Purple plate for McLeod clutch

[t3rse]

Chris: I put the assembly on a press and the clutch releases perfectly fine with 1/4" of travel from contact to full release. I'd say that is perfectly within specification, so you can tell your guy that the problem is non of his fault and his product works fine on the bench, but I do believe I figured out the problem, and after investigating, I will post this up for all 2.4 swap people using the older trannys as I believe that is a problem that others will encounter sooner or later. I believe the snout of the crank extends further from the block on the 2.4 than the 2.2/2.5 so the clutch is getting bound on the input shaft shroud causing just enough pressure to not let it fully release. I didn't have this problem before because the other flywheel had been resurfaced not to mention the .008 groove cut into it by the McLeod, setting the clutch hub closer to the motor. I will confirm this with some measurements in the next few days.

Thanks for all your work in helping me sort this problem out. I really do appreciate the effort.

~Berry

[t3rse]

My suspicions seemed to be confirmed...clutch releases now after a little grinding on the input shaft snout (shim retainer...whatever it is called).

[rbryant]

I also noticed that the flywheel sits differently within the timing window on the 2.4 but I didn't think much about it.

Do you have pictures? This would be good info to add to the KC article on using a 568 w/ a 2.4

How much did you grind? my flywheel has also been resurfaced so hopefully I will be ok without pulling it.

-Rich

[johnl]

Everyday this site produces new and valuable information.

[rbryant]

Did you use the dust sheild on the top and bottom?

That would space it out another .060"

Also what do you mean by the shaft snout? Do you meant he input shaft seal piece on the transmission end? I didn't notice the input shaft hitting the crank so you must mean on the tranny side right?

-Rich

[t3rse]

The TOB guide that sits around the the input shaft and holds the shims for the input shaft bearing (shaft seal, whatever)...about 1/16", just took the bevel off...I modified the 2.2/2.5 dust shield and it is in place...no pics unfortunately; going to move soon so I had to get her back together pronto

clutch works godlike now

Keep in mind that Chris's clutches !may! have thinner hubs (where the splines are) than the revlok so you may not have an issue.

[rbryant]

The TOB guide that sits around the the input shaft and holds the shims for the input shaft bearing (shaft seal, whatever)...about 1/16", just took the bevel off...I modified the 2.2/2.5 dust shield and it is in place...no pics unfortunately; going to move soon so I had to get her back together pronto

clutch works godlike now

Keep in mind that Chris's clutches !may! have thinner hubs (where the splines are) than the revlok so you may not have an issue.

Did you notice a gap between the bellhousing and the block before tightening the bolts down? It seems like the problem you were having would put pressure on the pressure plate fingers on install which wouldn't allow the bellhousing to be flush without actually pressing in on the pressure plate fingers (but I could be missing something)... I didn't see this with my yellow plate 6 puck TU clutch.

If I lift up on my clutch lever it feels like the TOB is sliding but I will have to look at it more closely.

Was your clutch lever just jammed in place with no play? Mine moves a bit and it doesn't seem like it would be able to if the TOB was pressed against the input shaft bearing retainer.

Either way this is a good thing to look out for. Another option instead of grinding might be to run two dust sheilds to space things out slightly (they are about 1/16").

-Rich

[t3rse]

You are missing what I'm saying. The seal housing is smaller in diameter than the the fingers, so it goes inside the fingers, as it has to since the TOB rides on it and the TOB is what compresses the diaphragm. The TOB had plenty of slack, but the seal housing was physically touching the center of the clutch holding it against the flywheel, so even though the fingers were compressed enough to move the PP off the clutch, the clutch was still bound to the flywheel. You could easily solve this problem by having the flywheel turned down, or like you suggested spacing the trans out very slightly.

[rbryant]

You are missing what I'm saying. The seal housing is smaller in diameter than the the fingers, so it goes inside the fingers, as it has to since the TOB rides on it and the TOB is what compresses the diaphragm. The TOB had plenty of slack, but the seal housing was physically touching the center of the clutch holding it against the flywheel, so even though the fingers were compressed enough to move the PP off the clutch, the clutch was still bound to the flywheel. You could easily solve this problem by having the flywheel turned down, or like you suggested spacing the trans out very slightly.

Ok I understand now...

In other words the collar that the TOB slides on which goes around the input shaft is pressing against the clutch disc and holding it against the flywheel. You shortened it a little to solve the problem.

Hmm I wonder if I can press in and see if it releases with the tranny installed if I remove the bottom dust sheild...

Wouldn't this still cause a gap on the bellhousing when you installed the tranny until it got forced when bolting things down? I probably wouldn't have noticed that but it might be something to look for.

-Rich

[t3rse]

No notable gap (It barely touched but it was enough to cause issues). I jacked the clutch arm up with the trans in gear and tried to turn the axle (obx locks them so the other doesn't spin in reverse), which is how I figured out that I had it right. When it was bound it wouldn't go into gear but I could feel the PP cam over, and I jacked the arm up and tried to roll the car (actually used a cherry picker to pull it up) and the motor was trying to turn when I pushed on the car.

[rbryant]

No notable gap (It barely touched but it was enough to cause issues). I jacked the clutch arm up with the trans in gear and tried to turn the axle (obx locks them so the other doesn't spin in reverse), which is how I figured out that I had it right. When it was bound it wouldn't go into gear but I could feel the PP cam over, and I jacked the arm up and tried to roll the car (actually used a cherry picker to pull it up) and the motor was trying to turn when I pushed on the car.

Good info.

-Rich

[t3rse]

Update: works great, holds great..very happy!