For quite some time I had noticed what I thought to be my clutch throwout bearing dragging or input shaft bearing. On top of that, I had a serious case of clutch chatter.

Well I am in the middle of a tear down to replace the entire trans axle and motor for a Caddy 4.9 and a 5spd. This is what I found. I don't think I have ever seen a flywheel with the clutch surface so shiney it was like a mirror in spots. Perfect reflection I think I could have shaved by it. There were some pretty deep grooves in both the pressure plate and the flywheel.

P.S. we had it torn apart a year ago doing engine work, and just for good measure we installed a new disk. Clutch was fine, but we thought better safe than sorry. Now I wish we would have just left the old disk in there. This was installed 12 months ago almost to the day.

(see my thread on where to by 4.9 parts in General)

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85GT 4spd MSD Everything, Big Cam and Nitrous. www.captfiero.com

Sorry had to tweak a pic, refresh and all 4 should show up.

Cant Find It...Grind It Eh lol

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"This car is so good looking its almost indecent. - AutoWeek on the new 1986 GT"

Chilliwack Fieros
MSN Messanger tylercaddick@hotmail.com

The trans was in wonderfull shape, it just sucked when I put my foot to the floor and the car did not want to stop.

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: The trans was in wonderfull shape, it just sucked when I put my foot to the floor and the car did not want to stop.

So even in this condition it was staying engaged? It didn't slip?

and what type was it; a generic or a brand name? Might help someone else from buying the 'wrong' thing.
and I guess what do you plan on getting after this experience?

gp

It was a generic disc. No Name paid next to nothing for it.

As for engagment. It was still grabbing like a rock. The smoke show I left with my big 215/60/16's was proof of that.

you are lucky the spring didn't pop out and jam the pressure plate diaphram so you couldn't disengage the clutch - that happened to me

Never just replace only the disc, thier are problems you cant see with your eyes.

definately need to have that flywheel turned. I'll do it for free but then again it is a long drive to where I live.

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Notchies rule, fastbacks drool

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: I don't think I have ever seen a flywheel with the clutch surface so shiney it was like a mirror in spots. There were some pretty deep grooves in both the pressure plate and the flywheel.

David, can you recommend a place in the Vancouver area to have a flywheel re-surfaced? I need to have mine done.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: David, can you recommend a place in the Vancouver area to have a flywheel re-surfaced? I need to have mine done.

just buy a new one off gmpartsdirect.com

This is David on Lisa's computer.

I use a place in PK, but I am pretty sure, Mr. Clutch on Kingsway does a good job of it.

Just do yourself a HUGE favor and get a flywheel spacer. It is thin flat piece of metal that goes between the crankshaft and the flywheel. I installed this onto my 4spd at the suggestion of a Tranny guy in the club. It was amazing. My 4spd shifted at only about 1/4 the way down. It was great.

Until the spring blew apart and I had to push the pedal all the way to the floor. But I could shift with one finger.

It was awesome.

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85 Fiero SE V6 with 85GT Bumpers and 86GT Interior Wants Nitrous to keep up with Capt Fiero.

quote Originally posted by Fiero Chick: I use a place in PK, but I am pretty sure, Mr. Clutch on Kingsway does a good job of it. Just do yourself a HUGE favor and get a flywheel spacer. It is thin flat piece of metal that goes between the crankshaft and the flywheel.

David, thanks for the info on Mr Clutch. I’ll check them out for sure.

A few more questions for you:

1) Do the tranny shops (such as Mr Clutch) sell the spacer/shim you’re referring to?

2) What’s the going rate for re-surfacing a flywheel? I’ve never had to have this done before.

3) Who would you recommend I buy a clutch kit (disk, pressure plate, throw-out bearing) from? It’s for an ‘87 Duke.

quote Originally posted by aaronrus: just buy a new one off gmpartsdirect.com

I don’t think so. Have a look at this thread by Whuffo - My GM Parts Direct Experience

quote Originally posted by Patrick: David, thanks for the info on Mr Clutch. I’ll check them out for sure. A few more questions for you: 1) Do the tranny shops (such as Mr Clutch) sell the spacer/shim you’re referring to? 2) What’s the going rate for re-surfacing a flywheel? I’ve never had to have this done before. 3) Who would you recommend I buy a clutch kit (disk, pressure plate, throw-out bearing) from? It’s for an ‘87 Duke.

