Interesting clutch question.....
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 266
From: Huntington Beach CA
Interesting clutch question.....
Ok, here goes. My car is at A&A right now getting the A4 tranny swapped to a MN6. It's almost done, but Andy says the clutch is out of balance...bad. I purchased the clutch and transmission from a fellow Forum member, and it's an Aussie clutch with less than 100 miles on it. Now, these are supposed to be zero balanced clutches, but if my motor is not zero balanced then they will not work together. I guess the clutches are balanced at the factory with the motor, but my car came with an automatic from the factory, so I have nothing to go off. Therefore, how do I balance this Aussie clutch (or any clutch) to my motor? Anyone out there swapped trannies or engines have to do this before? I'm really stuck right now on what to do. I haven't had my car for 6 weeks now, and I'm getting frustrated. I appreciate any help.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 266
From: Huntington Beach CA
Originally Posted by binkysgarage
What did the guys at A&A say they are the people who should know? Andy seems like a heads up guy, he should have some kind of idea. Maybe you should go with the LS-7 clutch set up. 
Racer
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 440
Likes: 7
From: Willow Park Texas
How in the world did he know the clutch was out of balance??? If he has the machine to check the balance, he can also balance it for you. The LS1 is an internally balanced engine. You should just balance the clutch and flywheel together and put it on.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 266
From: Huntington Beach CA
Originally Posted by RobertEarl
How in the world did he know the clutch was out of balance??? If he has the machine to check the balance, he can also balance it for you. The LS1 is an internally balanced engine. You should just balance the clutch and flywheel together and put it on.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,200
Likes: 0
From: Branchburg, NJ
Originally Posted by REDEVIL
He just said the car shakes when the clutch is engaged and he was sure it was because the clutch is unbalanced.
Maybe it has something to do with the 350hp ENGINE sitting under the hood???
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 857
Likes: 0
From: Olympia WA
Originally Posted by REDEVIL
He says that the clutch has to be balanced to match the motor. As an engineer, I don't necessarily believe that, because the factory specs from the motor should be close enough that you could interchange clutches from different LS1's and they should work. I have never heard of having to balance a clutch for every specific motor. The car has already been dyno tuned, and there was no mention of this behavior. It just came up today when Andy drove the car. I've even spoke with a few people that have done the A4 to MN6 swap and they didn't worry about balancing the clutch to the motor. If the clutch was not installed correctly, then I can see how it would vibrate, but you'd think they wouldn't do that.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 266
From: Huntington Beach CA
Originally Posted by binkysgarage
If I remember right there was a balance issue with Textralia clutches when they first came out? Maybe you can search the forum and find the thread, I agree with the thought that the motors are internally balanced, so if the clutch is balanced neutral it shouldn't be a problem. I'm curious to know what the problem is I will be doing my clutch soon.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 351
Likes: 0
From: Haw River North Carolina
The clutch is balanced seperately from the engine/flywheel and absolutely is NOT balanced to an individual motor. Most engines are internally balanced now days (the crank, harmonic balancer and flywheel separately). The industry standard is typically less than .0250 ips (inches per second). The GM spec is .0125 ips. If there is a balance issue with the clutch, I doubt anyone there can spin (dynamic) balance it the way the manufacturer does. (Static balance is not the same as dynamic.) If its misbalanced enough to feel, the clutch damper must be built wrong from the manufacturer and or it must have missed the balance check.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 11,308
Likes: 1
From: The Beautiful Greater Bay Area California
Originally Posted by Lovin It!!! - C5
The clutch is balanced seperately from the engine/flywheel and absolutely is NOT balanced to an individual motor. Most engines are internally balanced now days (the crank, harmonic balancer and flywheel separately). The industry standard is typically less than .0250 ips (inches per second). The GM spec is .0125 ips. If there is a balance issue with the clutch, I doubt anyone there can spin (dynamic) balance it the way the manufacturer does. (Static balance is not the same as dynamic.) If its misbalanced enough to feel, the clutch damper must be built wrong from the manufacturer and or it must have missed the balance check.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 266
From: Huntington Beach CA
Originally Posted by Lovin It!!! - C5
The clutch is balanced seperately from the engine/flywheel and absolutely is NOT balanced to an individual motor. Most engines are internally balanced now days (the crank, harmonic balancer and flywheel separately). The industry standard is typically less than .0250 ips (inches per second). The GM spec is .0125 ips. If there is a balance issue with the clutch, I doubt anyone there can spin (dynamic) balance it the way the manufacturer does. (Static balance is not the same as dynamic.) If its misbalanced enough to feel, the clutch damper must be built wrong from the manufacturer and or it must have missed the balance check.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.
Does the vibe happen at the same rpm in every gear? Or just 1st? I would tear it down and reinspect everything and then reassemble again to spec. and re-test. (If it was my install.)
I've heard a lot of great things about A&A so I'm sure they'll take care of you no matter what's causing it. Good Luck.