Fingers broke off ACT pressure plate. Why?

[1969olds]

So after I took my transmission out I found my problem. Two teeth had broken off my ACT 2100 pressure plate, causing the TOB to come out. Is this a common problem with these? I have seen a few other posts where people have talked about this, I'm just worried about buying another one of these. Dont want the same thing to happen again in a few years.

 

[MemphisGSX]

the TOB that come with the ACT clutch are crap... most people who use their clutches prefer the OEM TOB. if you get another clutch from them I would recommend that

 

[50trimgst]

Same thing happend to my Gst and act 2100.

 

[jjrock5]

Yeah I've been there

ACT clutch / pressure plate failure on a DSM - YouTube

ACT clutch failure Part 2 - removing clutch - YouTube

 

[ReggieRay]

I JUST had the same thing happen to my 2600 plate.

 

[mattasi]

Man, I really like my 2600 6-puck set-up. Hope it doesn't happen to mine also..

 

[red_devil]

Older gen ACT pressure plates=shite

I think its less common on the newer ones being produced. Then again I have an older gen and its holding up just fine (knock on wood) but still has poor engagement.

 

[Borgratt]

I had my 2600 bend and cause my tob explode. Or vice versa, either way that was my last ACT.

 

[Topcat]

I had a 2600 that held up fine. I did however have an OEM TOB.

 

[1969olds]

Ya I was pretty disappointed that their pressure plate would break like that. At least they have awesome customer service...

 

[bmoha7321]

The picture Reggieray posted shows very traditional TOB failure. So which is it? Did your fingers break off the pressure plate? Or did the other than OEM TOB fail and break a finger off your pressure plate?

I have to ammend my previous statement. It shows classic other than OEM TOB failure.

 

[95talongirl]

Had this happen to me, as well. 3 fingers broke off... Switched over to an Exedy one.

 

[bmoha7321]

ACT does have amazing customer service. I was very puzzled by why my clutch failed in a similar fashion. I attacked the problem in a very analytical way. and came up with the conclusion that the other than OEM TOB that comes with their clutch kits is absolute crap and should just be discarded. It should never go in any DSM. Paperweight at best. The other than OEM TOB is held centered by two flimsy little plastic tabs. The other than OEM TOB can be thrown off center by the slightest little thing. When that happens the bearing race that is supposed to ride on the ends of the fingers of the pressure plate fingers falls off. It usually falls off about halfway. So it scores the end of the pressure plate fingers where it's no longer riding on the bearing race but the non spinning body of the TOB itself. Clutch failure, usually catastrophic, happens very quickly afterwards.
Also it is not ACT's TOB. ACT does not make TOB's. It is just a TOB that is included in the clutch kits from ACT. Act also regards it as complimentary and in actuality does not reccomend using it.

My ACT 2100 with OEM TOB lasted 30k and I beat the living shit out of it. My ACT with other than OEM TOB lasted 100 miles. I went to school for engineering. Didn't finish but I got the general gist of it. I approached ACT in a respectful fact finding manner. Even tho my clutch was out of warranty because the car sat for a year before I got around to installing it, I sent in the pressure plate, the other than OEM TOB that came with their clutch kit and the friction disc. They came to the same conclusion I did and sent me back all new parts which are now covered under warranty. I specifically threw away the other than OEM TOB that they sent along. Got a new OEM TOB from Map and have not had a problem since.
If your clutch is loud, sounds like it's grinding and starts not working right, and you've used an other than OEM TOB. Most likely it's toast. I can say without a doubt that my other than OEM TOB failed i'e. had a finger fall off the bearing the absolute first time I started it up and backed it off the lift after installing the new clutch. I heard the second one fall off a couple days later. The third finger falling off was catastrophic failure.
The OEM TOB had four metal tabs that wrap around each end of the TOB body that hold the bearing race centered. It is much more resistant to getting knocked off center. Not saying it isn't possible to make it fail that way but it's much harder. The funny thing is; the other than OEM TOB that is included in the ACT clutch kits is made by the same factory in China or Japan Taiwan etc that the OEM TOB is. The actual bearing is exactly exactly the same. Identical. The bearing is NOT the problem. It's the body that the other than OEM TOB bearing is put into that is the problem. If you hold them up together and compare them they look very similar. But if you drop them on the ground and pick them back up. You'll notice the other than OEM TOB will have been knocked off center and the OEM TOB will be perfectly fine.

