TKO600 clutch

[RICK LAKE]

elmariachi Jim that's the stuff I like to hear, more work for MEEEEEE. I do hope one thing, That the bellhousing in your car is a good one like Lakewood. If you blow that clutch, I hope it stays in the can and not come visit you in the drivers seat. Rick L.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

elmariachi Jim that's the stuff I like to hear, more work for MEEEEEE. I do hope one thing, That the bellhousing in your car is a good one like Lakewood. If you blow that clutch, I hope it stays in the can and not come visit you in the drivers seat. Rick L.

They're Grade 8, they just don't have the shoulders on them. C'mon Rick, tell the truth, have you EVER seen pressure plate bolts sheared off? Not from an exploding clutch, but just from the twisting force of the clutch itself. Tell the truth now....

[patrickt]

Alright, I tightened my PP Bolts this afternoon and two of them MIGHT, and that's a big MIGHT, have been slightly loose. I can't swear to that because the angle of the universal joint and socket on the bolt wasn't great so I can't say I had a great "bite" on those two bolts and it could have been the socket turning a little bit. I torqued them to 25 ft/lbs. I snapped a quick shot with the BB that shows you the angle on one of them. It's a crap shoot as to the angle you get because I just kept bumping the engine over until I got a bolt in the window, then torqued it, and then made a mark over it with a magic marker. This is not a particularly difficult job; getting the bolts to line up in the window is just luck -- if you turn the engine over by hand it would take you less time, but more energy. Regardless, you should probably check to make sure your bolts aren't loose. One tip -- you can see in the picture that I have some blue painters tape on the end of the extension. That's to make sure the universal joint and sock don't get pulled off and fall in to the bottom of the bell housing. A mistake like that could easily turn a quick afternoon job in to a huge PITA.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

elmariachi Jim that's the stuff I like to hear, more work for MEEEEEE. I do hope one thing, That the bellhousing in your car is a good one like Lakewood. If you blow that clutch, I hope it stays in the can and not come visit you in the drivers seat. Rick L.

It is a Lakewood. Like Pat, I checked mine and they are all right where I left them at 28 ft lbs with Loctite. But if the OP of this thread comes up with a better bolt, please post it up here.

[RICK LAKE]

patrickt Sorry pat, not on my own fleet of toys. I have broken about 4-5 discs with either schattering the hub in the center or breaking the springs in the hub housing. My FE motor has the smallest bolts for the PP in any of my stuff. I have repaired the disc once already.
IMO if you are shearing bolts, as you know there are only 3 ways I can think of doing this, ABUSE, abusey, AH CRAP ABUSE. I don't know why your bolts are coming loose but I am running a higher torque than you, I will have to check the numbers but it's like 38-45 ft pounds with the red. I do run a tap through all the holes before installing the bolts. Maybe this makes a differents. I also torque down the pressure plate like a wheel being installed on a car with a star pattern of 180 degrees per bolt. I have stopped with the 5,000 rpm holeshots and blowing the hell out of my equipment. 30 years ago, race parts where cheap along with trannies, rearends and clutches. Today a junk center section of a Jag with an open carrier is $6-800 dollars. No parts but the center. I have been lucky at swap meets and picked up some parts cheap. Major Destructor has retired from his stupid ways.
Pat I have seen alot of breakage and with people who I help and want to listen, I tell all of them to OVER BUILD your car. Bests parts, fasteners, motors, tranny and rearends. If they can't afford them then wait 2 months, put it on plastic, but get the best stuff you can. Maybe this is why the bolts have not sheared. I am not worried, I have a Lakewood. Rick L.

[RICK LAKE]

elmariachi Jim Grade 8 Allen head bolts will work if you don't like 6,8 or 12 point bolts. I use them on my bellhousing to block in my ERA They give you more room to install and remove with a socket or wrench that has been cut down. Pat does have the right ideas about marking bolts and nuts for checking during maintainance look overs. Rick L.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

elmariachi Jim Grade 8 Allen head bolts will work if you don't like 6,8 or 12 point bolts. I use them on my bellhousing to block in my ERA They give you more room to install and remove with a socket or wrench that has been cut down. Pat does have the right ideas about marking bolts and nuts for checking during maintainance look overs. Rick L.

When I rechecked them, I tick-marked them with a silver Sharpie. We'll see.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

When I rechecked them, I tick-marked them with a silver Sharpie.

Ahh, I did the same. You can see how careful I was in making the black mark.

[RICK LAKE]

patrickt The picture is a little rough. The metal is a balance weight for the pressure plate. Where are we going???? Rick l. Ps I have 2 on my pressure plate, one is bigger than the other one.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

Pat, I have seen alot of breakage and with people who I help and want to listen, I tell all of them to OVER BUILD your car. Bests parts, fasteners, motors, tranny and rearends.

Alright Mr. Rick, take a look below, this shot does not show the PP bolt, but it does happen to show a big chunk of metal welded on my pretty orange Centerforce Pressure Plate. What do you make of that? I guess it's just a cheap-a$$ blemished one-off with a repaired hole, huh?