dualblade

the new clutch disc and pressure plate that me and skoot have for his 84 have a bit of rust on them. i guess the rust is inevitable, but some is on the pressure plate friction surface and i wasn't sure how bad this is. is there a way to clean the rust off without making the friction surface uneven? can i use something like steel wool that won't strip off much metal?

AznDrgn

if it's just surface rust I wouldn't bother just run it and it'll get knocked off the first couple of times you engage the clutch.

Mongo

Azn's right. The heat will burn the rust right off. The last plate I got had some of it too. It kind of reminds me of how easily brake rotors will rust when just a little bit of water gets on them.

dualblade

ok, thanks guys. makes me feel much better.

oh, one more question. when putting on the throwout bearing, how many of those little shim things are you supposed to use? 3 came with the bearing, the one on the car has 1

David Floyd

A little steel wool will knock off the surface rust if you wish to remove it before installation

odie

put the clutch on, forget the rust.

It will be gone in 2 seconds the first time you shift.

dualblade

thanks guys, i won't worry about the rust. how about the shims: use 1, 2, or all 3?

IceShark

I'd like to see a picture/drawing on how those TOB shims are supposed to be set up. It will be a few days until I have my clutch apart but if Andrew is confused I'm sure I will be too if the original bearing is different.

David Floyd

I used all 3

dualblade

ice, i can take a pic of how it all goes together if you need to see. i know the arraingement, i just wasn't sure about the purpose of the shims so i wasn't sure how many to include. i figured perhaps you need more shims if more is taken off your flywheel to machine it flat again. this is just a guess, as all the other parts will be new but i didn't know if a slightly smaller flywheel meant needing shims. if it doesn't hurt things to use all three then i guess i'll do that.

KuHL 951

Mine was throwout bearing, 3 plain shims, one toothed washer, fingers toward front, insert assembly into PP. From other side of PP, thick washer w/ detent facing front, then retainer clip into detent. Place on flat surface, push down on PP ring with knees, and set retainer clip into groove. These were all new parts except flywheel. Rule of Thumb is to use as many shims as you can and still get the retainer to seat well. It should have no front to rear play.

dualblade

that is exactly how i assembled mine when i had done my car. even used my knees just as you said.

IceShark

OK, I'll print this off for the big day. I sort of figured that you had to compress the PP and snap in the retaining ring but not having the original to look at makes you wonder. And, of course, Sachs doesn't put in any instruction sheets in the TOB box.

I drove the car today and the clutch was sort of back to "normal". I must have so many broken and chewed up springs laying around in there that I'm afraid what I will see when I get it apart.

I guess if the torque tube drive shaft isn't chewed up all is well. Except for maybe the synchros. That would be a real kick in the teeth.

Still flip-flopping on whether I should get 6+ pounds shaved off the flywheel when I get it resurfaced.

dualblade

i guess sachs figured that people who managed to get to the throwout bearing know what they're doing. i sure didnt' the first time around but i just looked at how the old bearing went on the old pressure plate and copied that. the t.o. bearing is really easy to put on. the snap ring can be put on with your hands - no tools required. if you want the old snap ring to come off so you can see how the assembly goes together, all you need is a small flathead screwdriver to pry with. it doesn't even require much force once you're pushing down on the pressure plate