Pressure plate question

[testorossa1989]

I don't see many posts here anymore but figured I'd ask anyways. I'm working with a McLeod RXT Twin disc 26 spline. The clutch kit itself is a couple years old but only has 2 or 3k on it and plates appear to have little to no fade.

My issue is when I put my transmission back in and put my adjustable pivot stud all the way down.... my TOB was contacting the pressure plate fingers before I could even seat the bell housing fully on the dowel pins. Pulled the transmission to check if the fingers were flush with the diaphragm and they were protruding ~7mm. Now when I removed my clutch I didn't touch the floater ring specifically for avoiding the possibility of readjusting.

So now I'm confused if my pressure plate is damaged, or just needs readjusted. And how to even go about that since my kit didn't come with any extra hardware for adjustments.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

when you say you put the stud all the way down - does that put the round head basically flush with the transmission housing? I had to get a shorter one to work with the RXT

 

[01yellercobra]

What all was done with the trans out? Did you swap TOB's? If so is it installed correctly? I remember there being a way to put it on the fork that looks right, but it didn't sit correctly.

 

[MG0h3]

The length of your pivot ball does not change what you’re experiencing. It’s just the lever point.

The TOB stays square on the tube and it doesn’t matter how far out/in the pivot ball is, it can still go back to where the fork/Tob are sandwiched against the face of the trans.

As a clutch wears, the fingers will move back gradually.

You’ll also notice when tightening the plate down, the fingers flatten out.

There’s always install issues like not being on a dowel but I’m assuming those are fine.

You may be where you need to shave the back of the fork to allow it to move back more before hitting the trans. I had to, as per AED, but I do have a magnum.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[testorossa1989]

when you say you put the stud all the way down - does that put the round head basically flush with the transmission housing? I had to get a shorter one to work with the RXT

My bad. It means the stud itself is bottomed out in the transmission. This leaves some length of threads showing before the actual ball. I could measure if need be.

 

[testorossa1989]

What all was done with the trans out? Did you swap TOB's? If so is it installed correctly? I remember there being a way to put it on the fork that looks right, but it didn't sit correctly.

Interesting. Can you elaborate or is it idiot proof and to recheck. I thought I put it on correctly but it seems to push out slightly once I seat the fork on the pivot.

I swapped out TOB for new.

 

[Bullitt1448]

I had to shorten my adjustable pivot ball to make it work, please don’t quote me but I think it was about 3/8” that I shortened it. Just used a hacksaw and a thread chaser afterwards.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

My bad. It means the stud itself is bottomed out in the transmission. This leaves some length of threads showing before the actual ball. I could measure if need be.

i may have skimmed this too fast - you had this setup installed previously and now its not going back together?

 

[testorossa1989]

The length of your pivot ball does not change what you’re experiencing. It’s just the lever point.

The TOB stays square on the tube and it doesn’t matter how far out/in the pivot ball is, it can still go back to where the fork/Tob are sandwiched against the face of the trans.

As a clutch wears, the fingers will move back gradually.

You’ll also notice when tightening the plate down, the fingers flatten out.

There’s always install issues like not being on a dowel but I’m assuming those are fine.

You may be where you need to shave the back of the fork to allow it to move back more before hitting the trans. I had to, as per AED, but I do have a magnum.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

Good info. The fingers did flatten out vs sitting on the bench. But is it possible when installing to torque spec it somehow didn't flatten the fingers correctly? Not exactly sure how since I did star pattern & to Tq spec.

I took a look at that and wondered if aftermarket forks were low-profile or hollowed. Even thought about what you mentioned. But what stopped me from doing that was the 2 interior bolts that attach the sealed face plate to the t56 (the plate that the input shaft sleeve is pressed to). It looks like the moment I shaved the fork I'd immediately have clearance issues with those bolts preventing me from retracting the fork back to where I needed it to be adequately disengage from the pressure plate.