They should. I will try and get you the specs on the one I used. If you end up in a pinch, come here and get mine in surrey, I wont need it for a while.
Don't pay more than 50 bucks for the resurfacing.
Check cost through NAPA using the " Vancouver Car Club" and Lordco using the club discount. Price for a 4 popper clutch kit should be around 140 bucks for a complete kit. Dynapack is probably good enough for you.

For the note, I am using a larger 4spd V6 clutch in my Isuzu 5spd tranny. I just had to use the Isuzu throw out bearing.

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85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. www.captfiero.com

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: Don't pay more than 50 bucks for the resurfacing. Check cost through NAPA using the " Vancouver Car Club" and Lordco using the club discount. Price for a 4 popper clutch kit should be around 140 bucks for a complete kit.

A couple of months ago I was in Lordco and asked about the price of a clutch kit for my 4-banger Fiero. I was quoted about $235! When I told the fella that I thought the price was pretty steep, he lowered the price to $185 or so. How many sets of prices does Lordco have anyway? I’ve heard other people complain about this, and that’s one reason why I’ve bought very little from them.

If re-surfacing costs $50, maybe I should check out the cost of a new flywheel while I’m getting the prices on a clutch kit.

Thanks for suggesting the use of the “Vancouver Car Club”, but wouldn’t NAPA and/or Lordco require some kind of proof from me that I’m entitled to a discount? (Or is this a way of getting me to join the club? )

If at all possible you want to measure the thickness of the flywheel before and after they cut it. That gives you the thickness of the shim or shims you will need to retain proper clearances from the throw out bearing.

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Notchies rule, fastbacks drool

quote Originally posted by Patrick: A couple of months ago I was in Lordco and asked about the price of a clutch kit for my 4-banger Fiero. I was quoted about $235! When I told the fella that I thought the price was pretty steep, he lowered the price to $185 or so. How many sets of prices does Lordco have anyway? I’ve heard other people complain about this, and that’s one reason why I’ve bought very little from them. If re-surfacing costs $50, maybe I should check out the cost of a new flywheel while I’m getting the prices on a clutch kit. Thanks for suggesting the use of the “Vancouver Car Club”, but wouldn’t NAPA and/or Lordco require some kind of proof from me that I’m entitled to a discount? (Or is this a way of getting me to join the club? )

Ya during this engine build I had to rapid fire parts requests to Lordco guys. I tried to deal with the Surrey/Whally Lordco and the Port Kells Lordco. I was getting diffrent prices from both places, and in many occasions they just did not give a $hit about there customers. I would stand there for 5 min waiting to talk to someone while they sat there and yacked to each other. They really did not seem to want to help anybody. Then 1/2 the stuff was out of stock that I needed. They said they would have it in at Noon. So I came back at 12:30 and ended up waiting till 1:30 to get the parts.

On a whim I hit up the new Napa in Port Kells. It just happens to be there main warehouse and they have a store attached to the front of it.

As a walk in off the street I said I was in a car club and needed parts for a V8 Fiero I was doing. All the prices they gave me beat Lordco's prices. They had 99% of my stuff in stock, and the 1 part they did not have, they got it from a diffrent store and had it to me in about an hour. When I would come in they would ask me how it was comming and if I thought I would have the car on the road and were taking interst in my setup.

Needless to say. I have not been back to Lordco since. They are a few min further down the road but I am very happy to drive that little bit extra.

For Note, the V6 Clutch at Lordco is P# NU1888 List $250 Club cost $175 CDN. I dont know about the 4cly clutch.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: If re-surfacing costs $50, maybe I should check out the cost of a new flywheel while I’m getting the prices on a clutch kit.

I had mine done for $50 when they did my engine. http://www.alecsautomotive.com/
They are on Fraser St. less than 5 mins away from me
Austin

quote Originally posted by jsmorter1: If at all possible you want to measure the thickness of the flywheel before and after they cut it. That gives you the thickness of the shim or shims you will need to retain proper clearances from the throw out bearing.

That’s a good tip (and thanks), but...

I’m hoping that whoever I get to re-surface the flywheel (if I don’t just buy a new one) will know what the original specs were on this flywheel and can then suggest what thickness shims to use. Measuring it now (before re-surfacing it) isn’t fool proof because I have no idea whether or not this flywheel has been previously re-surfaced.

quote Originally posted by SoD: I had mine done for $50 when they did my engine. http://www.alecsautomotive.com/

Thanks for the feedback on re-surfacing prices.