I see in JJrocks video posted above broken finger caused by most likely other than OEM TOB. You can tell immediately by how the ends of the fingers are scored by the edge of the body of the TOB. That was definitively TOB failure that took out his pressure plate. I would suspect an other than OEM TOB. If it was an OEM TOB it still was an TOB failure that took out his pressure plate finger.
A TOB that is working properly i.e. staying centered and spinning should not score the ends of the fingers of the pressure plate. The only thing that should be contacting from the TOB to the pressure plate finger is the bearing race which spins. It is not unusual to see some slight scoring from normal clutch engagement but as in my case when my other than OEM TOB failed it scored the ends of the fingers down an eighth of an inch. Almost cut half way thru half of them.
Listen to your drivetrain. There shouldn't be any grinding. It shouldn't be much if at all louder than stock. My mistake was dismissing the much louder operation of my clutch to a side effect of using a unsprung four puck friction disc. Everyone kept saying you will hear more noise from the unsprung disc. But now after replacing all the parts and installing an OEM TOB it's hardly any louder than stock.

 

[ReggieRay]

The picture Reggieray posted shows very traditional TOB failure. So which is it? Did your fingers break off the pressure plate? Or did the other than OEM TOB fail and break a finger off your pressure plate?

I have to ammend my previous statement. It shows classic other than OEM TOB failure.

Unfortunately I have a pretty good feeling that I used the TOB that came with the kit, but from now on they go right into the trash can.

 

[thomcasey]

You can use the TOB that comes with the ACT. Just clean it and re-pack it with a good grease. I have seen where this has been done, and the TOB works great.

 

[mattasi]

You can use the TOB that comes with the ACT. Just clean it and re-pack it with a good grease. I have seen where this has been done, and the TOB works great.

I agree, I have seen a fourm on here about it. They don't put enought greese into them or something...Anyways with that said I only use OEM TOB!

 

[bmoha7321]

I completely disagree. Completely. Even tho it is a good idea to repack the sealed cartridge bearing of the TOBs and I do it even on the OEM TOBs before I install them. I crack open every OEM cartridge bearing before i install them and I have seen some that are light on grease. It is not the the bearing which is the problem. In fact the bearings are identical between the other than OEM TOBs and the OEM TOBs. It is the exact same bearing. The bearing is not the problem. The problem is the housing the other than OEM bearing sits in compared to the OEM housing. The other than OEM TOB housing is plainly put crap. Much inferior design.

 

[Morphius]

Interesting how all of you with failures have 2g cars. Sure it wasn't because your pedal was misadjusted and pumped up? This would result in over extending the PP fingers. Constant loading of the TB causes premature failure.

 

[bmoha7321]

absolutely not I am very very anal about clutch pedal adjustment. I can't stand a poorly adjusted clutch. Also ACT agreed with me of my assessment of the problem. They didn't see any evidence of an improperly installed transmission or maladjusted clutch.

 

[WES_393]

On the subject of TOB's, here is a good example of why you should use OEM. The bearing on the right is OEM, the one on the left is South Bend.

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The contact surface (the part that touches the PP) is so small I felt the need to outline part of it in red just so you can see. It is also nearly flat and the bearing itself is about 1/4" shorter than OEM (engagement issues?). The way I see it, Mitsubishi designed the transmission, pivot ball, fork, and flywheel. So it would be best to use the TOB they designed to go along with it, regardless of clutch.

As for ACT clutches breaking fingers? Yeah, I'd say that's not exactly a rare phenomena. To anyone who has a PP fail like this I would contact ACT and ask about warranty/replacement options. Either that or call South Bend for a new clutch .

 

[Artago]

Here's my ACT 2600 thread with broken fingers: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/drivetrain-tech/351015-act-failed-help-diagnose-warranty-pics.html

..and then a ACT 2100 failure here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/drivetrain-tech/380441-clutch-soft-suddenly.html

I'm done with ACT for life. I've been running a SS-TZ from http://www.tmzperformance.com/ for over a year now. No problems.