The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Clutch Chatter & Flywheel run-out

BRENT in 10-uh-C · 10-18-2018, 08:58 AM

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.UPDATE:

So here is what we did. We put the flywheel into the grinder and supported it off of the hub area and indicated it off of the flywheel ring gear to verify it was parallel to the stone. The face was only out by about 0.004-0.005, so it was a quick clean-up there. This was a relief to know the initial uneven reading was not due to a crankshaft flange run-out problem.

Next, we mounted the flywheel on the Bridgeport and indicated off of the pilot bearing hole to find true center. We laid out the V8 pressure plate mounting holes using the DRO, and just rotated the flywheel enough to move to an undrilled area on the flywheel. We drilled & tapped six new 5/16-18 holes and reamed the top of the holes for Mr. Gasket (Part #: 911) shouldered pressure plate bolts to properly locate the pressure plate. We then balanced the flywheel, -and then the flywheel and the customer's pressure plate as an assembly. Since there were several ½" lightening holes previously drilled into the pressure plate cover where they originally balanced it, we used a TIG to tack-weld a one inch diameter slug that we punched from some 11 gauge just to get us somewhat close(r), and from there it was balanced with the flywheel as an assembly.

The flywheel housing was left as-is and was never removed from the vehicle/engine, -and the flywheel was reinstalled along with the customer's original clutch and pressure plate. Once reassembled enough to test-drive it in and out of the shop, we found that engaging the clutch in forward and reverse revealed no more chattering. Yes, I know it was a gamble not replacing the pressure plate and disc, however if truth is told, I initially had planned to replace the disc however I got side-tracked as they were reassembling it and they already had the transmission and rear end installed by the time I handed them the disc, -and after a quick discussion whether to go on or disassemble, because we had not seen any evidence of looseness on the hub, nor unevenly worn areas on the linings, I chose to forgo pulling it apart just to change the disc simply because we felt the disc was not hurt or defective. The gamble paid off (-this time!

). So ultimately, it was either the poor flywheel face finish or the pressure plate being off-center that was causing the chatter issue. My opinion is the chatter was probably more likely due to the pressure plate being drilled off-center of the flywheel, but who knows. So as Paul Harvey would have said, --Now you know...…
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10-18-2018, 08:58 AM	#34
BRENT in 10-uh-C Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Eastern Tennessee Posts: 11,520	Re: Clutch Chatter & Flywheel run-out . .UPDATE: So here is what we did. We put the flywheel into the grinder and supported it off of the hub area and indicated it off of the flywheel ring gear to verify it was parallel to the stone. The face was only out by about 0.004-0.005, so it was a quick clean-up there. This was a relief to know the initial uneven reading was not due to a crankshaft flange run-out problem. Next, we mounted the flywheel on the Bridgeport and indicated off of the pilot bearing hole to find true center. We laid out the V8 pressure plate mounting holes using the DRO, and just rotated the flywheel enough to move to an undrilled area on the flywheel. We drilled & tapped six new 5/16-18 holes and reamed the top of the holes for Mr. Gasket (Part #: 911) shouldered pressure plate bolts to properly locate the pressure plate. We then balanced the flywheel, -and then the flywheel and the customer's pressure plate as an assembly. Since there were several ½" lightening holes previously drilled into the pressure plate cover where they originally balanced it, we used a TIG to tack-weld a one inch diameter slug that we punched from some 11 gauge just to get us somewhat close(r), and from there it was balanced with the flywheel as an assembly. The flywheel housing was left as-is and was never removed from the vehicle/engine, -and the flywheel was reinstalled along with the customer's original clutch and pressure plate. Once reassembled enough to test-drive it in and out of the shop, we found that engaging the clutch in forward and reverse revealed no more chattering. Yes, I know it was a gamble not replacing the pressure plate and disc, however if truth is told, I initially had planned to replace the disc however I got side-tracked as they were reassembling it and they already had the transmission and rear end installed by the time I handed them the disc, -and after a quick discussion whether to go on or disassemble, because we had not seen any evidence of looseness on the hub, nor unevenly worn areas on the linings, I chose to forgo pulling it apart just to change the disc simply because we felt the disc was not hurt or defective. The gamble paid off (-this time! ). So ultimately, it was either the poor flywheel face finish or the pressure plate being off-center that was causing the chatter issue. My opinion is the chatter was probably more likely due to the pressure plate being drilled off-center of the flywheel, but who knows. So as Paul Harvey would have said, --Now you know...… . . __________________ . BRENT in 10-uh-C . www.model-a-ford.com ...(...Finally Updated!! ) .