clutch

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Joined
Nov 3, 2012
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Location
France
My Car
73 Ford Mustang Mach 1 351 CJ all matching numbers, under restoration.
73 Ford Mustang Sprint from Mexico.
Hello,

A question about clutch system plate.

Any recommandation about the choice of a clutch kit for a 351C MT transmission?

On RockAuto, there are a lot of choices, Rhinopac, Exedy, Valeo, Brute power, Sachs, ACDelco, difficult to make a choice.

And what about the pressure plate? Which one is the more reliable, the normal diaphragme or the one with three fingers?

Thanks for your advice,

Manu

 
I've never used any of the brands listed so I can't speak to which company builds a better product. However I would suggest buying a clutch "kit" listed on rock auto's site. I have had many cars with both diaphragm and "long" style (3 fingers). My experience, as far as durability is concerned, has been better with Long style than diaphragm. Diaphragm style does usually require less pedal effort than long style. The OEM clutch would have been Long style. Chuck

 
The three long finger variant of clutchs are more prone to chatter than the diaphragms. I'm currently using a CenterForce system.

 
The three long finger variant of clutchs are more prone to chatter than the diaphragms. I'm currently using a CenterForce system.
Sorry but what do you mean by "The three long finger variant of clutchs are more prone to chatter than the diaphragms?"

 
The long finger clutches have three fingers. This design is susceptible to clutch chatter. Diaphragm clutches have many small levers, usually balanced, that provides a nice, even engagement of the clutch onto the flywheel with very little foot pressure. The pressure is so low that one usually removes the over-the-top spring inside the passenger compartment that assists and reduces the pedal force. People have found, however, that at high rpm shifting, many diaphragm clutches do not have enough force by itself to allow the pedal to rise to the top and thus, the clutch will not engage. For usual street applications, this is not an issue.

 
The long finger clutches have three fingers. This design is susceptible to clutch chatter. Diaphragm clutches have many small levers, usually balanced, that provides a nice, even engagement of the clutch onto the flywheel with very little foot pressure. The pressure is so low that one usually removes the over-the-top spring inside the passenger compartment that assists and reduces the pedal force. People have found, however, that at high rpm shifting, many diaphragm clutches do not have enough force by itself to allow the pedal to rise to the top and thus, the clutch will not engage. For usual street applications, this is not an issue.
What do you consider high rpms? Not kidding really would like to know. The reason I asked the other day at somewhat north of 6400 my clutch felt like it slipped when the clutch was released.

 
Valeo is one of the OEM suppliers to Ford and others of a lot of parts. I've used their parts with no issues if you're looking for stock replacement.

 
From what I've heard, high rpms are in the range of 5k+. Like I said, I never get up that high and have never experienced it, but I've read several folks with race cars have.

 
I have a long style Zoom basic replacement clutch in my car for about eleven years now and no complaints.

 
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