Homemade Tools, Clutch Finger Adjustment

[Tom Wesenberg]

Here is another quick easy to make tool that I use to adjust the fingers on the pressure plate. I had to install a new clutch disc and pressure plate yesterday for a club member. As soon as I bolted the new pressure plate and disc to the flywheel I could see the fingers were in too deep. I made this from a short piece of aluminum channel and a 1/4" bolt and lock nut. I use my caliper to set the bolt head .010" under 11/16", then use a .010" feeler gauge to feel when the 6 arms are at the correct height.

I will be making an improved design of this later, which will be easier to use. I'll post pictures after it's made.

Notice I like to grease all moving parts. This grease will not get on the disc.

[zzlegend]

Tom, you need your own TV show.
Home made tools with Tom the tool man.

[Mitch//pa]

good idea makes it easy

[RockHillWill]

Tom, I have seen this dimension reported as 5/8" as well as the 11/16" number that you use. How do you decide which of these dimension to use. Have I mis-read this information?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Will, I've seen 5/8", 11/16", and 3/4" reported, so I just picked the middle figure of 11/16" as the set point. I have also used 5/8" in the past, and it also works fine.

As the disc wears thinner, the fingers move out, toward to the rear of the car, so 3/4" should also work fine. The main thing is that they all be equal in height.

[Rex_A_Lott]

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Thanks for all the home made tool posts and the pics!

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Rex_A_Lott

Thanks for all the home made tool posts and the pics!

You're welcome.

BTW, I wanted to get a picture of the pressure plate before the customer turned it in for a core, but I didn't have my camera when I removed it. It had some small heat stress cracks as I've see before, but this one also had 2 full depth cracks, one which went all the way across the plate.
I hadn't see that before, but I remember hearing on the news back in the 70's about a school bus driver that was killed when the clutch blew apart and part of it went through the floor and hit the driver.

[Bud]

How does one set the finger adjustment for a V8 pressure plate--3 fingers--while it is still in the car, i.e. thru the inspection plate opening? I am not sure it was ever done that way or if it could be done.

[d.j. moordigian]

Tom,
I like it.....how about a dial indicator in a piece of bar stock? Kinda like this,
only finished.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by d.j. moordigian

Tom,
I like it.....how about a dial indicator in a piece of bar stock? Kinda like this,
only finished.

That would work, but it needs to be measured with another tool to establish the initial measurement from the bar stock.
There are a lot of times I wish I had a dial indicator with the dial facing out, instead of to the side.

[d.j. moordigian]

Tom,
Machined "tube", the correct length, too "0 out" the indicator...simple lathe work.
Ya..I know what your saying about the face. When I get some time, I'll post you
photos of the ones we have here.

[Reds34]

Tom,

You have some great ideas for tools and I love your ingenuity. I was wondering if you either epoxy a magnet on either side or use a piece of steel and magnetize it, that way you could "stick" it on the pressure plate.

Red

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Reds34

Tom,

You have some great ideas for tools and I love your ingenuity. I was wondering if you either epoxy a magnet on either side or use a piece of steel and magnetize it, that way you could "stick" it on the pressure plate.

Red

Thanks Red,
Yes, you must be reading my mind because that's part of my plan for the next one. I need to finish a few generators first though.

[31 Woody]

Weird, I was just checking that today and this thread showed up.

[Bill Goddard]

Tom W, My V-8 clutch fingers were set at 1/2" +/- 1/16'. I reset them at 5/8" but it took all the adjustment range of the nuts at the tips of the 3 fingers. I had to screw them down tight against the fingers. Is this right?
Also , what is the red grease you are always using? Bill G

[cp5491r]

I think I need a new clutch in my 31 coupe- do you do house calls to Iowa?

[RonC]

Ford specified 11/16" for the finger adjustment

[Tom Wesenberg]

Thanks Ron. What book did that picture come from?

Bill, that's Mystik JT-6 High Temp, the only grease I buy.

cp5491r, I used to go to Waukee for the great gas engine swap meet each year. I quit going when the price of admission got out of sight. It's only about 2 or 3 hundred miles too far for a house call, but at least it's further south, so it must be warmer than we are having. Geez I love global warming.

[zzlegend]

Thanks for the picture Tom. I am getting ready to replace a clutch in my spare running gear and will be making one of those tools. Have not seen that Mystic grease in my area. Where do you buy it?

[Patrick L.]

Its good to see/hear something official about the height setting. I set them at 5/8" and have also heard the 11/16" and 3/4" setting.
That said, I like Toms tools also. As mentioned before, I turned a piece of round stock to 5/8" and set the heights to equal drag on the round stock. Next one, I'll probably turn a piece to 11/16".