How much did you shave exactly? Worth mentioning that my fork is factory with 94k on it.

 

[testorossa1989]

i may have skimmed this too fast - you had this setup installed previously and now its not going back together?

I did. But previously I was experiencing "weird" clutch issues to the point where when I did my Rear main seal I wanted to retrace my footsteps to insure the clutch and all aspects of were done correctly. Which is where I'm at now.

 

[01yellercobra]

Interesting. Can you elaborate or is it idiot proof and to recheck. I thought I put it on correctly but it seems to push out slightly once I seat the fork on the pivot.

I swapped out TOB for new.

There's a couple fingers on the fork that the bearing flange sits in. It's like it looks like the bearing sits on top, but it actually sits below the fingers. If that makes sense.

 

[MG0h3]

Once the PP is fully flat onto the flywheel, the fingers won’t move anymore from tightening the bolts to spec.

Think I shaved a 1/4 or something.

Most people that shorten their pivot ball go about 4.5-6mm. It made a difference in the full engagement point. I almost preferred how it was with the stock ball.

Don’t know what length to set it at as I don’t have the old measurements.

But what was the reason for having the trans and clutch off, as well as the pivot ball?

Make sure the new and old TOB are the same unit/dimensions.

Ensure you have it on the fork correctly. You can slide it either over or under the spring steel clip.
The correct way is over, which will pull the TOB further back.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-7515AF/82-93-Mustang-oem-ford-50L-Clutch-Fork

Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[testorossa1989]

I'll respond to everyone's message individually. But here's what I found today. I loosened the PP bolts to re-torque @ 35 ft/lbs star pattern. By doing this the inner tips of the clutch fingers went from protruding 7.1mm~ above the diaphragm ring to now roughly protruding 3.5mm which is not much but unclear if it's manageable.

I went ahead to ordered a McLeod fork but did my preliminary factory clutch fork measurements. Without modifications there's ~18mm of distance from the Fork w/ counter balance til the back of the transmission cutout box for the fork. Once I removed the counter balance I got 7.6mm. That means I increased the fork travel by 10.4mm which is surprisingly a lot. Of course with the fork acting as a lever this may not necessarily mean I gained that same distance away from TOB to PP.

I haven't test fitted yet but if my math is correct the TOB should be 2.8mm away from contacting the PP when fully disengaged. What's still unclear is whether my inner most 3.5mm protruding fingers above the diaphragm rim of the PP is workable.

 

[testorossa1989]

Once the PP is fully flat onto the flywheel, the fingers won’t move anymore from tightening the bolts to spec.

Think I shaved a 1/4 or something.

Most people that shorten their pivot ball go about 4.5-6mm. It made a difference in the full engagement point. I almost preferred how it was with the stock ball.

Don’t know what length to set it at as I don’t have the old measurements.

But what was the reason for having the trans and clutch off, as well as the pivot ball?

Make sure the new and old TOB are the same unit/dimensions.

Ensure you have it on the fork correctly. You can slide it either over or under the spring steel clip.
The correct way is over, which will pull the TOB further back.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-7515AF/82-93-Mustang-oem-ford-50L-Clutch-Fork

Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

When you say shaved pivot ball you mean cutting and shortening the threads.

I originally had to do a Rear main seal but was experiencing shifting troubles related to clutch engagement and noticed possibly never fully disengaging. Which lead me here.

 

[MG0h3]

When you say shaved pivot ball you mean cutting and shortening the threads.

I originally had to do a Rear main seal but was experiencing shifting troubles related to clutch engagement and noticed possibly never fully disengaging. Which lead me here.

The shaved comment was re the back of the fork. Must’ve tapped the screen and my cursor moved.

Copy that on the clutch engagement. If anything, that would suggest you didn’t have enough through. Last thing I would expect to find is a TOB touching the pp fingers with no pedal pressure.

Did you confirm the TOB is on the for correctly and that you do in fact have the correct TOB?


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app