2002 5.3L
Tremec TKO600

Sachs NFW1050 flywheel (2006 4.8L truck)
RAM 92764 "Musclecar Series" clutch kit for SBC (old style)

There is no room in my car to run an external slave. I purchased the Mcleod 1364 hydraulic throwout bearing (listed for GM TKO600 applications), but it does not fit. Mcleod tech support was no help.


Long story short, I need to make my pressure plate fingers move away from my transmission by about 1/4". I did some reading saying that the car flywheels are thinner by .400". Can anyone confirm this before I go buy one?

 

How about just getting a different throw out bearing?

Andrew

 

IIRC, there were some truck motors that had a flywheel flange 0.400" longer. Sounds like you might have one. I don't think there's a solution other than installing a car-style crank, but I'd sure be looking for that "magic" flywheel! BTW, I'd always heard the old style pressure plates had a different bolt pattern than the LS, yet your's bolted up? Did that "Sachs" flywheel have dual pattern?

 

Problem HAS to be the release bearing.
I am running a .200 THICKER flywheel with my 6.0LS, BBC scattersheild, and TKO600. I am using mechanical linkage and release bearing.

 

It's the same but the old pressure plates used 3/8" bolts versus M10 for the LS. So you have to drill out the 3 "net" holes to fit M10. The other 3 are clearance holes anyway.

That's how I mated an old school 11" pressure plate to an LS flywheel.



You can read more here

 

I have a truck 6.0, LS1 flywheel/clutch, 621 BBC bellhousing, mated to a Richmond 6 speed with mechanical linkage. It works fine but I needed a longer throwout bearing because the distance from trans mating surface to clutch is farther than a standard BBC setup. So that combo might be your solution.
I am also putting together a 5.3, Sachs 1050 flywheel, 11" BBC clutch, 621 bellhousing, Muncie 4 speed right now. The only reason I went with the sach/BBC clutch combo is because of the 10 spline trans input shaft. The sachs flywheel is definitely thicker but there seemed to be plenty of room on the bellhousing.
What's the application for the hydraulic throwout bearing are you using? I would suspect you could get a shorter one.

 

The bearing I have is listed as being for a GM spec TKO600. The tech support guy said they do make one step smaller, but I would still need a shim between the bellhousing and the block (that they do not sell) to make it fit. I have been unable to find a bearing other than the Mcleod unit that is listed for this transmission.

My measurement was 2.25" from the bellhousing to the clutch fingers, and 2.4375" length of my bearing unit. the smallest bering Mcleod has is only .100" shorter.

As for the pressure plate pattern, the Sachs one comes with 3/8" bolt holes in it. There were two dowels to remove, but it took all of 10 minutes to make the old style plate bolt up. The clutch kit was around 40 bucks cheaper for SBC vs LS1, which it why I went that route. Perhaps an LS1 style plate is smaller/thinner?


I do not have the 621 bellhousing. Mine is from a truck, I forget the number exactly (I think its 460486), but it does clear the clutch assembly with no issues. Would a 621 be longer?

 

The 621 bell housing is 6.25" from block mating face to trans mating face.
Btw, my sachs 1050 is taped for M10 x 1.5 metric bolts, bought the bolts from the dealer. Go figure.

 

I'll measure mine in a little bit. I also got the parts store to order a Camaro wheel so I can measure it.

How much were the bolts from the dealer? Summit wants like 45 bucks for the metric ones.

 

My bell is about 6.25" from block to trans (460486).

Sachs truck wheel is 1.056" thick including the ring gear. Hopefully the car one is either thinner or recessed by .400" like I've read. Then I can use the .100" thinner bearing and have my .100" minimum required clearance. I'll update tomorrow.

 

Tell me what measurements you need, I've got a flywheel from an '03 Vette in the garage...

 

The 10mm bolts for the clutch/flywheel were less than $1.00 each.

 

McMaster Carr sells metric bolts one at a time. A reliable source of fasteners.

I have a TKO 600 and LS7 clutch and flywheel on my car. I use a HTOB from Keisler engineering. My problem went the other way, I had to add 5/8 inch of spacers behind the HTOB to get it to engage the clutch.

Maybe give Keisler a call and talk to them. Maybe their bearing is shorter. I am also running their BBC copy bellhousing.

 

Keisler Engineering manufactures a spacer plate that is 1/4 or 5/16inch thick, and it installs between the transmission and bellhousing to give the extra clearance needed. Give our tech support group a call at x201 Ben or x212 Keith and they can fix you up.

Alternatively, you can use our hydraulic bearing kit for $369 incl front retainer for the TKO.

- Shafi

 

With standard throwout bearing being as thin as 1 1/4", I would be surprised if someone doesn't make a thinner hydraulic.
Oh and a note on the flywheel and pressure plate bolts.
All the pressure plate bolts I found had a flange that was too big for the Sachs pressure plate. And the dealer was under $10 for a set.
While I was there, I also got the 05 3500 flywheel to crank bolts. Those were about $2 each. But they're made to hold that big flywheel on in 1 ton truck.

 

The ARP pressure plate bolt have a relatively small flange. You may have better luck with those. They came with washers but Mcleod's instructions are very clear about not using washers. My picture above shows Allen head but that was just for mock-up. I wouldn't use that on a flywheel.

 

Got the car wheel today, its about .200" thinner and the mounting flange appears to be positioned in a way that would pull it closer to the block. I'll get it bolted up and measured tomorrow. If all else fails, I can always return this bearing and look into the Keisler unit mentioned above.

 

I'm in the same situation. Right now im bolting a muncie four speed up to a LQ4, using this kit - http://paceperformance.com/i-5146180...rsion-kit.html. Althought i did swap out the throwout bearing for a longer one. I could have used an adjustable ball stud from mcleod, but i thought the throw out bearing would be better.

 

Do the 11" BBC pressure plate bolt holes line up with the flywheel?
And which flywheel did you get? I've heard the LS1/2/7 flywheels were all drilled differently for different pressure plates.

 

We also have the Keisler PerfectFit hydraulic kits for Muncie now. Has everything including a 4140 alloy steel front bearing retainer. $599 for forum members.