550 clutch job woes - is a new flywheel neccesary?

I would be going back to the mechanic that installed the clutch. He should have checked the condition of the flywheel when it was all apart - this is normal practice.

Being a Ferrari mechanic with 35 years experience, he should be well advised to have informed you if it is mandatory to replace the flywheel prior to installation when you engaged him to undertake the work.

It’s a cop out for him to tell you what the problem is after he has put it back together.


.

 

I always get the flywheel reground when I’m doing a clutch. Cost in the uk is under £100 and you have a good as new flywheel. The amount of material that is removed is negligible, but it brings the surface back to as-new.

Top tip though- make sure you retain the factory balancing marks.

 

Mine worked fine with a new clutch and original flywheel.

 

Maybe a few spirited runs with high RPM starts would "grind" your clutch and flywheel enough to solve the problem. It might take 1 or 2 percent knocked off the clutch to let it fully disengage. Just don't go anywhere you have to backup!

I'd at least try it before spending another couple grand to get the job done right the second time.

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but if the clutch won't fully disengage for reverse, why would it for forward gears? Either the clutch disengages or it doesn't. If no problem with the forward gears, maybe the shift linkage isn't properly adjusted and so not allowing you to select reverse?

 

+1 on the resurface at a minimum while its out of the car. Also I agree with Avimax, a clutch either disengages or doesn't..... its fishy that it only doesn't disengage Reverse. Does it bind or grind even a little in the forward gears?

 

Reverse has no synchro ring and that is why it is very noticeable when you try to shift into it and it … grinds.

Back on topic, a new flywheel is not mandatory when you do a clutch. However, with a brand new clutch plate and a brand new pressure plate, the pressure plate has to move "a full distance" away from the flywheel in order for it to disengage the flywheel and the clutch plate. At this point, you just need to drive it a few hundred miles to wear in the clutch plate and the pressure plate so that they will work properly. Be sure you bleed the slave cylinder of air. Press the clutch pedal all the way depressed as far as it would to, and shift slowly into the next gear. If Reverse is grinding so much to bother you. Turn the engine off, shift into reverse, clutch pedal down and restart the car. Yes, it is a bother but it will get better as the new clutch wears in.

Why do I know this? It just happened to me.

 

At a complete stop, does it go into any of the other gears smoothly with the engine running? It would be very strange for this to be limited to 1st and reverse.

 

Explain that to me. What does it mean run-out of the pressure plate.
Yes, a new part can be defective.

 

Great to hear.

When you say a new clutch kit, do you mean an entire new kit or just a new pressure plate.

 

Glad its fixed Tom sucks to hear you lost all that time and money on a defective part. Hopefully it runs perfectly for a while and you can put this behind you.

 

I'm not jumping on your case..., this is one time when "bring your parts" to the mechanic did not work out. If you had just let the second mechanic source his own parts, the whole thing would have been all done when you picked your car up. The bad part, and its warranty is on him.

 

We have all done that. I just threw away a piece of factory CF that was unsalvageable, so do not feel too badly.

 

I just finished the clutch in my '95 456GT at the beginning of this week, and have the same issue. It will not engage reverse will running, I have to shut the car off. I'll drive it for a bit and see what happens.................

Scott

 

Mine shifts just fine, just cannot engage reverse while running. FYI, and I did the flywheel

I'm not to worried, it will sort out