Paul Waterloo

So my butt got kicked last weekend when getting to the throw out bearing by two things:

• Finding replacement pressure plate screws
  
• Finding a clutch alignment tool

I had to drill two of the pressure plate screws out, and because I didn't replace any components, I didn't have any new screws with a kit. Ended up that I used a regular hex head screw from Pepboys. They have a nice assortment of bins with hardware. Most other auto parts stores do not (ask me how I know).

I believe the size is M8 x 1.25 x 50mm. That's from memory.

I thought they were going to interfere with something because they were "proud" (i.e. sticking beyond) the pressure plate. But no worries, they don't interfere with anything. Pepboys only had six of them, so I used three of the old screws and six of the new ones, but put the old ones in the middle of two of the new ones to maintain balance. Old (gold) vs. new (black). The clutch had some triple square and some torx installed.





Here it is installed:



I was also chasing a clutch alignment tool....finally went to a NAPA distribution center in Naperville, IL to get a generic one-size-fits none tool to find out it doesn't fit.

Used the following method, worked perfectly. I had a 10mm craftsman 3/8" drive socket (deep well) that fits pretty much perfectly into the pilot bearing, this was then fit with a Husky 16mm or 17mm socket, can't remember which, but it fit PERFECTLY into the clutch spline. There was a slight amount of play between the sockets.









Put the pressure plate on, start all the screws and tighten them all down finger tight and three of them to just put some pressure on the clutch plate.

Then by eyeing it.....center the socket in throwout bearing, if you need to move it, just use a screw driver to move it around. Rotate the engine by hand and make sure it's centered, adjust as required....very easy to center it.



Tighten everything up, torque it down, and you're good to go.

The spline shaft fit right into the clutch, and then I used the torque tube bolts to draw the entire assembly into the pilot bearing.

Hope this helps somebody else!

Tags: Clutch, pressure plate, flywheel

Rob in Oz

Nice one, Paul. Well done for documenting a useful tip.

Rob

FRporscheman

The way I used to do it before I had the alignment tool was to put it all together as centered as I could by eye, and just as I was inserting the driveshaft, I install the slave cylinder and have a buddy hold down the clutch pedal.

But your method is better - don't need to have a helper.

Dave W.

Nice work with the DIY alignment tool. FYI the 951 uses the same alignment tool as the Mitsubishi EVO and other cars. The tool says '03 FORD' on it, so I think it might fit on some kind of Ford too.

User 52121

Great ingenuity with the "clutch tool" and I doubt there is an issue with mixing up the bolts....

But I have to chuckle quietly to myself at the thought of the next owner, years from now, changing the clutch and trying to fit an allen socket in a triple-square bolt (or vice versa) and the resulting cursing as they aren't aware of the mix-n-matched bolts.

mahoney944

I like the helper idea. I thought about doing that with the alignment tool anyways as the slight play using the tool still made the alignment a hair off. But all went well with only using the tool and my clutch is perfect now. Another good tip would be to have the flywheel cut. I know of and hear of too many owners who decide to let it go, me almost being one of them as it looked OK when I did mine. But when I Checked it on surfaced table with an indicator it was surprisingly .009 out. I had it cut once and the shop that did it did a bad job and it ran about .006 out. Finally had a trusted but pricier shop get it to .001, luckily the first shop barely touched it on the outer lip so no harm done. I immediately could tell how smooth it was compared to before. Before doing my clutch I was so use to the feel of it that I didn't notice.