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: Ya during this engine build I had to rapid fire parts requests to Lordco guys. I was getting diffrent prices from both places, and in many occasions they just did not give a $hit about there customers... For Note, the V6 Clutch at Lordco is P# NU1888 List $250 Club cost $175 CDN. I dont know about the 4cly clutch.

Maybe I’ll forget about Lordco...

Thanks for your info and for the price on the V6 clutch.

I’ve emailed Burnaby Auto Parts to see what kind of prices they have. I’ll post back.

Thought I should report back!

Took my flywheel to Mr Clutch and they re-surfaced it while I waited for $25(Cdn). I was pleased with that, and I also had a good chat with the owner about Fieros. I posted about my experiences there in This thread. Thanks for suggesting them Capt Fiero!

Burnaby Auto Parts gave me a price of $166(Cdn) for a DynaPak clutch kit. Turns out that Canadian Tire had DynaPak clutches 15% off last week, so I ended up buying it there for $152(Cdn). Yes, I understand that DynaPak doesn't have the best name in clutches, but my Duke is hardly a torque monster. I'm hoping it will be fine.

Mr Clutch also ordered in the shim I needed. There were two thicknesses, 25 and 50 thou, so I bought the thicker one. Apparently they never bother using shims on Fieros at Mr Clutch, but for $6(Cdn), even they agreed that it couldn't hurt.

All I need now is a few new oil seals, and then the fun part begins!

Glad to hear it all worked out for you, did you ever give napa a shout and see what there price would have been.

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85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. www.captfiero.com

No, I didn't. I know it probably seems silly, but I felt awkward telling NAPA that I was a member of the "Vancouver Car Club" (when I’m not) and then getting a price. Maybe when I get one of my Fieros going and get it lookin’ half decent I’ll join the local Fiero club for real.

(Sorry, I missed your question earlier.)

Capt Fiero, just as a point of interest, I phoned the closest NAPA to me (Lougheed Hwy location) to get the price and availability of the rear main oil seal for the Duke. The place I normally buy this kind of small stuff from (VAP) for some reason can’t get it from their suppliers for a week or so. They had quoted me a price of $10. I was kind of surprised when NAPA told me their price was $23. Seems kind of expensive for one oil seal. No, I didn’t say I belonged to the “Vancouver Car Club”. I guess I should’ve!

Well sometimes Napa is more, and it is becuase they have a better part. Or cant get a certian mass produced brand.

It never hurts to check.

Oh "Vancouver Car Club" is not a real club, it is generic account they use for Vancouver car guys.

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85GT 5spd MSD Everything,4.9 With Nitrous. www.captfiero.com

For the heck of it, I phoned Lordco. They want $25 !

Maybe I should phone a different NAPA here in Vancouver, mention the "Vancouver Car Club" and see what price they give me. This may seem like a lot of trouble to go through for an oil seal, but if I can find a decent place to deal with I'd be buying a lot more stuff from them eventually.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-30-2005).]

I just called for you, 21 bucks at Napa.

I think you should check with your normal place again, make sure they were quoiting on the right part.

Well, that was interesting. The fella at the West 3rd location of NAPA didn't know what the heck I was talking about when I mentioned the "Vancouver Car Club". However, I did find out something worthwhile - His price for the rear main oil seal was $9, but he didn’t have any in stock. However, he has the oil seal “kit” (whatever that is) for $25. It seems to me then that the other NAPA store and Lordco were both giving me the price for a “kit” when I made it very clear that all I wanted was the one damn oil seal. Do these places make it a point to hire retards to man the parts phone or what?!!

If I could only find a local parts place with decent prices and knowledgeable counter guys...

[EDIT] Capt Fiero, just saw your last post. Thanks for phoning your local NAPA, but it appears you were given the price for a "kit" as well. Wish I had a parts catalog to look this up myself.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-30-2005).]

Do you have MSN or ICQ I have something you might be interested in. Will save you lots of grief. But you have to promise to join BC Fiero's as it is suppose to be a members only thing.

I'm all ears! I don't have MSN or ICQ, but you can email me or PM me. If you like, I can give you my phone number if that makes things any easier (since we're in the same part of the world).

In the meantime, I typed out a long post which I'm putting in a new thread. Be right back...

Okay, this is the new thread: Anyone know the part # for the rear main oil seal on an '87 Duke?

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-30-2005).]