Clutch Pressure Plate - Can I reuse?
 

OK, here's the deal. My clutch is toast. it slips at around 2500 RPM in each gear. Which means no power, making the car damn near undriveable. :(

I'm also cash strapped for the next 3-4 months. Not much cash to play with until June.

I know most people upgrade their pressure plate and clutch with a kit once their clutch goes. Is there any reason why i can't reuse my current pressure plate and just add a new clutch disk, seals, pilot, and throwout bearings? My car is totally stock right now. A new disk will run about $135, new throwout bearing ~$75, $12 for the pilot/seal, etc. I figure less than $250 for everything if I don't have to mess with the PP.

I just don't have $500+ to drop on an upgrade right now, so I need something to tide me over for a few months until I can do a proper upgrade. Has anyone tried this? Know of a reason why it can't be done? I don't want my car to sit unused for 4 months.



Thanks.

Well, so far 10 views and no replies, so either you guys don't know the answer, haven't seen the post, or my questions are too stupid/trivial to answer...but since noone has cyber-slapped me with a "search" response yet I'm going to assume that the 10 people who looked so far just don't know the answer.

So... poking aorund with various combinations of keywords on Google, I ran across this link.

http://fc3s-pro.com/TECH/PROBLEMS/DT/CLUTCH/disc.htm

Why should 2nd gen guys get to have all the fun. :D I'm going to try it if noone can give me a good reason not to use it. Of course, if it looks beat to hell when I get it off I'll replace it as my budget allows. :(

Worst that happens is the whole assembly explodes, sheers my legs off at the ankles, and I collect disability for the rest of my life, right? :confused:

Most people replace everything they can when they have the transmission out. It is a pain in the ass to remove, and no one (except you) wants to do it twice if they don't have to.

You probably can get away with the old pressure plate for a little while without any problems. This assumes it isn't thrashed.

Adam

Take it from someone who has done it twice, dont reuse replace. It will just make things worse and if it fries your flywheel you will be in an even worse situation believe me because Ive had both. Also shop around you may find a better price. Its better to let it sit than to double you parts bill not to mension labor ,that is if you don't have the ability to do the work yourself

well lemme give u my 2 cents to save u money, 4 stock clutches later i decided to hey do it right, the thing is, if u got ne upgrades ur gonna jack ur stock clutch id go act or sumthin, but get a NEW plate and disk, if u wanna see what can happen if u dont check out my profile and go to my site, page 5 i believe, and that was teh time that i went easy on the clutch

somebody want to translate this to English? :eek:

What you don't speak teenage Californian? :D

If I'm understanding correctly he's suggesting that the stock clutch is trash (he's gone through 4 of them), and that I should upgrade to an ACT clutch. After poking around for awhile and talking to a few people locally I think he's giving me sound advice.

Unfortuantely that means my car is going to sit awhile until I can scrounge up the cash. :( Damn rent and state taxes. ;)

THanks for the responses guys.

I'd say it depends on the condition of the PP. If it is not worn to badly then you can reuse it. Like everyone else said it isn't ideal, but since you can't afford one then just buy the disc.

Oh and if your not replaceing the PP then definetly don't bother with the throwout bearing and pilot bearing. I don't think replacing the pilot bearing is a good idea anyway. Many people actually screw that job up and make the replacement fail before the original. Relube and reuse.

Jeff

Thanks for your input Jeff.

i bought some PB Blast today with the intention of tackling the issue this weekend, so I'll have a better idea of what kind of shape the PP is in in a few days. I'm guessing it's pretty poor. I've got 90K+ miles on the clock and since I'm the 3rd owner who knows when the last time the clutch was changed?

I really just need a temporary solution until I've paid off what I owe the State of Oregon in taxes. If I could get OSU to take the right amount out of my paycheck each month I'd be one happy camper.

who b knockin my calibonics yo? lol

Hey wings I didn't notice your in Corvallis. I'm a former OSU guy too:).

Anyway I'm just 40 miles south of you. I've probably got a few used pressure plates hanging around that are in decent shape. I'll give you one if you need it.

Jeff
13 FDs and counting...

Damn Jeff, 13 FD's that's insane!!

Thanks for the generous offer on the pressure plate, I may have to take you up on that offer. One of these days I'll have enough time and motivation to get under the car and take a look.