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2005 Pontiac GTO Clutch Hydraulics - The Master Plan - TechTired Of Missing Shifts, We Get Serious About Clutch Hydraulics On An '05 Gto With The Help Of Corvette Masters And Tick Performance From the September, 2010 issue of GM High-Tech Performance By Justin Cesler Photography by Justin Cesler
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If you have spent any time around a manual transmission, LS-based car, you know that there is very little to complain about. The T56 and TR6060 transmissions are known around the world as excellent gearboxes and they can be built in a variety of ways to handle everything from daily driving to all-out racing. Behind a stock motor, both the T56 and TR6060 are almost indestructible and with a number of awesome aftermarket clutches available, you can almost never make too much power for these units. So, if the clutch and transmission are so good, what can we complain about? Well, for Kevin DiOssi, Associate Editor of our sister magazine High Performance Pontiac, his issue was with the clutch hydraulic system. "The factory setup was notorious for not fully engaging First and Reverse, but my biggest issue was wide-open throttle (WOT) shifting. My GTO could be a royal pain when you would try to get it into any gear at WOT." After a bit of searching, we found the issue to be directly related to the miniscule factory-installed clutch master cylinder, which, according to Tick Performance in Mooresville, North Carolina, was designed by GM to purposely slow shifting to save parts. "To save the expense of fixing drivetrain parts under warranty, GM used a weak clutch master cylinder designed to keep shifting slow by limiting fluid volume and restricting its flow. Unfortunately, these limits and restrictions introduce a whole new wave of problems, including the infamous gear lockout in the upper rpm, inability to engage First or Reverse gear while stopped, clutch pedal sticking to the floor, and a whole host of other issues. If not upgraded, the factory master cylinder will lead to premature clutch wear (and ultimately failure) and transmission damage. With our kit, we call it adjustable because you're actually adjusting the amount of fluid that the system flows. You've likely seen people modify their stock master cylinder to be 'adjustable' - unfortunately, all you can adjust with this setup is the dead space in the pedal. There is no way to make the factory cylinder flow significantly more fluid." It can be intimidating working... It can be intimidating working on a part of your car that really can't be seen, but the stock clutch master cylinder is actually quite easy to remove. You can't see it here, but it sits under those wire looms to the right of the brake and clutch reservoirs. With the problem clearly identified and the benefits obvious, we turned again to Tick Performance for help, ordering one of the company's infamous adjustable clutch master cylinder kits, which shipped complete with a custom Tick/Tilton adjustable master cylinder, an unrestricted braided stainless steel clutch line to replace the factory rubber unit, and all of the hardware we would need to do the install. With our parts en route, we booked some time with our friends at Corvette Masters in Maitland, Florida, and followed along as they installed the new Tick Performance adjustable master cylinder in Kevin's 2005 Pontiac GTO. If you are thinking about tackling this installation yourself, don't fret. Although both the master and adjuster are in tight spots, Chris and Robby from Corvette Masters had no problems getting to any of the components. Add to that some great install instructions from Tick and you have a 2 to 3 hour install on your hands, with some easy-to-feel results. According to Kevin, after the install and some quick bleeding of the hydraulic system, "With the new master, the effort has been greatly reduced and feels no different than part-throttle shifting. I admit that the combination of the Monster Level 3 clutch and this Tick master cylinder can be quite the calf workout, but once you have gotten used to it, it becomes the way you want a car's clutch pedal to feel. For performance driving, I wouldn't want it any other way." And neither would we, so follow along with us to see how it all went together and give Tick Performance a call next time you miss that 2-3 shift. Despite what your friends say, it may not be your fault after all!  Using a 13mm socket, we first...  Using a 13mm socket, we first removed the four factory installed brake booster nuts, which would give us room in the engine bay to wiggle the brake booster towards the engine, allowing access to the clutch reservoir bracket.  With the clutch brake booster...  With the clutch brake booster nuts removed, Chris also unhooked the factory clutch pedal-to-master cylinder linkage, paying careful attention not to bend or break any of the stock components.  Back in the engine bay, Chris...  Back in the engine bay, Chris removed the factory horn, which is annoyingly bolted in place using a tamper-resistant Torx head screw. If you don't have one of these Torx TR bits, you can usually find them at a quality tool shop in your area.  With the rear brake booster...  With the rear brake booster nuts removed, Chris unbolted the factory bracket using a 13mm socket, which also holds the clutch reservoir, and pushed the master and booster aside just slightly to give us some extra room to work.  Since we would be reusing...  Since we would be reusing the stock reservoir, we just moved it aside for now, while we unbolted the stock clutch master cylinder from the firewall, again using a 13mm socket. We weren't going to reuse these two nuts again, so we just threw them out.  This really gives you an idea...  This really gives you an idea of how tight it is back there, the master cylinder is in an extremely tight place. To the right of the bolt, you can see how much room moving the brake booster creates, it isn't much but it is enough to get the job done.  From underneath the car, Chris...  From underneath the car, Chris disconnected the factory rubber clutch master hose from the bellhousing and then from the master cylinder-to-slave cylinder, a connection hidden under the brake booster.  One half of the clutch line...  One half of the clutch line goes out the bottom, while the other half exits out the top. You won't reuse these flimsy rubber lines but we did need to salvage one of the plastic fittings, so we kept it handy.  The stock unit (top) looks...  The stock unit (top) looks pathetic compared to the much beefier Tick Performance adjustable unit (bottom). Not only is there an obvious size difference but the internals of the Tick/Tilton master feature a much bigger bore with improved flow and control. Tick sells this bad boy (PN TAMCKGTO) for $399.99 via its website or over the phone.
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