Scatter Shield clearance problems! should I shave it?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,600
Likes: 0
From: Valencia (near LA) CA
Scatter Shield clearance problems! should I shave it?
After about 10,000 miles I am replacing the clutch, scatter Shield, and having my Tremec TKO rebuilt
I took the car to the shop to have them look at a leak. It turned out that the front seal was leaking and that they need to pull the transmission. After that they found the clutch worn out, as well as the bearings in the transmission!
I thought this was odd considering the low mileage. I had them double check the Alignment on the BellHousing. (I had to explain to them what that was, why it was important, and tell them how to do it)
They found that it was off my .040, the spec calls for .005.
They struggled with it for several hours only to find that one of the alignment holes was oblong, not round.
So this new information reminded me of something that happened a year ago... I bottomed out REALLY hard on a driveway! SO hard I felt the shifter move up higher into the car. At that time the lowest part was the Scatter Shield. My guess is that if got bent at that time.
So now I have a new shield on order and I am wondering if I should shave the bottom to give more clearance.
My Machine Shop will not do the job for me because he doesn't want to take any responsibility for modifying safety equipment.
Should I find someone who will? or just be more careful?
thanks,
~Jay
I took the car to the shop to have them look at a leak. It turned out that the front seal was leaking and that they need to pull the transmission. After that they found the clutch worn out, as well as the bearings in the transmission!
I thought this was odd considering the low mileage. I had them double check the Alignment on the BellHousing. (I had to explain to them what that was, why it was important, and tell them how to do it)
They found that it was off my .040, the spec calls for .005.
They struggled with it for several hours only to find that one of the alignment holes was oblong, not round.
So this new information reminded me of something that happened a year ago... I bottomed out REALLY hard on a driveway! SO hard I felt the shifter move up higher into the car. At that time the lowest part was the Scatter Shield. My guess is that if got bent at that time.
So now I have a new shield on order and I am wondering if I should shave the bottom to give more clearance.
My Machine Shop will not do the job for me because he doesn't want to take any responsibility for modifying safety equipment.
Should I find someone who will? or just be more careful?
thanks,
~Jay
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 18,126
Likes: 174
From: WI
If you or anyone else is interested I have a really nice scattershield (with the bottom "lip" cut off) out of a Corvette road race car I no longer use.....$150+UPS, e-mail direct if interested
redvetracr@msn.com
redvetracr@msn.com
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 18,126
Likes: 174
From: WI
Originally Posted by Jay M
Would you race with a modified scatter shield?
...redvetracr
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
I would not worry about it coming out the bottom. The only reason I have one is to protect my feet in case of an explosion. Probably never happen but better safe than sorry. I need to shave mine also as it is the lowest part of the car. I barely scuffed it last year over a speed bump.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,727
Likes: 38
From: Fremont CA
I have not had any problems passing "tech" at NHRA tracks with my "cut" scattershield. The containment you are losing is towards the pavment and your feet/legs are still protected with this modification. I cut mine with a 4" "peanut" grinder then, milled it off in a Bridgeport mill. I eliminated the entire flange and it is even with my 7" deep Canton Road Race oil pan. You may also want to heli-arc weld your containment nuts to the block plate to make installation a WHOLE LOT! easier than fighting all that hardware on to the scattershield. Mock-up a "junk" block with the S.shield and make sure you can get to all your nuts/bolts when you weld them on.
