Clutch advice

[Foamy]

Well after being a lurker here for a while after selling my 99 SHO I finally bit the bullet and bought my fiancee and myself(mostly for me hehe) an 89 SHO. I think I got a good deal, only real problem is it needs a clutch and has not too much rust on the metal door trim strips.

My question is, what sort of clutch should I get? I dont want to spend too much money on a new flywheel to upgrade to the 9.75 clutch out of the 91-95 model. Would the stock 9.25 be strong enough to deal with daily driving and my fiancee learning how to drive a manual? She has the basics down since she first drove my 2500 ram with a 6spd, but I am not wanting to rip out the trans every few months to replace a possibly weak clutch.

 

[sperold]

Chances are the 89 already has the larger clutch with the larger flywheel. You have probably seen posts on here that explain how to spot the small clutch (take out the starter and look for some indication on the pressure plate....I think it looks like it is made from plate steel).
You could get by with the little clutch with the driving you are describing.
The clutch costs about $250 and $500 is a good price for the install. That includes the flywheel swap, just make sure the one they get for you has a good ring gear. Any clutch from rockauto or shosource will be fine as they all start with the Valeo cores.
If the exhaust system has been off recently, the job goes a lot easier. Also expect some problems with the subframe bushings. Start oiling all the bolts (exhaust manifold and subframe bushing) to make the job go easier, especially if you try it yourself.
If you farm it out, take it to a place that has done it before and there should be a few in Alberta, check out places that are recommended by the other Alberta guys on this forum.

 

[K-Dawg]

Agreed. Most cars have now have the 9.75" setup.

Some people say to go with a cheap clutch from RockAuto. Others say to spend twice the money on a SHONut clutch. Do some research here and decide for yourself.

 

[jayro]

For a stock ( or mostly stock) car as a dd I would recommend the stock replacement. I would bet the flywheel has already been upgraded to the larger one.....I believe it was a recall that was done from Ford. If you are going to do it yourself (or if you wanna be nice to the tech) start spraying the y pipe studs and subframe nut with pb blaster now....repeat every few days. There are little holes in the body that allow you to spray the nut for the subframe.

 

[Foamy]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am not too sure about the flywheel upgrade being done already. The first owner was a well to do 60 something retired guy. He basically drove it back and forth to Arizona. He passed away from cancer and a friend of the family bought it from the widow. The 2nd owner drove it for 35k, before he took it to a "corner garage" for some brake work. The mechanic didnt know how to drive a manual and ended up burning the clutch up while trying to move it into the shop in 3rd gear instead of 1st.

I will tow the car to a friends garage for now(my new house is taking forever to be built!) and start to look things over. Aside from the make shift CAI the 2nd owner put on, everything is bone stock. I will start spraying the bolts asap. I figure within 2 weeks I will tackle this project.

On a side note, I found a parts sho for $200 that has the rod shifter update, supposedly a SPEC stage 2 clutch, new exhaust, police grill and a black leather interior! The clutch feels way better than my sho so I would assume that it is a newer clutch for sure. Motor has around 160k km on it so I figure a spare motor/trans would be a good idea since I plan to take over the car eventually and put a little forced induction to it.

 

[AREA 91]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am not too sure about the flywheel upgrade being done already. The first owner was a well to do 60 something retired guy. He basically drove it back and forth to Arizona. He passed away from cancer and a friend of the family bought it from the widow. The 2nd owner drove it for 35k, before he took it to a "corner garage" for some brake work. The mechanic didnt know how to drive a manual and ended up burning the clutch up while trying to move it into the shop in 3rd gear instead of 1st.

I will tow the car to a friends garage for now(my new house is taking forever to be built!) and start to look things over. Aside from the make shift CAI the 2nd owner put on, everything is bone stock. I will start spraying the bolts asap. I figure within 2 weeks I will tackle this project.

On a side note, I found a parts sho for $200 that has the rod shifter update, supposedly a SPEC stage 2 clutch, new exhaust, police grill and a black leather interior! The clutch feels way better than my sho so I would assume that it is a newer clutch for sure. Motor has around 160k km on it so I figure a spare motor/trans would be a good idea since I plan to take over the car eventually and put a little forced induction to it.

Buy this parts car NOW!!!

 

[Foamy]

Parts car is good from the rear seats forward. The guy bought is as a driver, but the wiring harness(whole damn thing) was hacked together and full of melted wires. he tried to fix it, got mad at it and pushed the car into a field with a tractor and destroyed everything from the rear bumper up to the rear window. Such a shame..the body everywhere else is just so nice with just minor surface rust.

 

[93rev2sev]

^^lol

 

[jayro]

. he tried to fix it, got mad at it and pushed the car into a field with a tractor and destroyed everything from the rear bumper up to the rear window. .

funny, there has been times that I felt like doing exactly that to my sho.

 

[Foamy]

Well I got the parts sho back to my friends house(sucks waiting for a house to be built) and will start work on it sometime soon.

I have decided to just purchase a new clutch and flywheel for my main sho just to get it on the road. Question is, where is a good place to buy one? I know rock auto has stock 9.25 for $120ish which is fine but I am wanting something a bit more sturdy. I have had my eye on a CLUTCHMASTERS FX100- Stage 1 Street Clutch Kit from RCM automotive with a stock 9.75 flywheel. Is there anything else I need to worry about as for fitment? I hope to heck that the car already has a 9.75 clutch but worst case scenario it has the 9.25 so would this flywheel bolt right up?

One more question..should I splurge for a light weight flywheel? I am not planning on racing it(maybe the odd street run against a friends 92 5.0), but would be a DD as I mentioned in my first post. The DD status might be up for debate though, since I looked at the car and the most part it is clean and rust free. if I could get pictures to work I would post em up for your thoughts.

While the motor is out, I will be replacing the ream main, carrier bearing seals, as well as the oil pan gaskets from the look of it. Is there anything else that should be done when the motor is out?

Also, can the stock 89 ac system be charged with the new type of stuff, or should I stick with the old r12< and yes I have a contact for a supply of it. heh

Sorry for all the questions, but I am eager to learn. One last thing, are there any mechanics that would be advisable in Edmonton Alberta for a clutch and gasket install?

 

[Ishodu]

You know if you pull the starter you can see in seconds what flywheel you have. If you remove starter and see a cast iron pressure plate you have the large flyweel if you see a stamped steel pressure plate you have the small flywheel.
Best to stick with the r12 if you can get it saves lots of work. Do the 9.75" disk. Also there was a quite a few issues with the CM disks because of the way they modify them. I am not sure if they have fixed this or now.