Clutch Slipping? Or Possibly Bad Ignition Coil?

[PrestonJ]

Forgive me as I'm no mechanical expert...

So I had a McLeod RXT clutch and flywheel installed in my car in 2014 and it has been great for about 20k miles. Now I am noticing something that feels like clutch slippage that only occurs under heavy acceleration. I took it to a local Ford dealer and they say the clutch is bad and needs to be replaced... however I had a very similar issue a few years ago that ended up being a bad ignition coil which caused very similar symptoms.

What do you guys think? I broke the clutch in exactly as instructed and I have never taken my car to a track. I daily drive it and play around it with but nothing crazy or excessive. Is it really possible that my McLeod RXT is bad at only 20k miles? I am making about 543HP/545TQ at the wheels which is far below the rating of this clutch.

 

[Vinnie_B]

I would like to think that a professional Ford tech from a dealership would know if your clutch was starting to go bad. If It was a bad coil your car would throw a MIL light or DTC code fault from the PCM. They would know this for sure. So if you still have doubts get a second opinion from a reputable mechanic.

 

[PrestonJ]

I would like to think that a professional Ford tech from a dealership would know if your clutch was starting to go bad. If It was a bad coil your car would throw a MIL light of code. They would know this for sure. So if you still have doubts get a second opinion from a reputable mechanic.

Yeah it may just be wishful thinking. The thing is last time when I had the bad ignition coil it didn't throw any codes either. I'll just be really surprised and disappointed if the clutch has gone bad so quickly.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

I would like to think that a professional Ford tech from a dealership would know if your clutch was starting to go bad. If It was a bad coil your car would throw a MIL light or DTC code fault from the PCM. They would know this for sure. So if you still have doubts get a second opinion from a reputable mechanic.

it doesnt always throw a code, it has to misfire X number of times within Y revolutions etc... before it'll throw a light.

perhaps using something like forscan you might be able to see a misfire count in real time?

 

[Vinnie_B]

I dont blame you! If a coil was going bad they would know. It might not show MIL true or throw DTC fault code but they would detect an engine miss by a doing a Ford IDS Misfire Monitor or Power Balance test.

Example:

 

[HKusp]

If the clutch is bad, (which I would be surprised that an RXT went bad in 20K miles unless you beat on it extensively) you can send it in to McLeod and have it rebuilt for much less than the cost to replace it. I might take it to another mechanic to see what they say. Dealerships have been known to embelish in order to make a sale....just saying. We don't call them "stealerships" for nothin'.

 

[Vinnie_B]

If the clutch is bad, (which I would be surprised that an RXT went bad in 20K miles unless you beat on it extensively) you can send it in to McLeod and have it rebuilt for much less than the cost to replace it. I might take it to another mechanic to see what they say. Dealerships have been known to embelish in order to make a sale....just saying. We don't call them "stealerships" for nothin'.

Thats why I always try and fix my Own Problems first before resulting to a dealership......Unfortunately there are some misleading tech's.

 

[cobracide]

Have you adjusted the clutch cable? Do you have a firewall adjuster? Drop it into 6th gear and floor it. You'll know if it's clutch slip.

 

[SCALILOU]

Like cobracide said, get up to about 40 mph, put it in 6th gear and floor it. You'll know right away if it's your clutch. My McLeod RXT started slipping at 20 thousand miles due to improper break in and beating the shit out of it. Next RXT clutch I got was broken in properly and its been great.

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[hotcobra03]

Just throwing this out there..

My 03 had coils cause jerks..no codes ever ,test was borrow set of 8 first.

Fuel filter was another time.

Clutch cable sticking was another, but yours doesn't use that.

I try my best to always work slow and test before replacing,
1 piece at a time,

 

[PrestonJ]

Thanks for all of the replies guys - I spoke with the tech directly that worked on my car and he said it is absolutely the clutch slipping. He confirmed that there were no engine misfires and also that the hydraulics of the clutch are good. His guess is that there is some internal failure in the clutch like a broken spring or something of that nature. Really disappointed to hear this as I'd heard those McLeod RXTs were basically indestructible. I have reached out to McLeod for advice on whether a rebuild is possible or if it just needs to be replaced.

 

[VNMOUS1]

Call my office.
352 800 4407 9a-5p eastern weekdays
Venomous Tuning

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Poisonous West]

I have the exact McLeod RXT clutch and Mcleod flywheel installed in my car in 2011. I also installed SS clutch line at the same time. I did the installation myself and very confident that I did the installation correctly since I have done more than a dozen clutch jobs on different model.

The clutch did NOT feel right the very first time I drove the car with the new clutch. The clutch affect is twice has high as the original which tells me something is not right. I called McLeod and told them the unusual high pedal affect and the told me if I can remove the clutch from the car and send it back but it would just take so much time and work. After around 7000 miles the RXT finally gave out and starts to slip. It was confirmed by my tuner shop owner who suppose to dyno tune my car which didn't due to clutch slippage.