hey guys I need to replace my clutch in my bird cause i think the stock replacement junker went out on me already, it still grips but sometime just driving aroudn normal i wont;l be abe; to get the tranny into gear, also if i have it in gear for a while and the clutch in liek in traffic if i go to take it out after a little bit its really hard to get out, i just took my tranny apart and its fine so i guess its gott be the clutch. also at high rpms it will make me grind going into gear or if i drop it and do it a burnout it doesn;t go into secound. ok so my question is, what is the best clutch to put in here, sumthing with some more grip, i hear centerforce is junk and there TO bearings are crap, so what else should i look to get? maybe a RAM oh yea and i just put that LUK replacemt pepboys deal in liek 3k miles ago with a resurfaced flywheel and when i did my engine swap like 1500 miles ago i i put a GM roller pilot bearing and a GM TO bearing. thanks so much guys

I exploded a RAM stock replacement disc at about 6000 rpms. Replaced the disc with a Hayes street/strip and it has been good.

http://www.thirdgenresource.com/clutches?b=1

http://www.thunderracing.com/index.c...ategoryid=1102

hey tom do u think the Ram powergrip heavy duty set will be better then the stock replacement? it says 30% more holding power. I just don't wunt it to explode and come threw the floor and say hello to me lol. also with the hayes it doesn't list any peticular kind of car just sizes and what not. what would i need to buy?

hey i was just thinking, i had my flywheel resurfaced and when they did it they cut off the balence marks so i just bolted the pressure plate on with the balence point of it to the side of the flywheel that had the weight on the back or extra material, wutever u wunna call it. coudl this be my problem?

I'm not sure about your balancing marks, but I can tell you from personal experience that I have had far better luck with Centerforce clutches than with RAM clutches. When I put my '69 GTO together I put a RAM clutch in it and it slipped constantly, if I was driving and gave it a little gas the engine would just tach up and I'd kind of get a whining noise from the clutch until I let off the gas and the clutch would grip again. I put a Centerforce Dual Friction in there and it was way way way better (although I still had a little slip due to a rear main seal leak). I went for a Centerforce DF with my T-56 and my new 350 in my TA and I have absolutely zero clomplaints, the clutch feels great and grabs perfect. I personally would never buy another RAM clutch, but I know lots of people wouldn't buy a Centerforce, so that's just my two cents FWIW

-Paul

ok well i have heard that the TO bearings with the centerforce clutches are prone to whistleing and that dries me nuts cause the LUK stock cluthc i put in did it and i changed the bearing with a GM replacement. also i have a stock replacement LUK clutch do u think i could justr change the disc witha hayes or somthing or no cause its a junk pressure plate. reason beign is that the centerforce is 280 and the haves is leik 230 but the disc is liek 90 and my dad is gonna buy me this and i'd hate to put him out there for this much. thanks

I haven't had any whine from the to bearing w/ my new Centerforce with the T-56, but I've only got about 500 miles on it. In terms of Pressure Plate/Disc combos, Honestly I wouldn't mix and match if it's at all possible to avoid it. If you and your dad can manage an entire matched set I think you'll be better off in the long run. 280 isn't that bad for a disc and pp, be thankful you don't have a T-56 because the disc and pp cost $500+ But if you really think the clutch is causing your problems then I would try and get a completely new matched set and get the flywheel resurfaced again so your new clutch is working with a fresh surface. I would say though that before you spend more $$ on a clutch check the hydraulics (I assume you have hydraulic not mechanical?) and make sure that the linkage is working properly, because it sounds more like something there may be causing your problem. The clutch isn't slipping right? You're having trouble getting the tranny in gear, correct? I might have misunderstood, but just make sure that you're spending your money in the right place Good luck!

-Paul

yea when its working the clutch is flawless, grips perfect and what not, I am thinking its the hydraulics also bu how do i check this? also when i bleed it i had some 1 pump it a few times and hold it to the floor and i opened the screw till nothing came out anymore, and did this a few times, i did replace the line that goes fromt he slave to the master cause mine burned threw, but it doesn;t leak and its rated at way higher pressure rates then whats needed, also how do i knwo when the clutch is completly bleeded? cause it coms out at such a great force u cant tell if its air or fluid. thanks guys. oh yea, how woudl i test the hydraulics to make sure they are workin right?

not sure of the size, I don't have a catalog around and it's been a couple years. I suppose a heavier duty RAM woule be better but why bother when others have had bad luck?

I'm sure if you called summit's tech line they could tell you the size disc you need.

Ah! well, now I have a couple ideas....One (this depends on whether your slave cylinder has a bleeder fitting or or just a screw) attach a clear hose (like for a brake bleeding kit) to the bleeder fitting on your slave cylinder (if you have a stock one I think it's just a screw, so you won't be able to do this) and then you can watch the air come out of the bleeder fitting. Open the bleeder fitting and have an assistant push the clutch pedal to the floor. Once the pedal is all the way down, have the assistant hold it for a second or two, then close the bleeder valve and have the assistant let the pedal up. Do this until you don't see air coming through the tube attached to the bleeder valve (the key to this is that the tube lets you see the air, unlike the system you used before ) Also you gotta keep checking the fluid reservoir to make sure you don't run out of fluid, becuase then you have to start all over again lol. Now, number Two is much easier....check very carefully to make sure that NONE of the hydraulic components are anywhere near your headers or cylinder heads, etc. When I had my old 305 and T-5 in my '84 I had a big problem like yours because the previous owner put Hedman long tube headers on it, these headers were right against the slave cylinder so that once the exhaust got hot the clutch would not disengage at all Do you notice the problem more when you've been getting on it and the motor is real warm, or is it inconsistant? Since you said your old hydraulic line burned through I would bet that it's running near something hot, even if you relocated the hose when you put the new hose in, double check it and maybe even get some heat insulation wrapped around it and see if that helps. I really don't think the clutch itself is to blame here...I Think it's something simpler in the hydraulics. Mess with it and see what you can find out. Hope this helps some

-Paul

yea i was also thinking that it was heating up the fluid. the line burned threw when i first srated up my new motor to break it in, the line was right on the header. well i routed it as far as i coudl but its still pretty close, yeait seems like when i work the engine is does it. like if i get on it and go to shift at liek 5500 it grinds a little bit be4 goin into gear.where do u think i coudl get this heat wrap cause i was thinking the same thing but coudln;t find it. also there isn;t a normal bleeder. its leik a littrle screw that u put a allen jey in the top of. so i have to bleed it the normal way. thanks for any input or ideas.

Well, since I've never done it I can't say for sure, but a few layers of header wrap (wrapped around the hydraulic line) might work well, or possibly something like this: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=3188 Which is a stick on (I believe, but may not be) heat insulation. I think it might be overkill for your situation, but if it does the job then it's worth it! I thought you might have the stock slave cylinder, they do just have an allen head screw for bleeding..bummer...oh well, I expect you have it bled well enough if it's working well when the engine is cooler, but if you can get that line insulated, and maybe even the slave if it's close to any heat I bet it'll take care of your problem...that's how it sounds to me anyway

-Paul

I am gonan try bleeding it again when i get my tranny back together and in the car. also do that make a after market slave for our cars? caus ei woudl love somthing u coudl adjust