Guys, after searching I've seen so many people do this swap without complaining of the problem my mechanic is telling me about. I ordered the LS7CLUTCHKIT from BYUNSPEED for my '97 C5 and took it all to the shop (I work 70+ hours/week).

The guy at the shop is german and couldn't clearly explain everything, but said that there was an issue with the flywheel mating to the clutch. The flywheel is on the car, but apparently there is "an edge" that prevents him from mounting the clutch disk or the pressure plate. He said that the old flywheel (original LS1) was flat, and that there's an edge on this one. He couldn't explain much more, but said he'd take pictures and send them to me tonight or in the morning. I'll post them, then.

Do any of you who have done the installation have any idea what he's talking about? please shed some light on this.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Ok, it was a bit of a miscommunication. What he's saying is that the flywheel has an edge and that the clutch does not slip in, I think. Is there anything that has to be ground away from the bellhousing to make an LS7 clutch and flywheel fit? Apparently, the flywheel is mounted, but he either can't slide the clutch up there, or the bellhousing won't work without some modification.

Any of you know what he's talking about?

 

I'll post some pictures later. The mechanic is asking for another $650 because he says he'll have to lower the engine to pull out the bellhousing. The problem is that even with the flywheel installed, the LS7 clutch will not fit into the bellhousing. Is there an easier solution? I'm sure someone here has done this.

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Take your car to someone else. The clutch disk will only be able to go in one way, if he tries it backwards it won't fit. Also, he's not supposed to "slide the disk in". He's supposed to install the PP and the disk at the same time. Take your car to someone else, as my first clutch swap ever done on a vehicle was an ls7 on an ls1 car and I had no problems.

 

If it's an LS7 clutch, it needs the stepped LS2 flywheel.
I can't tell if you have that.

Maybe the order had the wrong parts.
Get pictures instead of "later".

 

Ok, here are the pics. It shows pretty clearly the difference between the flat LS1 flywheel and the raised edges on the LS2/LS7 flywheel. It also shows the flywheel mounted with the bellhousing on. You can see that they are trying to fit the clutch disk and pressure plate up and in between the flywheel and the bellhousing and the new clutch kit will not fit in between the raised edged flywheel and the bellhousing.

Now, after speaking with a corvette shop back there in the US, I'm told that all that needs to be done from this point is to remove the back two 21mm Engine Cradle bolts (picture anyone?), and then start unbolting the bellhousing. Apparently there is some wiring harness on the top that my have to be either unbolted from the bellhousing or at least kept clear. Apparently as the be bellhousing is removed the engine will tilt back enough to provide the needed clearance. Does this sound right to you guys?

It's going to be hilarious if they argue with me and I end up driving 1.5 hours to them and then I have it off 10-20 minutes later. Anyway, any further advice and/or pictures here would be greatly appreciated so that I know exactly what is going on.

Taking it somewhere else is an absolute last resort. Germany is ******' weird and it's hard to find tranny shops or people who speak english as clearly as the owner does. I'm confident he's not trying to rip me off, but he's clearly not that experienced with C5 Corvettes.

 

When I installed mine I ran into a similar problem. My solution was to simply loosen the bell housing bolts enough to get the clutch and pressure plate to slip in. A few weeks later, I read somewhere (wish I could remember where) that you can simply tap the dowel pins on the flywheel in to create the clearance necessary to get the clutch/pressure plate in without having to mess with the bell housing. The dowel pins in question can be seen in your second picture.

Regardless, if the mechanic simply takes his time he can loosen the bell housing bolts without removing the engine. I didn't have a lift, I just lay on my back under a properly supported car and spent about 30 minutes getting the clutch/pressure plate in once the bell housing bolts were loosened. I may have completely removed the lower bolts during the operation, but I know I left the top bolts in.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, mrcoupe2002. I really appreciate the advice given this is apparently your first tech post in the 5 1/2 years you've been here ...

I'm going to call him back today and make sure he understands that it can be done. If he has issues, then I'll go up there and do it myself. I still can't believe he wanted another 500 euro (~$698) even for lowering the engine, but thanks for your feedback because now I'm feeling pretty confident that this is an easy fix.

Anyone else's feedback on the bellhousing removal would also be appreciated. I'd especially like to know which 2 are the "cradle bolts" that the corvette shop referred to. It's probably very apparent given the size of the bolts and the fact that I'm aware of what an engine cradle/k-member is, but for peace of mind, I'd like to get a visual.

Chris