[s-cars] When clutch plate wears out, why does disengaging the clutch bec...

[CLAG500 at aol.com]

Paul,

 Welcome aboard. I've inserted some comments below.

In a message dated 3/23/03 12:52:41 AM Central Standard Time,
Paul.Park at colorado.edu writes:

> My clutch is slipping and is due for replacement. I'm wondering though, how
> does a worn out clutch plate cause the disengagement of the clutch to
become
> stiffer/more difficult? How does this translate into an engagement point
that
> eventually finds itself at the end of clutch pedal travel?

 My theory on this is that when the disk gets thinner the geometry of the
pressure plate fingers gets to a point where it requires more effort. There
is not a lot of travel in the pressure plate due to the low profile design.

>
>  Would installing a new Sachs clutch kit immediately alleviate the
stiffness
> of disengaging the clutch.

Yes it will. However, Luk is the OEM clutch and the entire kit including
disk, PP, TO bearing, pilot bearing and alignment tool can be had for under
$300.

What else would be needed to make clutch
> disengagement require less effort, and engage at a lower point?
>

Nothing else should be needed. When I did mine I had the wrong Pressure Plate
so I reused the old one. The pedal effort was much lighter even with the old
pressure plate. When I did a clutch with the new pressure plate the pedal was
very light and engaged much closer to the floor.

>  Also, is it absolutely necessary to get a new flywheel? My mechanic was
> saying that resurfacing a flywheel is impossible on flywheels that are
found
> on our cars(Dual-Mass flywheel?)

I've done clutches on 2 cars and on both of them I just scuffed up the
flywheel surface with some emory cloth. Both work fine with no chatter and
smooth engagement. The flywheels are usually in good condition you just need
to take the shine off of it. The ones I've done have not had any deep grooves
in them.

Chad Tobin