After watching a U-Tube video on the installation of this Clutch Kit in a yellow C4 and reading the instructions provided by Ram I was very confused. Ram has a video on what the kit is all about but nothing on the install.

 

The first problem I had was I bought the ZF trans off Craigslist and really didn't know what year it's from. ZF Docs web sight is supposed to have a way to tell what year you trans is but I can't figure it out. So when I ordered my kit from Ram I specified that the Snought on the Trans was 33mm. Metric Trans right ? Well I got the wrong Slave Cylinder it's was way to sloppy on the Snought

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In the U-Tube Video he converted all his measurements to Metric, Metric Trans right. Near as I can tell Ram does all the measurements in Inch's and the sooner we for get about the Metric system the better off we will be. Had I ordered my Kit in Inchs and not MM this mistake would never of happened. Since our cars are 30 years old and many like me have cars that we have no idea what's been done to them in the past I don't think ordering a Kit by the Year is going to work every time. I think measuring the Snout is going to be the best solution to getting the right parts.
So they have a choice of 1 5/16 (1.312) or 1 23/64 (n1.359) Slave Cylinder ID's.

 

In the instructions it tells you to countersink one of the holes on the front of the Trans and use the flat head screw they suppled in the kit. This gains you more room for the Hydraulic Lines. As you can see in the picture I have plenty of room in-between the lines and the trans so I didn't even bother with the flat head screw.

 

So let's get on to the Shims that you need to figure out. The kit provided 3 but there is really 5 if you include the spacers between the Bell housing and the Engine and Trans that GM put in. I'm sure there are many cars that have had theses lost and or thrown away. I always figure the if GM spent the time and money to put them in they serve a purpose and should be left in. Although I think Ram figured there are left out. More on that later.

 

So this is how I measured the Clutch fingers to Bell housing. I bolted a straight edge across holding the Factory Shim . The other Shim is bolted between the Engine Block. So I'm getting the total of all three. The way I'm measuring it I need to subtract the width of the straight edge.

Here I am measuring the Trans to Bearing. I have all three Ram Shims between the Slave Cylinder and the Trans.

 

After subtracting the Trans side from the Bell housing I got .0200 or the maximum amount given in the instructions. If I left one or both of the Factory Shims out I would of fallen right into the middle of there recommendations.

 

So I made a Shim of my own out of Shim Stock. I really didn't need to I was in there boundaries but I did anyway. Now I'm 0.010 inside there boundaries.

 

They instruct you to bore an access hole to ad you with getting the Slave Cylinder lined up when putting it all together. You can see I put it near the Pin that you need to see from below. In the U Tube video he puts his hole in the top driver's side and runs the Hydraulic Lines threw it. This make no sense to me the Hydraulic Lines must be tight up to the Transmission Tunnel. He sez he had a hard time getting everything together no wonder and totally skipped that part in the video.

 

So now it's time to put it all together. As you can see I'm cheating I'm doing it on my workbench and not in the car. So no need to use the hole I bored this time just bolt the Transmission to the Bell housing and then bolt the Bell housing to the Engine. It's all just slid together.

 

And we are all done for now. Hope to be installing this in the car Monday.

 

I did not follow a YouTube video and followed the instructions which were easy enough.

To get the bearing to trans measurement I did it in two steps. From bearing face to collar then collar to trans face. This seemed like the simplest way. For the bellhousing face to finger measurement I just held a straight edge by hand and got the measurement that way.

I had a similar thought about the countersunk bolt. I still did mine for good measure but may not be entirely required.

I found I needed all of the supplied shims to reach the required spacing. (At least initially, I had to pull it apart again after a few hundred miles due to causing a RMS leak, I remeasured and removed a shim which was actually a suggested “while you’re in there and clutch is broken in” by Mike at RAM). I don’t think there is any need to be overly accurate in getting the spacing “in range”, with a bias towards towards the higher end of the range. The supplied shims are fine, just measure a few times to double check and you should be good. If something is WAY off double check what you are doing…ie clutch plate installed in correct orientation. In other words if you don’t have enough shims to bring it in line something is wrong. Once you visualize this process it’s not complicated.

The TO bearing is over-stuffed with grease, it will fling a little after first run in but that is normal.

You MUST include the aluminum spacers on the bellhousing. The bellhousing is magnesium and it helps prevent corrosion between trans and housing and engine and housing and is required for proper spacing. The earlier (aluminum?) housings did not have these spacers but my understanding is they were slightly longer…ie the magnesium housing was shortened to account for the spacers. This means that magnesium with spacers is same as aluminum without. Whether doing a RAM conversion or not the plates should be removed and all surfaces cleaned up with maroon scotch brite pads then reinstalled. This ensures proper alignment of trans to engine….even a small bit of corrosion can cause issues.

Did you put Teflon tape on the hydraulic threads? That was in the instructions, looks like you put a sealant there?

You can also coat the collar with some brake fluid to allow the TO bearing to slide on/off more easily.

Yes, per the instructions the lines go out where the slave was. Not the hole drilled to allow alignment. Some don’t even drill the hole, but it can help.

If anyone ever has questions best resource is RAM themselves…they are quick to respond, and Mike Norcia is great. I would assume there might be some “off” info on YouTube. I also have a thread detailing my conversion that can be used along with this one for reference.

Thanks for the write up!

 

On the tag of your CL ZF buy what is the number? 1052-000-xxx? The xxx should ID the trans.

** How about adding a 'window' on the right side of clutch housing to allow eye-balling HRB to the positioning stud?

 

I am an Engineer in the Fishing Industry. I work with Hydraulics all the time. We frown on somebody using Teflon Tape on Hydraulics. I realize this is a different application but some thoughts are hard to break. My fittings already had Tape on them and I pealed it off. I used Loctite 545 Thread Sealant

 

I'm now doing my second car my son in laws 1985 4 plus 3 to ZF conversation. After having sealing issues with the fittings on my car I'm doing this one a bit different. I had a local brake shop make up a 40 inch long hose to reach all the way to the master cylinder. One and done no ware to leak in between.


I made a quick plate to cover the hole left by the slave cylinder. I can now wire tie the hoses so the can't shaff or slide inside. With the hose this long it should be possible to change the clutch with out having to undo the lines and not have to bleed again.

 

I should also point out that the way I wrote things above I assumed that every car has the Magnesium Bellhousing. They do not ! This car has the Aluminum Bellhousing and there for does not use Shims. A fellow CF member pointed this out in another thread thank you .

 

Nice!!! I certainly don’t love the 300 or so fittings provided by RAM on mine, but lucky for me no leaks!!!

I like the plate too, I took care to make sure the hoses weren’t rubbing for me but having something secure it is great.

Make sure the fittings on the slave are parallel or pointed slightly towards the bellhousing so you have no clearance issues with the PP, but you’ve done this already so I’m sure got it handled…

 

Mine just arrived yesterday
Thanks for the info

 

CAN WE PLEASE MAKE THIS POST A STICKY?
I realize this is old, but I have had a few people ask me about doing the ram push conversion kit, this post sums it up in great detail, exactly how I did my kit. Can we please make this thread a sticky?

 

Subscribed.
i will be doing this shortly

though im not sure if ill be going with a ram twin disk or spec’s twin disk rated to 1100 ft/lbs max

Thanks for the write up