ENGINE OUT OF BALANCE AFTER NEW CLUTCH ??

[r17antony]

Hi all , had my engine balanced ( 4 cyl ) and the clutch let go after only 6k , new uprated clutch fitted but now out of balance , any ideas which way to address this problem ?? or is it a case of stripping it down for complete rebalance again ? Cheers Antony

[rodney]

shouldnt make any difference to the way it runs,.

[r17antony]

Jul 4, 2014 21:34:19 GMT rodney said:

shouldnt make any difference to the way it runs,.

Believe me it does , may try to get flywheel and clutch balanced together , worth a try while the engine is sitting on the workshop floor

[swampy76]

Are you sure the clutch is centered correctly

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Well - has the clutch been balanced WITH the whole crank/flywheel assembly? Are there any balancing marks you might have overlooked (what engine are we even talking about?)? Or the company who did the balancing?

Usually the flywheel is balanced with the crank & crank pulley. And the clutch is balanced individually - in case it needs replacing. And usually that works just fine. So I can only guess that the clutch has been balanced with the fleywheel or whole crank assembly. In that case it might be neccesary to re-balance. But I'd suggest to do so without the clutch. In case it needs changing in the future.

Hard to awnser without further - precise - information In the end it could be just a manufacturing error of the clutch, I'd not rule this out...

[r17antony]

The engine is a Renault A5L 1565cc ( for those in the know its a version of the 807 Gordini block ) running a T3 turbo . Not seen any markings on the flywheel and will check to see if the clutch that's fitted is centre when I take it apart . Throwing in another anyway while its out . Will e-mail the guys that rebuild it to find out how it was balanced and take it from there , Cheers Guys

[TurboDieselWeasel]

And now build thread please!! There are not many R17s left, can't say that I ever have seen one "on the street". Figers crossed it's just a missaligned clutch

[r17antony]

Jul 5, 2014 13:23:09 GMT TurboDieselWeasel said:

And now build thread please!! There are not many R17s left, can't say that I ever have seen one "on the street". Figers crossed it's just a missaligned clutch

Hi I will do , have started but will have to figure out how to post photos Durrrrr

[rodney]

what symptoms is it showing since the new clutch? , are you getting a vibration when pulling away?,.

[r17antony]

Jul 5, 2014 16:33:46 GMT rodney said:

what symptoms is it showing since the new clutch? , are you getting a vibration when pulling away?,.

Vibration at most revs , feels uneven , like it has a slight miss . but that's not it , goes like a rocket and all plugs running clean

[retrowrongun]

When balancing an engine everything that's connected to the crank needs to be left on and balanced together
Eg crank pulley flywheel clutch etc etc or will be a waste of time

[joostvdw]

Jul 7, 2014 9:16:40 GMT retrowrongun said:

When balancing an engine everything that's connected to the crank needs to be left on and balanced together
Eg crank pulley flywheel clutch etc etc or will be a waste of time

This is not completely true, like mentioned above, the clutch plate is left out and balanced on its own. This is to prevent an unbalance when you change the clutch (plate). If you were to balance it with the clutch attached you would need to strip the engine and balance the crank every time you replace the clutch!

[zippyobrien]

A clutch plate is never balanced to the engine as it spins at different speeds ( it's attach direct to the gear box remember. )


A clutch cover may be balanced as a full assembly.

I had similar systems to you on a lightened sigma engine ( zetec s ). Turned out several of the clutch plate springs and rivets had sheared. New clutch plate sorted it)