[DeTomaso] Clutch Problems

Will Demelo wdemelo at cogeco.ca
Wed Jul 22 15:37:11 EDT 2009


I smoked a new Centerforce clutch (again).
I bought my car a couple of years ago and found out the CF disk was toast. So I replaced the disk and the pressure plate and had the flywheel machined.
I drove the car lightly for ~200 miles so the disk would bed to the new surfaces.
I then launched it and it slipped (meaning the engine revved but the tires didn't spin). The launch was on a new concrete surface that was VERY rough. There were 2 other Pantera's doing burnouts with no problems.
I removed the ZF and found that there was an oil mist around the inside of the bellhousing. I determined that my massive oil leaks were allowing oil to get into the bellhousing area with all the air turbulence at speed.
So I replaced all the gaskets and repaired all the leaks. I install a new dual friction disk from Quella (McCleod) replacement.
Worked well on the street. I could heat the tires (315 Goodyear F1) back with no slipping of the clutch. 
At the track it was a different story. I launched the car at 4000 to just have it slip and smoke again.
Yes, the clutch was adjusted properly.
WTF?? How much money do I have to spend on a performance set-up?? My last car had a near identical stroker motor and I used a STOCK 3 finger pressure plate and a dual-friction Quella disk and it hooked hard at the track with  a 5000 rpm launch.
My motor dynoed at 430lbs torque at the wheels.
Will


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