DeTomaso Mailing List: March 1997, Message #91
     



From: nobbie@concentric.net (Nobbie)

Subject: Clutch Idiot

Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 01:04:41 -0500 (EST)



Okay Gang,



Please bear with me. I'm not really up on clutch terminology so what

follows is my best recall of what two different people told me.



My buddy, who's owned a 72 Pantera and did extensive mechanical resto work

on it test drove my new Pantera. He said everything was cool except for the

clutch. He thought it felt funny. I told him it had a clutch effort

reduction system installed. He said he couldn't see where, that everything

looked stock.



He also said (here's where I get lost) that "something-whatever" was

resting right on the "something-fingers." And that put it in constant

contact with some sort of plate. Which wasn't good and meant the "Throwout

Bearings" would get fried. He also looked through the inspection hole on

the ZF and said the "pads" were really thin and may be close to the bolts.

Aaack!



He recommended a Centerforce dual-friction, dual plate clutch job. I called

Mike Cook and he said he could fix me up with his custom set for around

$670, including drilling out the plate and having it resurfaced. He said

for street use, though, I shouldn't use a dual plate clutch. Okay.



Then I called Scott Drnek at Virtuoso Performance, you know him, the Safety

Marshall at several POCA track events who sold me the car.



He told me that it's a hydraulic clutch, and my friend was thinking of a

mechanical clutch as found in Mustangs. The whatever thingy is supposed to

be touching that other thingy and the plate is always to be kept spinning

so there is no slippage.

He said that the clutch reduction system is a linkage system underneath the

dash, in between the pedal and connection system. He says this is the

system they use in race cars and such. Scott also say that if I switch to a

Centerforce clutch I'll actually increase clutch pedal effort by 20 to 40

percent. He also said that I shouldn't have to do any clutch work for

another 15 or 16 thousand miles. He told me not to waste my money.



Mike Drew and Larry Stock checked it out just after I picked up the car.

Mike felt the clutch and thought it felt pretty good. Larry checked out the

clearance of the plate from the flywheel? and said it was good and clear.



What am I to do? My friend is a hell of a mechanic. He rebuilt/modified his

Bugeye Sprite, Sunbeam Tiger, Moto Guzzi Le Mans, and 72 Pantera by

himself. I respect his ability to do such things. Could he be wrong?



Why would Scott Drnek have any reason to give me a line of BS? Other than

having the depress the clutch all the way to the floor to go into first or

reverse, the clutch seems to work great. As I get acclimated to the car's

particular ergonomics, it seems to be getting easier. You have to realize

that the only manually shifting that I've done since 1988 has been only on

motorcycles. Everything else was with big luxo barges with automatics.



I remember a thread earlier here about clutch reduction systems. Any thoughts?



I don't mind spending the bucks if it's the right way to go.



Nobbie #3766