I found the centerforce one but $350 is alittle steep...are there any others that will work..

 

There's one or two, like Fidanza, maybe Lakewood; don't think you'll find any that are "cheaper" (or less expensive either).

 

count on more like 400 after shipping the centerforce flywheel. It weighs a whopping 36lbs!!! Its one heavy ****. For comparison, a stock lt1 t56 flywheel weighs in at just over 18lbs.

Eric

 

McLeod makes one as well... i dont know if the price is cheaper or not, but worth looking into.



phone no. for price. 714 630 2764
website: www.McLeodInd.com

 

what about flywheels for a t-5 on the same engine..

 

alot cheaper... because you can use the stock ones.....


T5s came behind 2piece rear main cars and behind 1 piece rear main cars...... so you just have to goto the salvage yard, GM, or any number of stock replacement places and order one for your car...

 

Another option is to get a stock piece off an LT-1 and have it redrilled to work with the 2 piece rear main style crank. The center hole must be drilled larger and the bolt holes drilled farther out from the center. I have a flywheel redrilled like this running in my car with the t-56 right now and I've had no issues with it thus far. Just have a machine shop that knows what they're doing do it for you and you should be all set. It'll be a lot cheaper than an aftermarket unit too

-Paul

 

I use the McLeod one. It is a very high quality part. I wouldn't recommend the aluminum one though. My idle is a tad instable now. Nothing major, but it sounds like it has a cam and it doesn't. I had to fiddle with the idle screw to adjust the IAC steps to get it to idle and not stall out when I pushed in the clutch at speed, but now it works fine.

The subject of redrilling and modifying a stock flywheel was discussed on a previous post. The consensus was that this was probably not the best way to do this. The problem is that the flywheel is cast iron, and prone to cracking, especially near holes. You could have the old holes welded closed and heat revlieve the fywheel before and after the work, but all that work is probably close to the cost of an AM flywheel. If you drive the car hard I would seriously advise against this. Having your legs cut off by an exploding flywheel isn't fun.

 

I honestly don't think the flywheel exploding is a serious issue, but if you've got the money laying around for an aftermarket unit, by all means, go for it! I talked to many people about the safety of using the redrilled flywheel in my car (the T-56 I got came with the flywheel, I didn't have the work done myself) and everyone I talked to seemed to think it would be fine. Has anyone actually had a redrilled flywheel fail? Obviously it could be an issue in extreme drag racing conditions, but if you're using the car for that you should have an aftermarket unit anyway. In most thirdgens (IMHO) that are driven on the street you're going to break the tires loose before you put enough strain on the drivetrain to grenade the flywheel anyway. Just my .02 though, I thought I'd throw the "budget" option out on the table for consideration!

-Paul

 

The people who've had them fail might not be around to talk about it.

Even on a street driven car the flywheel is subjected to serious stress. Especially if you dump the clutch to do a burnout and shock load the flywheel with the clutch. Think about it. The engine is spinning at an RPM above idle,a dn them BAM! The clutch grabs it and tries to drag it down to the driveline speed, which from a stop is zero. You feed in the throttle, making the engine force the flywheel to stay in motion, and then the tires break loose. A lot can happen in that microsecond before the power actually makes the tires spin.

I agree that aftermarket flywheels are expensive, and wish there was a budget alternative, but my life doesn't have a dollar sign attached to it.

 

Remember the VSS discussion we had in that other thread? You're stalling out because your park / neutral & VSS setup is not correct. Been there, done that, experimented myself with it just to see how it reacts. (my 86 was 200-4R stock, now T56; was T5 when I was testing.)

You should not be stalling out b/c of a low inertia flywheel.

 

Intersting tidbit jmd. It doesn't do it anymore. I adjusted the throttle set screw in 1/4 trun increments until I reached a position where the idle was acceptable and the car no longer had stalling issues. I'm about 1.5 turns in from stock. This is what TPIS suggested after I got the thing together and running.

The VSS may also be a contributing factor though.

 

That's a crutch. I have a pair that fit people from 5'10" to 6'6" but I'd rather have both legs, yaknow?


It darn sure is. Is your car an A4 > M6 swap? Did you disconnect the park neutral wiring so it's setup like an M5 car?

 

I went from a 700R4 to the T56. I rewired everything so the car works just like a factory stick. I've got a clutch interlock to start the car, and I swapped all my brake and cruise switches over to new ones for a T5 car.

 

okay because if it's not throwing code and it's stalling, it just reeks of a park/neutral switch stuck in park.

 

Hmn, good to know for future reference.

