Clutch Replacements?

 Run Far, Far away from Centerforce in a Fiero.  See pics and info below.    Clutch lasted 12 months, disk was not worn, pressure plate seemed good, but hub exploded into a million bits.   If you so some searching on Pennocks there are lots of people that would just as soon use them as paperweights.     After blowing up the stock clutch, then toasting the centerforce, I found 3 different places,

Bully Clutches in Alberta,

Spec Clutches in I believe California

and Finally the one I chose

Clutchnet Clutches in California.  

Shop around and look into prices, but best for the money was Clutchnet, I have pics of the clutch and after several guys in the club looked it over it was the best assembled unit any of us had ever seen.       IIRC it was about $450 for the clutch.  I did go with a race version which you may or may not want or need.   The one I got is speced to handle 450+ lbs of torque. The 2.8 V6 makes 170-180 when NEW.

 Exploded Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch Part Number DF201502

Clutch was installed on a 200hp / 290lbs 4.9 V8 in a Pontiac Fiero, only had 6000 miles on it.  No track use and never even had drag radials on it.

10 800 X 291 70 KB	11 640 X 480 85 KB	12 640 X 582 92 KB	15 800 X 793 74 KB
1 640 X 480 76 KB	2 800 X 600 70 KB	3 800 X 600 69 KB	4 800 X 445 55 KB
5 800 X 600 97 KB	6 800 X 600 95 KB	7 597 X 600 86 KB	8 640 X 591 93 KB
9 640 X 480 95 KB	13 800 X 600 95 KB	14 640 X 571 84 KB

Romeo wrote: I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about what shops to take the Fiero to get a new one put in (Preferably one which allows customers to bring in their own clutches).

Re-visit my thread Here and give them a call and ask for Marvin. See what he says. He seemed like a good guy when I talked with him back in 2005.

    Its rather unfortunate, but shops seem to either run screaming when they see a Fiero clutch job, or they see BIG $$$'s floating around.   Most shops will quote around $1200, some as high as $2000 for a clutch Re and Re in a Fiero.   The $1200 shops will use the crappiest off the shelf cheap junk clutch they can find.   

In regards to the Spec, I have heard good and bad stories regarding them.   I believe the 6 puck I posted above is equal to a Spec Stage 4.    So if you can find a place that will do a Fiero clutch for less than $600 and guarantee the price won't go up, I'd jump on it.   If you do end up in a total pinch, the discussion we had last night can still be an option.

If you want a clutch alignment tool for your Fiero, let me know.  I think I have 3 hanging on my wall, LOL.   All it is, is a dowl with grooves in it for the clutch disc so it lines up with the input shaft when you install the trans back in.    They use to be free with every clutch kit you bought and now they are sold separately.  So I have a few here and can toss you one if you need.

                 If you do get him to help you out, PLEASE talk to me first so I can let you know all the tips and tricks to make your life a lot easier.   There are more than a few things that you can do to make it much faster and saving you money in the long run.   

I.E. remove the top strut bolts, then remove the drivers side tie rod, then remove the drivers side caliper and hang it on the frame, then remove the 2 lower control arm bolts to the cradle, then pop the drivers side CV shaft, and remove the strut, spindle, brake disc, bearing, control arm all as one large piece.  That way when you put it all back in, the alignment will still be correct.  Also doing it this way, it saves you a fair bit of time fighting each single piece.   

    Dropping it out the bottom is the #1 way to do this.    You unhook the remaining suspension bits, related hoses, wiring and anything else that could get hung up.   It varies almost car to car on how much slack has been left in the harness from previous jobs.

          I can supply you with pics of how I normally do the tranny / clutch swaps.    You are also going to need to get a flywheel prepped before you start the job.   I have a couple spare 85-87 V6 flywheels here you can take down and get machined before you start.   It actually goes much faster if you can pop the trans off, swap out the flywheel and clutch and instantly start putting it back together rather than taking it apart, running it to wherever to get it machined, then going back home after spending about 4hrs away from the job or having to start it the next day.

        As long as you get all your ducks in a row, and read as much as you can and ask even the dumb questions it can go smoothly.   I am assuming that the place you are going to work on it has air tools.  Doing the job without air tools can nearly double the time it takes.   Trust me I know this from experience, having done it both ways many a time.

When you read this reply, you are probably going to have to sit back and think, Uhm, what did he just say.  I intentianlly did not make a direct point on one side or the other.   I just wanted you to see both sides of the coin.   

         I had a fairly in depth discussion last night with Dean, Here are some of the pitfalls you could end up with

Exhaust Y-Pipe to Manifold bolt breaks, then you are stuck drilling or hammering it out, and without Air Tools and a Welder it can take you several hours.

Exhaust Y-Pipe to Catalytic Conver bolts siezed, or nut snaps off, again drilling and trying to repair it.

Your Going to need fresh trans oil. About 20 bucks

Chances are you are going to need antifreeze, $20 bucks

If you take the wrong part, apart, you could end up with a tow bill to the alignment shop, plus the cost of an alignment.  Combined could be $150

Bolt snaps off or you cross thread it into the trans case.  You will need to drill and tap a whole, or worst case, destroy the mounting hole and possibly destroy the trans, which means getting a new trans.

     Rear Cradle bolts snaps, our nut spins.   You have to cut a hole in the side of the frame to eve get access to it.  Real Pain in the A$$.

                          I told him we could work something out and you "could" do it here.   It would be a learning thing for you, rather than just taking it someplace and paying to get it done.   If you did it here, we could have the option of going through my used parts if you found one of yours is toast, like brakets, mounts, and so on.

           However again on the flip side, if you take it to Mr. Clutch, they have the proper tools to deal with any issue quickly and not spend hours fighting with things.   Welder, Torch, Taps and Die's and so forth.

                  Getting it done at a shop vs doing it at home, there is not a HUGE diffrence in cost vs time.    

Oh, I did mention the Fiero club, and he mentioned he hadn't seen any in there for a little while (Which makes me believe it was that Martin fellow). Like I said, I'm installing a performence clutch, like Dave's, so perhaps that's why he's charging so much more? Or perhaps inflation? No idea, but yeah, if you want to give him a call, that'd be nice, as if he quotes a lower price I can ask for that instead.

And Dave, I would actually love to learn this, seeing as how this is the trade I'm hoping to learn, let me just see where my clutch is and what I'm doing for the next while.