Hi All,
I just finished reading the article regarding clutches in the VTR magazine. I
found it very good EXCEPT THAT my own personal experience of owning standard
transmission cars since 1969 has taught me that installing a new driven disk
without replacing the pressure plate results in a clutch with a greatly reduced
life expectancy. Even in cases where I have resurfaced the flywheel and had
the original pressure plate resurfaced, I have not been able to get mileage out
of the new clutch disk anywhere near what the original clutch lasted. My own
theory is that the spring pressure from the pressure plate diaphram gradually
diminishes over time and that the reduction in spring pressure results in more
clutch slipage on the replacement clutch disk and, therefore, a shorter clutch
life. On a 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 with about 95,000 miles on the pressure
plate, but with less than 10,000 miles on the driven disk, I became able to
induce clutch slip at about 40 mph in non-overdrive fourth gear just by
flooring the throttle on level ground. Needless to say, I had to take it all
apart again and replace all the clutch components (including the pressure
plate). With the new pressure plate, I drove the car another 45,000 miles
before I sold it and the clutch was still "as new". With this and other
experiences, I can't help but wonder if some of the difference between the
spring pressure of the two clutches tested by the writer of the article has to
do with the difference in the amount of use in the two clutches.
Rex Townsend
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