 

Don't wast your money on a so called "Specialty Flywheel". You can use any 153 2 peice rear main seal flywheel. You just need to extend the pivot Tee for the clutch fork 1/2". It is very simple and cost about $.50. I bougth 2 square nuts from Lowes. The were approx. 3/8" thick each. Their holes were just lare enough to clear the pivot Tee Bolt. I also bought a bolt 1/2" longer to replace the Tee bolt. Weld the nuts together (or have someone do it for you), then notch one end so that it becomes female and the bottom of the Tee will slide onto it. Notch the other end male so that it wil fit into the notch on the trans case. I used a dremel and a regular old mini grinder. Or you could just weld the nuts to the Tee and gring to fit. It took me about an hour to do this. I used a flywheel from a 60s passenger car, it is just temporary as I will be upgrading to an alum. flywheel. I can pick it up for about $150 used compared to $500+ for a new "Specialty" one. I did not even need to adjust the slave rod for this, there was enough play in the slave. After having done this I can't see why they even make those stupid 1/2" thicker flywheels. They are a rip off.

Better yet you could take the money for the rip off flywheel, and buy a Hydraulic TO bearing and discard the old slave fork and Tee. You could then use a normal style push off clutch which is has a better reputation than the weirdo pull off clutch, is about half the price, and is available in many more configurations. I would have done it this way right off the bat, but I am on an extreme budget, the steel flywhell was free, and I was lucky to get a good T56 press. plate and disc for $26.

Erik-

 

All good and dandy, but the only throwout bearing I know of (McLeod) is too thick to work with an 85 f-body clutch & flywheel without spacing the trans. away from the bellhousing or the bellhousing away from the block.

 

QuarterMaster, Tilton and Howe also make hydraulic T.O. brgs. Compressed thickness on Howe street unit is 1.75" .

QuarterMaster Hyd T.O. brg

Tilton Hyd T.O. brgs

PitStop USA Hyd T.O. brgs

 

And those attach to the front of the upon the transmissions how? The throwout bearing dia. of the LT1 T56 is unique and will not just take one of those.

 

But we're not talking about using an LT1\T56 clutch are we?

Quote by JMB: (Snip) All good and dandy, but the only throwout bearing I know of (McLeod) is too thick to work with an 85 f-body clutch & flywheel without spacing the trans. away from the bellhousing or the bellhousing away from the block.

We're talking about putting a 3rd Gen 153 tooth flywheel and clutch and using that combo. And that combo works very nicely with with a Hydraulic thowout bearing.

In fact, Howe has just come out with a new Hydraulic T.O. bearing made specifically as a bolt on for T5 GM. This may bolt onto a T56 with or without modification. That info I don't have.

http://www.howeracing.com/DriveTrain...w-HydStock.htm

 

Is this true or is this just a theory? If it is true I would like to elarn a little more about that and maybe do a write up for my web site. I wanted to go auto but it is just too boring for me. I am debating the whole tremmec or t56 and jsut want what is cheaper.

 

I think the hydraulic TO bearing stuff is interesting, but can only be applied to a GM Retrofit T56. The LT1 T56 uses a unique TO bearing that is part of the p.plate.

Personally I saw no need to modify the existing system. It has always worked flawlessly, and it all bolted right together without the need to fabricate hydraulics.

 

my entire thing bolted together without issue easily...

atleast with the LT1 flywheel....



when the 400 goes in, i'll be using a new NOPI flywheel.. its made for a 400 with the LT1 clutch.... and while it retails for $240, i can probly get it for less...

 

What setup did you use? Do you have PNs? I think it would be helpful to those on the boards interested in this type of setup if you could post some more info, and maybe a pic or two.

 

But the hydraulic TOB idea does work in a retrofit situation?

 

No, I'm talking about a normal 10.5" clutch, in other words a V8 third gen f-body clutch.



The "bearing retainer" that the throwout bearing slides on in a 93-97 T56 is a unique o.d. So no, the Howe does not fit the T56. The Tilton does not fit the T56. The Pitstop does not fit the T56.

The McLeod that does fit the T56 does not fit in between the aluminum "base" of the bearing retainer area and the fingers of a third gen clutch. Trust me, I've test fit all this. The aluminum pedestal may be machinable to provide extra clearance, but I chose to go another route and my T56 uses mechanical linkage and fork.


There are T5 hydraulic throwout bearings available which would fit the "aftermarket / retrofit T56" because that trans uses a T5 bellhousing, clutch, and bearing retainer. As for the 93-97 T56, no there isn't currently an option to do this right

 

How 'bout that flywheel bolt clearance

 

Well I haven't had any problems with it the way I did it. It works just fine and I have no problem with recomending it to anyone.

I have not done the push clutch conversion yet, but I will, due to parts being much more readily available and at more affordable price. Based on what experience I have with it already, I see no reason to believe it will not work. This is one of those deals where everyone swears it only works with expensive specialty parts, but the truth is there is a simple and low cost way that works just as well.

Erik-

 

You do realize that you said the words "low cost" on a thread that involves a T56 swap right?

You found a low cost solution to one aspect of the swap, and if it works then I commend you. It's just funny to see low cost and T56 in the same post!

 

Yes, I got it done for less than $450 and that includes the trans. and I was converting from an automatic. No it's not boot legged, but I do need to convert the tailhousing to a cable driven speedo. Guess what, I am not paying $300 for the converterbox either.

Erik-

 

Could we have details on your $450 swap? What did you reuse; did you get anything for free?

 

would like the details too.