[RESOLVED] Tranny, Clutch, Flywheel Questions

[snowborder714]

So, my bro and I took off the tranny and now I have some questions.

1. First of all, there are small cracks in the flywheel. Is this normal/ok or should I get it stepped (or resurfaced...I forget what it's called)? Here is a picture of it:

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2. Also, just wondering if someone could let me know how the clutch and pressure plate look. As far as I know, they aren't too old (around a year or two).

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Center of pressure plate

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Clutch side of pressure plate

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Clutch

3. In the opening of the transmission, there are some cracks and scratches in the housing. Should I be worried about these or is it ok?

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4. While I have it out, is there anything I should replace? TOB, fork fulcrum ball, fork, etc.

5. When my brother was taking out the speed sensor, he accidentally lost one of the bolts for it. He's pretty sure it didn't go into the sensor's hole but he's not 100% sure. We looked in there and didn't see anything and also shook the tranny around a bit to listen for anything but heard nothing. Should I be really concerned and could the bolt get really far into the tranny if it did happen to fall into that whole?

6. Lastly, I would like to clean this thing while it's out. It's disgusting!! What can I use to clean it, where can I clean, should I be worried about getting any liquid in any part of it, or what do you recommend that I do to clean it? I have access to a pressure washer if that would be ok to use. Here are some pictures of it:

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Thanks everyone!

 

[DoyoFCT]

1. First of all, there are small cracks in the flywheel. Is this normal/ok or should I get it stepped (or resurfaced...I forget what it's called)? Here is a picture of it:

Well those cracks may come out from resurface/stepping, but they appear to be pretty deep. take it somewhere and have them look at it. they could just be surface cracks that will come out. if you have a spare with no cracks I would consider using it. but you should probably go ahead and resurface that one as well.

2. Also, just wondering if someone could let me know how the clutch and pressure plate look. As far as I know, they aren't too old (around a year or two).

It looks like pretty normal wear, are you planning to replace the disc? have you checked the disc hub springs are they loose? or chattery? you can get the pressure plate resurfaced as well, its a bit more expensive than flywheel resurfacing but its a good idea to do it when replacing the disc.

3. In the opening of the transmission, there are some cracks and scratches in the housing. Should I be worried about these or is it ok?

Well i wouldnt worry about those, most likely its just from someone who had to fight the transmission when doing the clutch job. but i have seen similar marks from a trans without dowels in the block. make sure that you have both dowels installed and I generally use a small bit of loctite on the transmission bolts just because ive seen a few walk themselves out after being installed on an off etc etc, you could also consider chasing the threads on the block and especially the small rear bolt hole on the transmission, those threads tend to get a lil messy after a few tranny installs.

4. While I have it out, is there anything I should replace? TOB, fork fulcrum ball, fork, etc.

im a bit overkill on this. I would replace the fork/fulcrum/clip/TOB, better safe then sorry. make sure an use a bit of lithium grease on the input shaft/TOB when installing a new throwout bearing. I also suggest using a machine washer to space the fulcrum out some(old cylinder head bolt washer works ok if you have one). This seems to help the way the pedal feels especially on a 1g car, not sure how bad 2gs are with this.

I also suggest replacing the slave/master while doing a clutch job (especially if you dont know the mileage on those parts and if they appear to be old/stock). but if your working on more of a budget you can just skip those and replace them when they fail.

5. eh loookkk everywhereee but im sure it probably rolled off somewhere or fell into the car's subframe or something like that.

6. well i keep a couple axle ends for this job specifically, and i plug up any open holes that could lead into the trans. use degreaser/brushes/brakekleen and ive used a power washer for some really hard grime on a 1g trans once. but its usually not nescessary.

Well I hope I answered your questions. Goodluck. btw i think last time i had a pressure plate checked/resurfaced it was like 50-60 bucks, and the flywheel was about 28 bucks.

 

[Burnett03]

I'd replace the fork, the ball, shim the ball (if you are using an act clutch) and a new throw out bearing.. That pressure plate looks like trash, toss it and get a full act setup. The flywheel is borderline but looks trashed also. Maybe they can machine it out.

