Well, gang, it looks as if Tiny Tim won't be making his debut at VTR2000 after
all. I can't get the clutch to completely disengage and
am at my wits end.
Here's the complete story. If anyone out there can offer some pearls of wisdom
that I haven't already thought of, please communicate
them to me!
1. I have the following parts:
- GT6 Tranny with cut down input shaft
- aluminum flywheel that was made incorrectly, so I had to have a spacer ring
made to stand the pressure plate away from the flywheel
surface. (ala 1500)
- Carbon Kevlar clutch Disk sized to fit the GT6 shaft and 1500 pressure plate.
- A new 1500 pressure plate
- Rebuilt master and slave cylinders which appear to be working fine.
2. Observations.
- On first assembly, the clutch release arm was functioning but would not
completely release the clutch. (Almost, but no cigar)
- I thought that I needed more distance between the pressure plate and the
flywheel surface to accommodate for the thicker disk. So I
made a .060 spacer to stack on the ring that was previously made. The effect
was that the .060 shim pushed the actuator arm back so far
that the slave cylinder would not mount properly. Further it reduced the free
play from about 1/4" to almost nothing.
- I made a smaller (.040) spacer with the same results. I don't understand how
.040 and .060 could translate into a reduction of about
1/4" of free play.
3. I took the flywheel off the engine and did some precise (as much so as
possible with the tools I have) measurements and have
determined that the flywheel ends up throwing the clutch surface somewhere
between .3 and .4 inch to the rear. So my efforts to
increase the space for the thicker disk to spin is pushing the clutch further
rearward putting the slave out of position. Mounting
the slave with the aid of spacers still doesn't allow the clutch to release.
I have about given up on this arrangement and if there is no solution using the
components I have, then I will think about either
acquiring a different flywheel , or have the steel one lightened. But that
will involve additional cost because I had the engine
balanced with the flywheel and clutch on it. I hate to spend more bucks to
have that redone.
I am hoping someone will suggest something that will make me slap my forehead
with the heel of my palm!
Regards,
Joe (C)
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