All,

A few days ago I installed my motor. I then bolted up the tranny etc... Anyway, today I had some time so I decide to put the bolts on the clutch tonight.

I am under the car, in that little space viewing into the bell housing area I am spinning the pressure plate so that it aligns with the dowels.

I am trying to get it lined up and then i hear a clunk. Seems that the clutch pressure plate fell off the throwout bearing.

Do I have to pull the motor back out and set it back in place? The pressure plate is now moving up and down, before it was just moving in a circular motion.

This ever happened to anyone? Please do not tell me I have to pull the motor back out again!

Thanks for the feedback.

Anthony

 

Let me get this straight, u put the engine in the car, then bolted the tranny to the engine, and now ur putting the bolts in the clutch pressure plate, right? This order of events means u have an auto tranny and its a torque converter not a clutch. A clutch and pressure plate r bolted to the flywheel before the tranny is bolted to the engine. No u don't have to pull the engine, just drop the tranny and bolt the clutch assembly up, be sure to use some sort of alignment tool for the clutch disk, or u'll never get the input shaft of the tranny into the pilot bearing.

 

In a manual transmission FD the clutch assembly doesn't get bolted up to the flywheel until the tranny has been bolted up, it's a reverse fork design, and has a little window in the transmission for tools to tighten the clutch assembly to the flywheel once the tranny has been bolted up. It sounds to me like the fork or throwout bearing has a problem, and yes you have to take it down again, that's the only way I think you'll know what's definately wrong.

 

I need some education. What makes the FD unique in that the pressure plate gets bolted to the flywheel AFTER the trans is installed?
Just curious.

 

Damn, that's f'ed up. Why did they make such a change, that just makes it harder.

 

You are mistaken here.

You bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel and tighten all the bolts down.

Then bolt the engine to the transmission.

Then you "snap" the release bearing into the pressure plate.

I have NO CLUE why the original poster would try to attach the pressure plate bolts AFTER the transmission was bolted to the transmission.

I think he is screwed and will have to pull his motor or trans back out. If he has very tiny hands, some long tools, and some patience and luck.. he just MIGHT be able to get the PP lined back up on the dowel pins but I doubt it.

Brian

 

Hell noyour not gonna get it back with out takin it off and sticking the thing back on the dowels. They are a tight fit even with easy access.

 

yeah, it is a tight fit. BIG pry bar would help, but i would not count on it. its almost imposible like that. i believe the manual says to do it this way, but its almost imposible. i have done this in the past. forgetting to put that damn clip on... just drop trany again, its not that bad... then do it right. the pull type clutch sucks, but its not the end of the world...

 

It can be done either way. I know, I've done it 4 times in the last week. There is enough room to bolt the PP to the Flywheel but it does take time. The manual suggests that you unbolt the PP from the Flywheel if you can't unsnap the ring so why not reverse order?

I prefer to bolt the PP and Flywheel up after installing the tranny that way I know for sure the ring snapped into the PP correctly.

 

Raptor brings up a good point about making sure the snap ring will lock with the PP. I do that FIRST while it's all out of the car to make sure it will lock up when the time comes.

But I still bolt the PP bolts down and then put the tranny in and then finally lock the release bearing.

But if it works the other way I see nothing 'wrong' with doing it that way but it just seems like the hard way to do it to me

Brian

 

Garfinkle said that in order to get the snap ring in place with the notches in place ,he puts the clutch pp on the throwout bearing first with the ring seated .Then puts the trans in place to the motor, then puts the 6 pp bolts to the flywheel. He has done it this way far 8 years with out a problem. This method for pull type clutch only. He had a Saab in last month, try one of them for different .

 

those saabs are ******* weird with the clutch infront of the engine.

 

It's easier to install the tranny with the pressure plate in the tranny. The shaft just slides right in. no worries about lining everything up just right. No need for a clutch alignment tool. Bolting the pressure plate down takes a little longer this way, but the job is easier overall.

Adam

 

Next time I'm doing one, I'll give it a try....

B