vtfireman85 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 My jeep throw out started clattering today, the clutch is a Centerforce dual friction, it is about 10 years old and I have no reason to suspect it has any problems, it is not high miles, maybe 20-30K, i have noticed a little chatter lately, assuming the flywheel is a little glazed , is it worth trying to have it turned or for 600 bucks should I replace it? If I replace/tuen the flywheel what is the consensus on the clutch, must they go as a set? Can i do one without doing the other? It is usually the other way around, i have a junk clutch so i asses the flywheel condition. all this is of course pending a tear down but I was curious to hear some thoughts flywheel and clutch kit would be around 1200 bucks, i have no idea where to get one turned anymore, all those shops have closed up around me. the temptation is to get a new throw out and stuff it in and be done but the chatter annoys me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 I'd replace the throw out bearing and closely inspect the clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder system and everything related. I'd replace everything that is bad or substantially worn. Reuse the good parts. Does your jeep have the slave cylinder that is inside the bell housing? If so I'd think hard about replacing it while it's apart! Thx-Ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobfly Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 I have deglazed flywheels with an oscillating sander to my satisfaction. Light touch. Pressure plate too. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfireman85 Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 6 hours ago, cobfly said: I have deglazed flywheels with an oscillating sander to my satisfaction. Light touch. Pressure plate too. That was one thing I was wondering about I honestly think wear wise it is fine, as i say , wont really know anything until it is sitting on the bench, but I usually am either dealing with a new failed part or an old worn out one. As for flywheels i used to just take them to be turned, but he is dead now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardtail Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 Do you have a gap bed on your lathe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinSD Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I’ve always had flywheels turned, putting in a new clutch without surfacing the flywheel usually results in problems. My best friend tried that once many years ago and he was never happy with that clutch, always chattered, never smooth, etc. He lived with it till we parted out that pickup, but I definitely learned to never even think about doing that again. As for finding someone in your next of the woods to do the work, I don’t know what to say, but there should still be a machine shop somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
int 504 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I don't think they recommend resurfacing those flywheels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfireman85 Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 8 hours ago, hardtail said: Do you have a gap bed on your lathe? No, but I think i could swing it anyway, my skills aren’t up to par however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfireman85 Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 1 hour ago, int 504 said: I don't think they recommend resurfacing those flywheels. No? I never asked about if it was doable? Whats the reasoning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
int 504 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Not thick enough to take any off and can mess up geometry of clutch release apparatus. I did a Wrangler clutch for a family member a few years ago. The machine shop resurfaced on rotary broach and we shimmed back to original position. Still working good but a replacement stock grade wheel might have been less $$$ or not much more. They can also be done on brake lathes but I'm not sure I'm brave enough for that as I don't know about accuracy. If you are talking aftermarket hi po parts then this advice may not apply. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearclash Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 It can get pretty hard to justify resurfacing a flywheel pretty quick. I learned that if a flywheel (or a pressure plate for that matter) has “hot spots” in it, there is a high likely hood that those “hot spots” will “swell” over time even after the part has been resurfaced. This is due to the structure of the iron begin permanently changed due to the initial overheating. The result is a grabby clutch engagement, even after resurfacing. Pretty sure this is what happened on my 1999 Dodge Cummins flywheel after I had the flywheel reground quite a few years ago. When everything is cold or there is no load behind the pickup the clutch engagement is livable. Get everything hot and with a heavy load behind and it becomes apparent something isn’t right. To be fair, that clutch, as factory, is pitifully inadequate on a good day, and that is at stock power levels . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
England806 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 Those hot spots tend to go very hard I have machined a lot of flywheels to get around the problem but it often means removing more material than is desirable. Then it messes up the rest of the system. Last one I did was for an IH674. It had been machined a lot previously. Ended up having 0.315” total removed. Caused a lot of problems but managed to get around them with a lot of head scratching. All because the owner wouldn’t buy a good used flywheel. Customer him a lot more in the end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I did a clutch on the Wrangler I bought for my kids. I don't think I spent even a hundred for kit, with my FIL's discount, which had everything including pressure plate, disc, pilot and throw out. Local machine shop still grinds wheels for cheap - non directional finish. I had no problem with geometry. I'm quite sure my son wasn't easy on it as evidenced by the broken axle. (Dad, I'm in trouble, a wheel just fell off!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 On 4/14/2023 at 11:03 PM, vtfireman85 said: Centerforce dual friction So why does the 4.0 need such a HD clutch? Do you have to slip it a lot off-road? I'm not an off roader so it's just a question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfireman85 Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Off road, particularly rock crawling can be tough on them, good operator helps of course. Big tires are rough on them also. Mostly the over center design is easier on my knee. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 46 minutes ago, vtfireman85 said: Mostly the over center design is easier on my knee. I changed the clutch on our C60 to a diaphragm so my wife could drive it better plus my knee wasn't good at the time. Stock Wrangler clutch was diaphragm. Clutch on the C60 was a B&B and got real tough towards the end of it's travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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