F-Bobby

ok guys i had quite a strange thing happen when i pulled the clutch out of my old formula.

the clutch itself had apparently been sitting too close to the flywheel bolts some how. the springs on the clutch actually had grooves worn in them from the heads of the flywheel bolts. Now im 90% sure i got the right flywheel and clutch. and i cant fo th elife of me figure out what did this. The clutch only slipped on me twice the whole time i was driving the car. and when i pulled it out i saw these grooves. Now i KNOW the clutch was NOT put in backwards, cause that was the first thign everyone told me. Its just not physically possible, and one of my good friends installed it with me. so i know that neithe rone of us could have meesed that up even if it was possible.

can anyoen think of why this happened? Is it possible that the company i bought my flywheel from sent me a used and already machined flywheel? could any other parts have caused this to happen?

just so you guys know this was a 1974 block and crank, mated to an 87 T-5 Trans, with a OEM replacemtn Zoom clutch and a steel flywheel.

p.s. I can get pics if you guys wanna see this.

STOLEN RS

i'd say measure the disc and make sure that you didn't get a 11 in. clutch instead of a 10.5 (i think thats what belongs there,but check anyway).bottom line is if the disc is making contact with the bolts on the preasure plate then it's to big for it.

F-Bobby

well its almost like the clutch was too deep or the flywheel was too shallow. i dont know. does it make a difference thats it s 74 block? did they change the spacing on the bolts or something?

iansane

iTrader: (1)

Doesn't a 74 block use a larger bolt circle than the 87+ on the flywheel itself?

STOLEN RS

so the grooves are from the bolts that bolt the flywheel to the crank? wow thats a new one on me,however i do know that the cranks changed from a two piece rear main seal to a one piece in 87 so flywheels and clutches may be different between the two styles...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Flywheels are different between the 85-back and 86-up motors. They won't even come close to bolting up. That's not the problem.

Clutches are the same for all these cars. In fact, they're the same even for the 83 cars with a mechanical linkage, before they switched to hydraulics in 84. So as long as the clutch is the right one for one of these cars, and not some mis-application of some other clutch, the year or whatever of the clutch isn't the problem.

Sounds to me like, IF IT'S THE RIGHT CLUTCH, that when the transmission was installed, somebody let the trans hang from the clutch disc splines; or used the trans bolts to "draw" the trans up to the BH. Either of those things will bend the disc. The bolt thing will try to literally "punch" the hub out of the disc, toward the flywheel.

IF THE RIGHT CLUTCH IS CHOSEN, about 99.99% of all clutch problems are caused by faulty installation. The other .01% weren't installed right and that's why they failed. I'd think back REAL CAREFULLY over what you did, if you were the one who installed it; or if you paid somebody else to do it for you, I'd find another installer for your next one.

HorseflyDF

I just did the t5 swap and I had to use the bolts to draw it to
the bellhousing maybe only 1/8 of an inch uh oh...

I would like to add maybe the clutch disk is on backwards?

THe springs on the clutch disk that stick out are suppose to be towards the pressure plate ..

On a side note this is my first 5 speed and what is 1st gear for.?.
seems useless to me its only good to mabye 10-15 miles and hour.
I just take off in 2nd all the time its easier..I dont have the touch yet I keep stalling and jerking in 1st gear hate it..thanks God I didnt crash yet..