Transmission shop thinks that the shims for the transmission-to-bellhousing are not adequate enough for the throwout bearing. Even though it's a hydraulic throwout bearing, he believes there should be about 1/4" play as he thinks the throwout bearing is riding on the clutch. He says my clutch pedal doesn't feel right and that it shouldn't be engaging as rough or as high as it was. He said it's supposed to engage low and as the clutch wears, it will start to engage higher. His neighbor has a lot of experience with pro-touring builds and has been in "hundreds of magazines" so he was going to ask him if he has any experience with it.
Hotchkis doesn't think the shims is the problem and I remember specifically that the mechanic payed special attention to getting the runout correct on the bellhousing and does not think it's a throwout bearing. They said it's possible that I was "riding the clutch" and that could have toasted it. That being said, they said I should get it to them so they can at least take a look at it in case they goofed and "make it right," but I told them that it's a problem because I keep sending them the car and every single time I have to hire a tow truck and take a half day or a couple hours off work to pick the thing up or drop it off and I simply do not have the time between working full-time and achieving a master's full-time to do so. Also, "making it right" is a little bit of a grey area because it's hard to prove who's at fault for a clutch going out in 1000 miles in less than a year (only 2 autocross events and 1 track day). If they can't find a fault with their installation, I have to pay for the repairs or at least the portion to replace the clutch (not the inspection).
So, at this point I'm not sure what I'm going to do. On one hand, sure, Hotchkis deserves the benefit of the doubt to check their work and fix it if they goofed, but I can't risk taking more time off work and hiring a tow truck for them to check it just for me to possibly get another expensive bill when I've already invested so much money on the car. On the other hand, I don't really know a credible shop who is willing to do the work and I don't have the time or energy to attempt to do it myself with my busy schedule. My third option is I may just pick the car up, drive it 4 miles home, and park it in the garage for a little while as I'm saving up for other important life events.
