Clutch Replacement

[connecticut mike]

Good Evening,

My clutch began to slip this past Sunday. I now have the disc out, and it is clearly worn.
In addition to the disc, I plan to replace the throwout bearing, pilot bearing and U-joint gaskets. Would you please share your wisdom on what to look for to assess the condition of the pressure plate. Also, I have noticed that many of the parts suppliers offer both rebuilt pressure plates and new ones. Does anyone have experience or advice on these choices. Lastly, any advice on how to not screw-up the reassembly would be appreciated.

I an curious about the age of the clutch disc; it it is not the spring-center type. Any suggestions on how to tell its vintage?

Thanks, Mike

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

Original discs were not spring center.
Make sure the 6 fingers on the plate look good and are evenly adjusted to 5/8" to 11/16" below the surface of the pressure plate center hole. The plate and new disc have to be mounted to the flywheel to make the adjustments.

While the ****** is out (or the engine) now is a good time to dial in the flywheel cover, if there is any question about it's alignment.

 

[Tom Endy]

Clutch disks with spring centers replaced the original solid clutch disks many years ago. The original spring replacements were made by Nova and they were a good quality clutch with the six springs well secured with retainer flanges. A number of years ago the Nova Company went out of business and an inferior clutch disk appeared on the market. Most suppliers today offer a clutch disk that have the six springs poorly secured. I have seen and heard of a number of them failing when a spring became dislodged and jammed the clutch.

Recently Bratton's has been offering a clutch disk that is very good quality much like the Nova clutch. As far as I know they are the only supplier offering it. I would recommend you purchase your clutch disk from Bratton's.

The series of photos show a Nova clutch (the one with the pilot shaft inserted), a poor quality clutch (the one without retainer flanges around the springs), a Bratton clutch (the one similar to the Nova clutch), and an original Ford clutch (without springs).

Tom Endy

 

[Patrick L.]

As Tom mentioned, I too would check the 'run-out' of the flywheel cover and adjust it if needed. Also as he said, I'd also suggest checking the pressure plate finger height regardless of what plate you install. The fingers should be set with-in .002" from each other. I use a piece of perfectly round round stock [5/8"] and set the fingers to equal drag. Its easiest to remove flywheel and do this on the bench. I also file a bit of a taper on the disk splines just to allow the transmission input shaft to line up a little easier. New U-joints are available if yours is at all sloppy.

 

[1931 flamingo]

Guys on the EV8 forum swear by Fort Wayne Clutch, they will rebuild yours, fast turn around time. FWIW
Paul in CT

 

[Hicktick]

I assume you know to have the flywheel turned or ground and be careful that sucker is heavy .

Now is the time to replace the starter ring gear if the teeth are bad .

Make sure the cam is sealed good on the back of the block while the flywheel is off .

 

[columbiA]

I never use the solid center discs.I throwthem away no mater how good they look.They have a tendency to chatter & grab once the new wore off.The discs with the spring centers & wafer springs between the discs are designed for smooth engagement.Back in 55,I passed on a nice 31 Tudor for $45 because the clutch grabbed so bad it almost snapped your head off when starting out.

 

[James Rogers]

Good Evening,

My clutch began to slip this past Sunday. I now have the disc out, and it is clearly worn.
In addition to the disc, I plan to replace the throwout bearing, pilot bearing and U-joint gaskets. Would you please share your wisdom on what to look for to assess the condition of the pressure plate. Also, I have noticed that many of the parts suppliers offer both rebuilt pressure plates and new ones. Does anyone have experience or advice on these choices. Lastly, any advice on how to not screw-up the reassembly would be appreciated.

I an curious about the age of the clutch disc; it it is not the spring-center type. Any suggestions on how to tell its vintage?

Thanks, Mike

You could put in one of my lightened set-ups. New everything with the flywheel 11# lighter and a 6# lighter pressure plate. Listed on my web page.

 

[Ray in La Mesa]

Thanks Tom , for showing the different discs, their quality and sources.