.

 

[SadRobot]

I'm cross posting from the other thread. More details can be found here but my issues are now solved thanks to the great people over at ACT.

My issues turned out to be two fold.

1. Leak in hydraulic system
2. Underlying issue of wrong grease used on install by the transmission shop. The shop did not use the supplied grease from ACT and instead used red wheel bearing grease. It gunked up and became a sticky, tacky sap like substance. It took about 10k miles for enough grease + clutch dust to build up to keep the clutch from properly disengaging.

For anyone having issues that are not hydraulic and you've had a shop install your ACT clutch start at the spline shaft. My ACT clutch is now shifting better than ever after having the splines cleaned off and the proper grease applied.

 

[fspalt]

Glad your issue is solved. Hopefully this isn’t a recurring issue that comes back after another 10k. I’m imagine this is also my issue too but I’m not inclined to paying to pull the trans for a third time. Hopefully ACT didn’t charge too much for the repair after all you been through.

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