Slave Cylinder upgrade recommendations?

[Jeremynolan94]

Hi all,

I had the ACT JP6 Pro-Mass clutch installed last week, and since then my clutch has developed a pretty terribly creaking sound and feeling (see this link to a video I took that is too large to upload to the site). It's not very discernible when the car is cold, but is extremely noticeable when the car is warmed up, as it was when I recorded the video above.

I suspected it might be the slave cylinder, so I took it in to have it checked. The mechanic said that this is likely the cause of the sound and creaking feeling, and that he heard it when he placed a stethoscope on the slave as a tech pushed on the clutch. He thought that the stock slave cylinder might be overburdened by the heavier clutch setup, and recommended getting an aftermarket replacement since the stock unit is plastic. Do you have any particular suggestions for units to go with? I was looking at Centerforce but am not sure how different it is from the stock unit.

Other than this creaking issue the clutch has been a fantastic upgrade. The car feels more torquey and is much harder to stall.

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[Jeremynolan94]

After doing some research I sent a message to Centerforce to see if their slave cylinder is different at all from the OEM unit. I wasn't coming across many other options unless you all have some!

https://www.centerforce.com/i-30500...-wrangler-3-6l.html?q=Wrangler+slave+cylinder

 

[BHank0688]

My 2 door rubicon has developed this same noise. It started about 3,000 miles after my jp6 pro mass ACT clutch kit was installed. Sounds just like your video. When the jeep is cold / sits overnight the clutch pedal is smooth and has zero noise. After 10-15 minutes of driving is when this starts. Doesn’t matter if Jeep is running or not. The sound is when the clutch pedals is being pushed in and when it is released. I have found other threads and info online that this was happening with the stock clutch as well. Mine is a 2018 jl, and I was starting to wonder if it was just the 2018-19s with maybe a bad run of slave cylinders (no info found on that). I see you have a 2022 so that ruins that theory. I’ve also seen the center force slave cylinder, but haven’t done any research yet. For all the more they cost I’m debating getting a new mopar slave cylinder and trying it out just to see what happens.
Seems we are having the same issue I’ll post on here with any more updates / issues/ changes as they occur. So far this is all I know about the issue, but would like to figure it out. If you hear back from center force I’d be curious if their slave cylinder will work with an act clutch. I’m not sure why it wouldn’t, but would be good to know before purchasing.

 

[BHank0688]

Also, how long / many miles did it take for yours to start making the sound? I do not recall ours ever doing it until we were pulling our teardrop in some mountains in wv this summer. It’s been consistent ever since. Did you ever message ACTMAN about the issue? I’ve been meaning to but haven’t yet.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

Thanks for your reply. Bummer to hear yours developed the same sound! Mine started almost immediately after having the ACT clutch installed, I'd say within 100 miles. I emailed ACT but have yet to hear back. I think I'm going to just try the Centerforce and see how it goes.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

Also, how long / many miles did it take for yours to start making the sound? I do not recall ours ever doing it until we were pulling our teardrop in some mountains in wv this summer. It’s been consistent ever since. Did you ever message ACTMAN about the issue? I’ve been meaning to but haven’t yet.

I meant to ask, can you also feel it in your pedal? Sort of a "clicky" or "sticky" feeling that goes along with the sound?

 

[BHank0688]

Yes, once it’s heated up and the sound starts you feel the pedal sticking just as it sounds. Easier to feel when the Jeep is off than when it’s running. But you do feel it while running too, I just figure the hydraulics working help limit the feel. Just weird to me that once it’s cooled down/ sits overnight the feel and sound are completely gone until it’s warmed up again. One long shot idea I have is to flush the dot 3 fluid out of the system and go to dot 5.1 just because it can handle heat better. I doubt this does anything but it’s an easy starting point. Then next might be a new slave with the dot 5.1 fluid. The Jeep doesn’t get driven on our Ohio salted roads in the winter so I’m kind of holding off / still driving the Jeep for now until the snow flys.

 

[BHank0688]

Thanks for your reply. Bummer to hear yours developed the same sound! Mine started almost immediately after having the ACT clutch installed, I'd say within 100 miles. I emailed ACT but have yet to hear back. I think I'm going to just try the Centerforce and see how it goes.

Meaning the center force slave cylinder ? Not a whole clutch kit I’m assuming?

 

[Jeremynolan94]

Meaning the center force slave cylinder ? Not a whole clutch kit I’m assuming?

Correct, just the slave cylinder.

 

[Swisskidd]

Subscribed - on orig clutch in my 2023.

Unhappy with my throw out bearing as it vibrates when pushing pedal. Recall didn’t fix, albeit paperwork stating new TO bearing and clutch was installed.

Been toying with idea of aftermarket clutch assembly, but was hoping to get to 100k on OEM clutch.

Our 2013 JKU has 155k on orig clutch. It has a creak upon pushing the clutch pedal. Replaced slave cylinder, lubed actuating pivot etc. nothing helped - until I read about a way to lube the fork pivot point. While the method I use is less than optimal, it does quiet the creaking noise for a while.

Long story short - was lube applied to fork pivot when the new clutch assembly was installed??

 

[BHank0688]

I know the fork pivot point was lubed on mine.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

Subscribed - on orig clutch in my 2023.

Unhappy with my throw out bearing as it vibrates when pushing pedal. Recall didn’t fix, albeit paperwork stating new TO bearing and clutch was installed.

Been toying with idea of aftermarket clutch assembly, but was hoping to get to 100k on OEM clutch.

Our 2013 JKU has 155k on orig clutch. It has a creak upon pushing the clutch pedal. Replaced slave cylinder, lubed actuating pivot etc. nothing helped - until I read about a way to lube the fork pivot point. While the method I use is less than optimal, it does quiet the creaking noise for a while.

Long story short - was lube applied to fork pivot when the new clutch assembly was installed??

I'm not sure it was on mine, but I would be surprised if it was not. The shop I took it to has done a few ACT installs. How difficult would that be to do?

 

[BHank0688]

I can’t think of anyway to do / check that without pulling the transmission. I did borrow an inspection scope. Haven’t got around to seeing if I can see anything with that or not. Being that mine is lubed at that point and this noise didn’t start happening to me until nearly 3k miles on the new clutch. Im having a hard time believing yours just wasn’t lubed and we both ended up with the same issue.

 

[Swisskidd]

I'm not sure it was on mine, but I would be surprised if it was not. The shop I took it to has done a few ACT installs. How difficult would that be to do?

On the JKU, I found forum instructions that showed an approx location to drill a hole in the bell housing. I now can spray some lube onto the pivot. The hole is plugged with a generic rubber plug. I was willing to do so, as it is an older vehicle. Not sure I’d want a random hole in my JL transmission case already.

 

[Jeremynolan94]

On the JKU, I found forum instructions that showed an approx location to drill a hole in the bell housing. I now can spray some lube onto the pivot. The hole is plugged with a generic rubber plug. I was willing to do so, as it is an older vehicle. Not sure I’d want a random hole in my JL transmission case already.

Yeah I can't say I'm quite that desperate yet. I'll get the Centerforce slave cylinder installed and report back!

Tagging @Actman on this too if he has any additional input.

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