Clutch Masters??? You said they were good but...

Aloha,

OK, we're talking about an 89 TR. A while back I made the mistake of assembling clutch parts from 2 different clutches attempting to just use the best parts I failed to consider the significance of the balance. It vibrates. I contacted Clutch Masters in CA and spoke with Kevin. I explained this to him on the phone and he told me that they balance the entire assembly, flywheel and all. So I sent him what I had. He just called me, told me it was done and started to tell me about the process. When he finished he said he only balanced the pressure plate. So now the story is, they have no way to balance the assembly.

Gee thanks for the misinformation Kevin!

So now I'm back at square one and I need some advice. Can anyone tell me where or how I can balance this assembly properly?

By the way, after this experience I do not recommend clutch masters. My initial conversation with Kevin was very specific but as we continued talking through this process, it appeared that he wasn't listening to a word I said.

 

Hi Sam, I think you are mistaken. What Kevin told me is that when they receive the clutch from you, they immediately put a red paint stripe on it so it goes back together exactly the way they received it. EVEN IF IT'S WRONG! They balance the flywheel and the pressure plate individually. They do not balance the whole assembly.

I am talking with Lonnie the manager right now to see if he can resolve this. I'll update this thread with his answer.

 

Sorry brah, I'm not wrong. The thing is, you sent them an originally balanced clutch. Therefore it didn't matter. I sent them pieces from 2 clutches and that's why it was vibrating in the first place. You don't need to worry. I'm sure your clutch is fine. You would know if it wasn't because 2500RPM's will vibrate the whole car.

 

I'm doubtful of that. I'm still waiting for Lonnie to get back to me. I'll let you know.

 

As long as what I receive is as described, Clutch Masters is good in my book! Lonnie, the manager, took over and they made a jig so they could mount my entire assembly on their balancer. Pressure Plate, mid plate, outer ring, and flywheel balanced together. It should run as smooth as a glass.

It may be a while before I actually install it because I'm going back in to fine tune my diff. Needs a tad more backlash to remove the slight whine on deceleration. Considering the fact that I had NEVER setup a diff of any kind (always left it to the people who only do that for a living) I think I did pretty good. More of this car I now know like my wife's backside.

My only advice about ClutchMasters is if you have concerns or problems with your clutch, deal with Lonnie. Kevin is the one in charge of performance sales (our cars) but Lonnie seems to be the one in the know. The bottom line is, we now know they have the ability to properly rebuild AND BALANCE these twin disk clutches. And the best part? it costs about 1/2 what a new clutch costs from T rut or elsewhere. AND your assembly can be balanced with the flywheel. I'm sure you would need to ask them to do that however. They probably won't otherwise.

 

No, because you can only hear it on deceleration. A TO will generally start to scream when you put your foot on the clutch. I had a TO seize up years ago. I could drive as long as I didn't leave my foot on the clutch. But when I did, you could hear it scream for about a mile away.

The diff sound is really quiet. Most people who ride in the car can't hear it until I point it out. Have to accelerate and then decelerate for them to notice. I'm just too anal about noises.

 

Huh? Where are you talking about? Please enlighten me! Could have saved hundreds but I'm not disappointed. My last clutch cost $2500 from Lyle "ripoff" Tanner and it looked liked warmed over poo compared to this clutch masters setup for less than 1/2 that.

I have a feeling you're talking about your 512TR which is a single disc clutch and a completely different animal.

 

I never did post a pic of what I received from CM. Here it is. Very pretty!
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Yeah, I've done it enough to figure out that leaving the pressure plate loose until the discs are lined up is the easiest way. I just slide the bell housing on until it seats then back it out and tighten up the P plate.