Hi all,

l need to replace my clutch in my 1990 vett , and l'm not sure which is
the best way to go, l have rang around but l am finding it hard to get the information l need in Australia. l have been looking at center force clutch for $1600 or a twin plate for $1750 l have been told these are both better than the other by diferent peole. l belive the DM fly wheel is still fitted and don't what condition it is in, (should l repace it?) so what the best is the best way to go , the engine is stock at the moment but has just had a full rebuild.

l am planning on fitting some sort of forced induction maybe a procharger D1 or is there a better kit out there?, the car is only use on odd occasion so l'm not worried about fuel consumtion, also is there any other areas in the car l need to look at to handle the extra horse power.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks for your time.

 

wow...

hind sight is 20/20, but I would have done the clutch at the time of the engine rebuild. That dual mass flywheel is debatable at best... they don't last much beyond 100k miles.

check with www.carolinaclutch.com regarding some other options. If you call, you need to speak with Tom. He is the Vette guru.

 

l have only perchased the car two weeks ago so the engine was done prior to my perchase, l am in Australia so that makes it a bit harder to contact any one in the states for advice, so l only have limted resorces over here, any bit and peaces l need l can import through Eagle Auto's
in Melbourne but they seam to think that a centerforce clutshes are over priced for what they are and recomened the twin plate, but thats only one persons idea.

Is it a straight forward swap to a single mass fly wheel, and what are the pro's and cons of this.

 

I second Bogus' answer. Call Tom, he knows what he is talking about. His stage 2 clutch/PP/Throw-out bearing is $475. Holds 500 HP. I am buying my clutch setup from him to go with my aluminum single mass flywheel that I bought from H rocks.

 

ok... the dual mass flywheel... it's is a heavy assed chuck of iron - about 38lbs (give or take) with a set of additional weights that allow it to be matched to a specific engine. So, if you buy a new one, it has a baggie of weights that need to be put into holes so the balance is the same.

what is a "dual mass"? that is because there are two pieces of iron that are joined by a elastomer membrain - rubber thingy. That membrain is what absorbs the shocks of a gear shift. Over time, that membrain will break down. Ask me how I know.

The membrain does not like petrochemical based lubricants - engine oil... cutting oil... take your pick. That is one of three reasons you don't ever cut a DM flywheel. The cutting oil will attack the membrain, causing it to fail. The other reason is that the tolerances inside the bell housing are so tight, that by removing a few thousandths (of an inch) is just too much. The final reason is that the membrain will just break down over time... heat, abuse... take your pick on that one.

Now... a good machine shop can "match balance" a single mass flywheel to a DMF. This is where the out of balance condition on the DM is found and applied to the SMF.

I installed (yes, did it on a garage floor with jackstands) a SMF and Carolina Clutch Stage I kit. It is a Corvette pressure plate, Fidenza aluminum flywheel (about 12lbs or so) and a Camaro friction disk. You see, the factory Corvette friction disk does not have any springs in it, the Camaro piece does. The Camaro and Firebird (as do the Holdens) use the Tremic T56 gearbox - a totally different animal.

Now, you can get creative... A GM Fbody flywheel (did Holden use the LT1 at all? if so, you should be able to use of one of those flywheels) get it machined down .090" and balanced to match your DMF. Use a Corvette pressure plate (yours might be ok still) and a Fbody friction disk (again, if Holden used the LT1, that should work).

I am pretty sure that Carolina Clutch ships world wide. I would contact them directly.... even if it is a long distance call and you have to wake up at 0300 to make it

Oh, the reason GM used a DMF? That famous tranny rattle. It was big and heavy enough to eliminate, or at least quell, the worst of the rattle inside the ZF 6spd.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for you help

Holden never used the LT1, so that leave that idea out, from what l have read fitting a single mass causes a lot of noise from the gear box my car has done over 100k miles so the fly wheel l would imagine will need replacing, when l do the clutch.

l'm not sure how bad the the noise is different people talk about it being unbearable to the point where people start pointing at the car thinking there is something going to fly to bits. l will have to pull my gear box out and check how bad the fly wheel is.

l am leaning towards a McLoed twin disc set up but l'm still unsure what type of fly wheel to use or if changing to this set if l can still use the dual mass, every one talks about the price of the dual mass , how expensive are they?

Thank for your input it is very helpful

l wish l had known more about this when perchasing the car l could of pushed the price down a bit more.

 

Yea... 20/20 hindsite again, eh?

You will want to replace the flywheel... whichever way you go.

The DM is about done. I got 125k out of mine, and I never EVER race it. And it was toast. However, due to a screwed up clutch change at 92k miles, I had to reuse my DM, and it lasted another 33k. Not bad, but that entire experience really pissed me off... Just don't every buy a SPEC clutch.

The DM sells for about $600.00 USC. Sorry to say.

The noise is louder. No question... but if you use Castrol TWS 10-60 Full Synthetic oil in it, that will help a bit.

 

Thanks for your help bogus.

l am going to put it off for a few weeks to ring aroud and get the best prices over here, l will let you know how l went after its done but you will have to give me a month or so as the price seams to keep going up l think l will looking at around $3000Aust which is about the same price for a full engine reco over here.

Later Getsom.

 

wow. thats a chunk of change, bro.

Hope you get some success.

Check Callaway's site. Sometimes you can get stuff there used for nothing. Same with Lingenfelter and Doug Rippie.

These are not really "used" as much as "take off's". These are the parts they throw away after doing all their work.