Clutch Plate- Am I Actually This Stupid?

I didn't mean to offend anyone from California, I just figured the California legislature would at least require warning labels about the clutch containing materials that would cause cancer if you ate it.

 

They probably do already. Don't a lot of clutch plates contain asbestos?

Also it's possible that once I put together a small engine and didn't get the camshaft timing marks lines up correctly.

 

You never make mistakes if you never do anything cause you're listless and lazy or unmotivated. Mistakes happen because someone did something instead of being lazy or letting someone else take care of it.

When I do a clutch, its not always clear which side goes it. I have put them in wrong, realized it and switched it and wondered if I did it right. They are not often labelled and sometimes its not as obvious as some that would poke fun.. At the end of the day, you have a 50/50 chance...

And as for warning labels.. I like to be a little less ignorant of the hazards that I dont know about. none of us are born with the knowledge of what is dangerous to us in an unseen or unknown product or environment.

I work in a field where the dangers are deadly in many different ways that if not clearly stated and shown, will kill you and all the people around you. I no longer make fun of California and their labeling requirements. My mechanic who was very clear in the late 80s set me straight about asbestos and why the laws were important. Warnings are tehre so you can make an informed desicion on how YOU want to protect yourself against possible dangers. Its not as obvious sometimes as the dangers of throwing yourself feet first into a wood chipper.

 

When I was a kid we would bust open thermometers and play with the mercury. We had an old motorcycle once we were riding it in the Summer wearing shorts and kept burning our legs on the muffler. My older brother went to the hardware store and bought some asbestos sheet to wrap around the muffler so we rode around rubbing bare skin on that for a couple of years, and both of us are still alive.

When we were clearing out my father-in-law's house we found a large wooden box containing a gallon jug of mercury in the basement. My sister-in-law called the Sheriff's office to ask about disposal and we were told to exit the house immediately, and within a half hour several vehicles arrived with a bunch of guys in Haz-Mat suits to go in and carry the stuff out in a large sealed metal box. It had been in that basement for 60 years, and nobody got sick or hurt by it as far as we know.

Please excuse the topic drift my comments may have caused.

 

All understandable, and I've shared such experiences.

But because we survived proves nothing. In fact just the opposite.

"Survivorship Bias" is the technical term, but put simply, it means we don't hear the stories of the victims, even if they were possibly many more numerous.


If a dolphin rescues a shipwrecked sailor, it's big news. But we don't hear from all the sailors they push out to sea.


To my original point, since clutch-plate reversal is a common problem, why wouldn't there yet be a way to make them fit in only the correct orientation? Or at least be clearly and permanently stamped "This side towards enemy" or some such?

 

A large portion of them are marked. Happens anyway.

 

Seems to me the better question is why can't it be made symmetric so it doesn't matter which way you mount it?

 

Works for me.

 

There are some commonalities here between clutch discs and long/short brake shoes. Which one faces toward? Just write it on the part!

 

Because of the huge amount of differences in designs in transmissions, flywheels, crankshaft flanges and depths, bellhousings, clutch pressure plate assemblies, list goes on and on.
A simpler solution would be for people to pay attention to how they took the damn thing apart, read their service information, or do their research instead of assuming they know what they are doing.

 

Since we're in the learning mode, and since I'm having trouble with my clutch installation, I thought maybe I am also that stupid......alas though I didn't make that mistake, although capable and wondering what I did when I came upon a different problem with my clutch install. I didn't have the luxury of taking it apart, and instead am dealing with the proverbial box of parts on my -6 w/225. I am looking for opinions on the old vs. new clutch plate as displayed below. I didn't put it in backwards (yet), old one does show which side goes to the flywheel (flat), new one does not, but as you can tell by the pictures the "flat side" shaft spline is a fair bit more proud (3/8"), and when I put it all together I could not get it to function proper. I'm guessing wrong clutch plate, but open to opinions and advice / spears. Also have new pressure plate, assuming it's correct and not my problem currently. Looking at various suppliers its hard to tell based on the pictures whether I will have the same problem if I order another, so if someone had a known good part number or source for either the clutch disk and or pressure plate, or a complete set that would be awesome, or feel free to pile on and tell me what I'm doing wrong here in NM...if I need to I can always claim a language barrier to hide my shame. And I have to hurry cause when my wife sees I'm using her new drier as art studio....well you know how that story ends.


a

 

Ok two more pics showing the difference in a blow-up if you will. As you can see the height between old..working...new not working clutch plates is significant is a fair amount.

il

l

 

The new one on the left just doesn’t have the splines protruding like the used one on the right has. Should be no problem at all, in fact less likely to have an interference problem. The protruding hub will face the transmission, away from the flywheel. It appears the hub will protrude the same amount as the old one (sans the splines sticking out on the flat side). On Dauntless V-6’s with the thicker than average flywheel a hub that protrudes more can be problematic with some transmissions.

When you say you could not get the clutch to work right, exactly what was it doing or not doing? The disc looks like it should be fine. I know it’s common for the release bearing (throw out bearing) to be the wrong length or the pressure plate assembly fingers to be the wrong height. What transmission are you using, what clutch linkage?

 

short one

 

As a guy who will install a clutch plate in the near future, I am thankful you've shared your experience. I make my share of mistakes on a regular basis. My jeep rebuild has already had some, and I'm not done yet!

 

Mistakes add to learning, hardly ever make the same mistake again.

 

Not always...

 

Nah, just human mistake.

 

Like others have said, anyone who hasn't made mistakes, hasn't done anything! Just get the Bob Ross vibe on...Happy little accidents!