Clutch failure analysis.
Clutch failure analysis. Ok First, it's obviously oil that contaminated the friction surface... But Where did it come from?
Oil here in the bottom.
Flywheel:
Pressure plate:
Now, here is the kicker... Back of the flywheel is dry, aside from where the crank mounts to the flywheel. The flywheel bolts were were the oil was coming from. They were all very tight, and the back side were certainly covered in oil, however, there was no oil on the back of the flywheel directly from the oil pan leak. You can see the leak came out through the flywheel bolts onto the clutch, not from the back side as one would expect from an oilpan leak.
Here is a picture eliminating the possibility of a leak at the rear crank oil plug.
Another showing no oil problems at the rear main seal:
opinions? The oil pan gasket is leaking, but there wasn't any trace of oil on the back of the flywheel where the gasket would have been leaking at. Car was fine for 9000 miles, then all the sudden after a day in traffic it starts slipping in 4th gearish.
Oil here in the bottom.
Flywheel:
Pressure plate:
Now, here is the kicker... Back of the flywheel is dry, aside from where the crank mounts to the flywheel. The flywheel bolts were were the oil was coming from. They were all very tight, and the back side were certainly covered in oil, however, there was no oil on the back of the flywheel directly from the oil pan leak. You can see the leak came out through the flywheel bolts onto the clutch, not from the back side as one would expect from an oilpan leak.
Here is a picture eliminating the possibility of a leak at the rear crank oil plug.
Another showing no oil problems at the rear main seal:
opinions? The oil pan gasket is leaking, but there wasn't any trace of oil on the back of the flywheel where the gasket would have been leaking at. Car was fine for 9000 miles, then all the sudden after a day in traffic it starts slipping in 4th gearish.
The flywheel bolts themselves are "wet" as I understand it. I believe the oil came from behind the flywheel bolts. When I installed them I only used the Moly lube from ARP as instructed, however I think that this may be wrong. McLeod recommends red loctite here, I'm assuming because it also seals the passage and prevents oil from passing through as well. The stock Flywheel bolts that are TTY also have some paste on them.
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That kinda worries me. I'm about to do mine but using brand new gm bolts and red loctite. Would it be better to do a dab of rtv on the end of the thread then just loctite closer to the bolt head? I don't think this is too common but you never know.
If you use brand new bolts you shouldn't have an issue. they come with a little sauce on them already which will work fine.
I was using ARP hardware on the flywheel which was only sealed with moly lube. That's not enough to seal from oil coming through.
I'm probably going to go back to using the stock GM flywheel bolts. (which are TTY, and not re-usable, FYI)
I was using ARP hardware on the flywheel which was only sealed with moly lube. That's not enough to seal from oil coming through.
I'm probably going to go back to using the stock GM flywheel bolts. (which are TTY, and not re-usable, FYI)
I would not suggest using RED loctite to attempt to solve this problem, RTV around the threads would be a much better solution.
My solution to this problem is to take the ARP Flywheel bolts and throw them in the trash. Put in the stock GM 12563533 flywheel bolts. Ordered a Spec Stage 3+ and a new friction surface for my fidanza billet steel flywheel.
The bottom line is, there is oil behind the flywheel bolts, and there needs to be loctite on the bolts to seal the passageways to prevent oil from coming through.
Should have everything bolted back together and working again by next weekend.
The bottom line is, there is oil behind the flywheel bolts, and there needs to be loctite on the bolts to seal the passageways to prevent oil from coming through.
Should have everything bolted back together and working again by next weekend.
Not trying to thread jack, but i just recently ordered a Monster Clutch, and i bought GM replacement bolts. Are the ARP really that superior to the GM stuff, when brand new? Also the GM bolts come with thread locker already on them, do i need to use more, something like red locktite?
If you're using a new set of stock GM flywheel bolts you do NOT need to add anything to them (thread locker/RTV/Sealant) however they are torque to yeild and MUST be replaced if they are torqued down/then removed.
The solution to using ARP bolts is to use thread sealant or thread locker (Loctite red is fine because you're using a bolt that will not round off when it comes time to remove it). Use moly lube directly under the head of the bolt and first couple of threads, this will ensure proper torque and prevent any leaks.
Hope this helps.
The solution to using ARP bolts is to use thread sealant or thread locker (Loctite red is fine because you're using a bolt that will not round off when it comes time to remove it). Use moly lube directly under the head of the bolt and first couple of threads, this will ensure proper torque and prevent any leaks.
Hope this helps.