 

[Eastwood95]

You should be making a decent amount of power over stock, so it would be pretty pointless to pay to keep the stock setup. I would recommend getting the ACT 2100 Clutch Kit with Street disk, and the XACT Flywheel if you can afford it. Better to do the job now and correctly with the tranny already dropped, instead of doing it again in a few months when you burn out another stock setup.

I would also look into getting a downpipe, and an AFPR to regulate that 255 pump of yours....

 

[turbosax2]

I'm snowborder 714's brother. The clutch he has is actually an ACT 2100 with stock flywheel. And yes, an AFPR is on his list of things to buy. Money is tight right now though. Would he be ok to just replace the tob and clip for now, and then replace everything (tob, clip, fork, ball, master, slave, clutch, and flywheel) when the clutch starts to go in the near future? We don't mind having to drop the trans again when the time comes, just money is tight right now.

 

[snowborder714]

Also, where would I go to have the flywheel/pressure plate resurfaced? I'm not sure what type of shop would do that.

 

[snowborder714]

Just to let everyone know, I had a guy come look at the clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel. He said that the clutch and pressure plate were 'reconditioned' and that they weren't brand new when installed in the car (the guy before me put it in I think). The clutch had ASCO inscribed in the hub part and the clutch-side of the pressure plate (on one of the teeth things that are in the center) also had an inscription. He said that they should not be used again. He did say the flywheel could be resurfaced as it has never been. So, I guess I'll be in the market for a new clutch and pressure plate in the near future...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

I do NOT recommend dabbling with the ACT clutches even though they are popular and I even have one myself. The disks start to make this horrible rattling noise and the springs in the disk hubs become 'loose'. Read some posts from other guys on this website, they have their own little 'woes' about the ACT clutch disks. I would try the Centerforce DFC if I were you. It looks like a 'different, unconventional' design that seems promising. Insted of shimming the pivot ball try an extended slave cylinder rod. It may cause the clutch to engage with the pedal closer to the floor rather than at the top of pedal travel.

 

[VanIsleDSM]

I'd go with a CFDF.. great clutch that can hold most people's needs just fine... with a stock pedal feel, way less stress on the system.. it's a great clutch.

..not to scare you too much but I also dropped the speed sensor bolt and thought it had just gone down behind the tranny, but once it was out it was still nowhere to be found.. I stuck a magnet around in the hole.. I tilted it around all upside down and nothing.. so I figured I'd just get a new bolt... Well the next couple days rained so I brought the tranny into the garage and proceeded to clean/semi polish it.. for some reason on the second day I just tilted it over some certain way after all the other searching I did and some more tranny fluid somehow came from somewhere trapped in there, and so did the bolt! I thanked the car gods for sparing my tranny and was quite happy for the rest of the day....

I dunno how the hell it stayed in there.. or how there was tranny fluid somehow in there after I'd held it upside down with someone else and shook it around a bit.. not a drop came out then.. weird, but I'm glad... so if you can't find that bolt somewhere.. I'd be rolling that tranny around... and taking it apart if I had to.

 

[snowborder714]

Thank you very much VanIsleDSM!!! The bolt did end up falling down into the hole and my brother got it out. First hand experience is always a good thing (and it saved both of our transmissions)!

And as for the clutch, I'll have to look into the CFDF one as I've read good things about it. But that's for a different time and different thread...

 

[Eastwood95]

It is true that a small percentage of people have had problems with ACT clutches, but that can be said about any product from any company. The best clutch kit for the 4G63 tranny IS and WILL ALWAYS BE the ACT kits. Take a poll if you don't believe me.

www.extremepsi.com
A decent dsm site with packaged deals for exhaust, fuel, and drivetrain products

Re-surfaced flywheels can be bought from a few dsm shops. You'd probably spend the same amount of money to buy a resurfaced one, as getting your's resurfaced locally, but if you bought one from a reputable dsm shop, you would know it was done right.

www.diamondstarmotorsport.com (located in NJ)
www.roadraceengineering.com
www.pruvenperformance.com (located in CT)
www.slowboyracing.com (located in PA)
www.turbotrix.com (located in NJ)

Most of these shops will have used parts not listed on their website, you can just call them to inquire about the parts you need/want.