Need help quick: Clutch stuff

[TazerRE]

Okay, so I tore my tranny out today to try and fix this weird somewhat-slipping thing. I had an earlier thread on it, it had been hypothesized that my pressure plate bolts were loosening up. Tore everything out, tightened up the plate (it was a bit loose, but not bad), put everything back together. Tested the pedal, and it was quite weird. From previous experiences I've had, I figured that the throwout bearing had come off of the clutch fork. Tore everything BACK out, sure enough, it had come off. as long as stuff was out, I took off the plate and disc, just cleaned them up a bit, made sure there wasn't any flud or anything on them. Put everything back together AGAIN. Pedal was fine this time. Started the car up, and when the clutch is all the way out it makes kinda a whirring, metal on metal noise (sounds like the throwout bearing rubbing on something, I guess, but I don't know how that could be happening).

When I put the clutch ifn, it disengages properly, but makes a really nasty noise (like what I mentioned before, but significantly amplified). It really sounds like I'm tearing something up. When I try to drive it, coming off the clutch it slips a bit and shakes like MAD, then levels out and drives fine.

Incidentally, the whole assembly (pressure plate, clutch disc, throwout bearing, even pilot bearing) is less than 6 months old.

So I'm way confused. Does anybody know what's going on?

Sorry about the long post, spent over 10 hours under my car today, did my tranny TWICE, and I'm quite sore and pissed. I had to give up and ask you guys before I broke something.

 

[2nd Mustang]

Mine was doing somewhat of the same thing recently. New clutch, etc. Took two adjustments of the pedal play to get it right, although my grinding noise was due to too much play in the pedal. Was the flywheel resurfaced?

 

[67GTFastback]

How much top play do you have in your clutch pedal before the clutch engages when depressed? About an 1 1/4 inch is as much as you want. I am wondering if there is maybe too much top play and the clutch needs to be adjusted, causing it to be "sloppy" (sorry for the bad term).

 

[TazerRE]

67gtfastback - Do you mean play from the BACK, out to where the clutch engages, or from when my foot is off the pedal to when it disengages.

Either way, I've played with the adjustment, and it improved a bit, but still sounds really nasty, like I"m afraid to drive it for fear of tearing something up really bad.

2nd mustang - no, the flywheel wasn't resurfaced (I know, I know...), but it wasn't the original clutch either. The PO had done the clutch about 8 months before he parked it for 18 years (after which I ended up with it), and he had the flywheel surfaced at that time. I just burned through that first (19 year old, but realatively fresh) disc learning how to drive a clutch.

I'm planning on putting a new longblock in it sometime soon, and I had planned on having the flywheel surfaced when I did so.

The main issue is that it got so much WORSE after I did all that stuff. I've had that tranny out a few times, I know what goes where, and somehow all this stuff just showed up.

Is it possible that maybe the disc is warped or something?

 

[v8stang67]

I was having the exact same problem a few years back. Turned out to be the cheapo pressure plates I was buying. With the pressure plate bolted down, check to see if there is any play in the 3 "fingers." This was my problem. Once I bought a good pressure plate, the problem never returned.

 

[D.Hearne]

Tazer------- you didn't put the disc in backwards somehow did you? If not then you may need to resurface the flywheel to get the disc to "seat" with it. Or at the very least, rough the flywheel surface up with a 100 or so grit paper or air sander. What brand pressure plate is it? Not an "el cheapo" rebuilt unit is it? Back in the 80's when I had my big block Stang, I found that it didn't pay to use rebuilt pressure plates, only new hi-po ones would do. The disc could be a relined unit just as long as it had a good pressure plate clamping it to the flywheel.