All the ones I've changed have been rusty like that.

 

Have a related question for my personal edification.....this car allegedly had a clutch job in 2006. The disc was clearly newer, although still rubber centered. I measured it in summer 2015 (out of the car) and it was 95% in spec and the rubber was healthy. So I believe the disc was replaced for sure.

What about the pressure plate? Has anyone done a clutch job after 10 years, to find the original in this state? In terms of surface rust and all. I'm wondering if the PP is original and only the disc was replaced.

 

Because there's a rubber-center clutch disk in there, I'd say it's highly possible that just the disk was changed. In all the "kits" I've seen from Sachs, they always come with the pressure plate. I've never seen a kit with the rubber-centered disk. So, perhaps the disk was ordered as a separate item to save money?

 

When I did my clutch, a PO had done it already with a spring centered clutch.However, I took the disc to a clutch shop, had new lining and springs installed, he bead blasted it along with the PP...There were no cracks or distortions I could see on the clutch PP spring, and the engagement surface was slightly marred, but w/o any blue spots. He declared it good enough to run, so along with a new T/O bearing..it's back on the engine. I also resurfaced the flywheel, and installed a new pilot bearing and rear main seal. We put in an upgraded lining material on the disc. We didn't tear down the PP, as it usually takes special equipment to do this. That, AFAIK, must be done to regrind the PP engagement surface and get it flat.

 

Quick update on this. I spent the day putting the car back together and the pedal feels GREAT. The new pressure plate seems significantly stiffer than I ever remember, which makes me think my old one was truly worn out even when I first bought the car almost 4 years ago. Just waiting on my new axles and a way forward on my blown transaxle mounts and she should be back to daily driver duty.

 

Glad to hear that the clutch job resulted in a great improvement! Keep us posted on the Xaxle mounts..