Re: Clutch questions

["Christopher P. Locke" <d.locke@snet.net>]

You're probably going to get flooded with answers to "how does a clutch
work," here's another one for you:

You're right on everything you said in your e-mail if it is a single
disk type clutch.  The fingers are attached to the "pressure plate." 
The pressure plate squeezes the "driven plate".  The pressure plate is
bolted to the flywheel, and always spins with it.  The driven plate is
not attached to anything, but floates between the flywheel and the
pressure plate, centered by the input shaft of the transmission.  The
shaft is splined so that when the driven plate turns, it has something
to grab onto to turn the transmission input shaft.  With the clutch
pedal in, the pressure plate and the flywheel aren't squeezing the
driven plate, so the presure plate and flywheel turn, but the driven
plate sits still and doesn't turn.  When the pedal is released, the
fingers relax, the spring presses the presure plate against the flywheel
and squeezes the driven plate.  When the driven plate starts to turn,
the transmission does also, and voila, motion.  

Chris locke 86 4kcstq