Hi,
My wife just bought an 89 Cabriolet and the clutch totally worn out. I'm going to pull it apart in the next few days and I'm thinking that the flywheel is probably chewed up too. Does anyone know if I can throw it in a lathe and clean up the wear surface? If so how much material can I take off?
Thanks!
Pat
The Bentley says to replace unservicable flywheels, whatever that means. It doesn't give any specs. My guess is you can resurface it a little as the additional play can be taken up in the clutch cable adjuster. I did a redneck resurface of my '82 Rabbit flywheel with a Dremel, tried not to remove any metal just break the glaze. Worked fine.
They are called "Stepped Flywheels" AFAIK. One surface touches the disc and the other surface touches the pressure plate. The two surfaces should be machined to keep the distances within specifications. Keeping the surfaces tight will allow more pressure to be applied to the disc. Pin(s) will need to be temporarily removed so one of the surfaces can be machined. IMHO It will make a difference in the operation and longevity of the clutch. You might be lucky and not find any scoring or bluing on the fylwheel! ;-)
Now either you have a good machine shop that won't charge too much to machine the flywheel or you could buy a new one for around $100 IIRC. I have seen the flywheels so bad that they are cracked when I take it off and are not trustworthy.
Don't forget about any seals and linkage bushings you might want to change!! ;-)
JMHO later, dave (One out of many daves)
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