Drivetrain Clutch got coated with dust during plasti-blasting

[AnthonyA1234]

Went under my car today and I noticed that when looking through that hole in the bell housing where you can see the clutch it’s completely caked with dust. This is because I had my car plastic blasted recently to remove all the paint and rust and dust got pretty much everywhere. The car drives fine no problems. Is it safe to just blow compressed air in there to clean it out?

 

[keel]

I wouldn't want to get any of that stuff to get on to the face of the clutch disc but I think as long as the clutch is engaged then there is no way for any of that material to make its way between the flywheel and clutch disc or the pressure plate and disc. Maybe it would help if you blew air inside while the car was in neutral and idling so the clutch assembly is spinning.
Personally I wouldn't mess with it as long as the car continues to drive fine because I think it would be very difficult to clean the inside of the bell housing effectively without removing the transmission.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Is the dust the same color as the media that was used to blast the car or is it just clutch dust? I pulled my transmission a few months ago to put a rebuild kit in it and the RAM clutch which is magenta (man speak for pink) was covered in clutch dust and only had about 6,000 miles on it. Wiped it down and then blew it out (do this outside of the garage) and all is good.

I am not sure what you mean by caked but if it is truly caked up then I would pull the transmission and clean things up but that is me. Having an issue in traffic when applying power or shifting would suck.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Is the dust the same color as the media that was used to blast the car or is it just clutch dust? I pulled my transmission a few months ago to put a rebuild kit in it and the RAM clutch which is magenta (man speak for pink) was covered in clutch dust and only had about 6,000 miles on it. Wiped it down and then blew it out (do this outside of the garage) and all is good.

I am not sure what you mean by caked but if it is truly caked up then I would pull the transmission and clean things up but that is me. Having an issue in traffic when applying power or shifting would suck.

I’ll post a pic later today when I get back from work. It’s pretty dusty in there everything is coated with a thick layer.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Is the dust the same color as the media that was used to blast the car or is it just clutch dust? I pulled my transmission a few months ago to put a rebuild kit in it and the RAM clutch which is magenta (man speak for pink) was covered in clutch dust and only had about 6,000 miles on it. Wiped it down and then blew it out (do this outside of the garage) and all is good.

I am not sure what you mean by caked but if it is truly caked up then I would pull the transmission and clean things up but that is me. Having an issue in traffic when applying power or shifting would suck.

So you think it’s safe to wipe and blow air through the hole? I really don’t want to take all that apart. Perhaps I could do it while the cars idling like keel suggested?

 

[limp]

So you think it’s safe to wipe and blow air through the hole? I really don’t want to take all that apart. Perhaps I could do it while the cars idling like keel suggested?

In my opinion, it might work, and I wouldn't think it would hurt a thing, Worth a try...

 

[AnthonyA1234]

In my opinion, it might work, and I wouldn't think it would hurt a thing, Worth a try...

Yea I’m going to give it a try. I’m thinking if the car drives find after getting all that dust in there it can’t get any worse from me just blowing it out.

 

[Mustang5L5]

My fear is some material gets on the clutch friction surface and smears in and now you have a contaminated plate. Or maybe i'm overthinking it and you just blow it off while the engine is idling and do not press the clutch pedal in until you feel confident you have cleared it off?

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Is the dust the same color as the media that was used to blast the car or is it just clutch dust? I pulled my transmission a few months ago to put a rebuild kit in it and the RAM clutch which is magenta (man speak for pink) was covered in clutch dust and only had about 6,000 miles on it. Wiped it down and then blew it out (do this outside of the garage) and all is good.

I am not sure what you mean by caked but if it is truly caked up then I would pull the transmission and clean things up but that is me. Having an issue in traffic when applying power or shifting would suck.

Here’s a pic. Upon further inspection with the light it’s not as bad as I thought. Just a light coat of dust everywhere but the actual shaft inside (not sure what that’s called) is pretty grimey. Let me know if you guys think I should just leave it or clean it.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Doesn’t look terrible to me. Blow it out (wear some respirator gear) and drive it.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

So I blew all the dust off and it went well. It cleaned it up pretty good. One thing I noticed while under the car was that when my engine is running the clutch fork (where the cable connects to) vibrates up and down and makes a clunking noise. Is this normal for a cammed car with poly motor mounts or should it not be doing this? I believe my harmonic balancer needs replacing could that be what’s causing it?

The whole tranny and respective components are brand new so it can’t be that any of those parts need replacing.

 

[AeroCoupe]

What makes you think the harmonic balancer needs to be replaced?

 

[AnthonyA1234]

What makes you think the harmonic balancer needs to be replaced?

Well it’s original and from what I can see that rubber piece inside it is popped out in some places. Lmk what u think

 

[AeroCoupe]

Ummm that mofo is done. So do you want a good stock replacement or a SFI approved (read racing) one? Good thread on them:

doing harmonic balancer for first time

Well. ...... You could but you have to lube the washer to get an accurate torque read how do I know where to stop I have a finger gap of space from the balancer to the seal I'm just being careful I've never put one in before iam 40 but never worked on cars from the 90s

stangnet.com

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Ummm that mofo is done. So do you want a good stock replacement or a SFI approved (read racing) one? Good thread on them:

doing harmonic balancer for first time

Well. ...... You could but you have to lube the washer to get an accurate torque read how do I know where to stop I have a finger gap of space from the balancer to the seal I'm just being careful I've never put one in before iam 40 but never worked on cars from the 90s

stangnet.com

Are the benefits worth it? I’m fine with just getting a stock replacement but if there’s some worthwhile benefits I’d consider it. My car isn’t going to be tracked just a road cruiser and the occasional spirited driving. It is modded though it’s a HCI car making 275whp.

 

[limp]

I purchased a Power Bond brand balancer and am really pleased with it... Better than stock....
I know it was a 50oz, but I cannot remember the model.... I think the " street performance" one....

 

[AnthonyA1234]

I purchased a Bond brand balancer and am really pleased with it... Better than stock....

Thanks for the recommendation, please confirm if the part I’ve attached below is the one you’re referring to.

What kind of benefits over stock does it have? Is the install any harder since it’s not oem?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pbb-pb1084ss/make/ford#overview

 

[limp]

No I do not think it was that one, too much money.. I " think " it was the one of the street performers for less money..
I purchased that item probably two years ago.. Hard to tell as most of the prices on metal items have gone up 50 -200% since.... Pretty wild when I look up items I purchased not too long ago...
The powerbond was recommended on alot of Mustang sites when I was looking.. My machinist liked it when he was balancing my engine.....

 

[AnthonyA1234]

No I do not think it was that one, too much money.. I " think " it was the one of the street performers for less money..
I purchased that item probably two years ago.. Hard to tell as most of the prices on metal items have gone up 50 -200% since.... Pretty wild when I look up items I purchased not too long ago...
The powerbond was recommended on alot of Mustang sites when I was looking.. My machinist liked it when he was balancing my engine.....

I’m guessing it’s this one?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pbb-pb1084st/make/ford/model/mustang/year/1992

 

[AeroCoupe]

Stock replacement style:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pbb-pb1084n