balancing clutch/flywheel

[DaveW]

hi guys,

ive just purchased a new exedy heavy duty clutch kit (pressure plate, clutch disc and thrust bearing) and had my stock flywheel machined,

my question is, do i need to get my flyhweel now balanced? and do i need to get my clutch balanced with it as well?


Dave

[BeRad]

nope. if the flywheel has been machined it is balanced, the clutch is also balanced...usualy if the flywheel hasnt been machined it will still be balanced, because it turns around and around and around and around it will wear evenly

[Big rob]

You do not need to get it balanced as there are locating dowles on the flywheel. Once you machine your flywheel, as BeRad said you are effictivly balancing it as it is symetrical. The clutch and pressure plates are also ballanced items from the factory if they are alligned using the locating dowles on the flywheel. So once its bolted together its all good!

[Hurricane]

ok well i just took my bottom end in today to get balanced, and you need to get every thing that is on the crank balanced if ya want to do it right, but if you only got the new clutch, and the face of the flywheel resurfaced then it will not really need to be done if it is just running the stock balance job, it might be out a lil more if ya got it on the machine but nothing that sould be any trobles to you

[Starfire]

As has already been stated the individual parts on most toyota engines are balanced individually. Plenty of other cars over the years have used balanced assemblies though, meaning that the crankand flywheel as well as possibly the harmonic balancer and pressure plate have been balanced as a group. If you remove one you need to rebalance the lot.

For a 'balls out' application even in an internally balanced engine like your 4AG it is a good bet to get the flywheel and pressure plate balanced as an assembly, ensuring that you index them toghether to maintain this balance.

For stock and near stock applications though it is hardly worth bothering as the extra expense simply doesnt net much in the way of results.

Unless your car sees over 10K RPM on a regular basis I wouldnt worry about it.

[Starfire]

**sorry - double post**

[DaveW]

ok well i just took my bottom end in today to get balanced, and you need to get every thing that is on the crank balanced if ya want to do it right, but if you only got the new clutch, and the face of the flywheel resurfaced then it will not really need to be done if it is just running the stock balance job, it might be out a lil more if ya got it on the machine but nothing that sould be any trobles to you

awesome advice tyhanks everyone,
yea hurricane the crank and everything else has been balanced when all the engine work/reboringetc was done, its just it was a sprinter engine so the clutch/flywheel had to be replaced to suit the c52.

thanks heaps for ur adviec


Dave

[Hurricane]

are ok well maybe taaaalk to some engine reco guys and see what they say?

[Rodger]

Machining a flywheel does not mean it gets balanced you have to ask the workshop to balance it with the pressure plate.

You have got yourself a heavy duty clutch, indicates to me you are chasing or have a few extra kilowatts.

If it is still off, have you thought of getting the flywheel lightened? A lighter flywheel will make a big difference in motor performance and is one of the easiest ways of getting more from an engine.

Not wanting to pull the motor down for the crank, this is the best you can do but is worth it.

However as said before, you would not need to balance a stock flywheel for a stock application if it has just been faced.

Regards

Rodger

[DaveW]

thanks roger.

yea chasing a few more kws in the form of an NA, theres info on the work done in my members ride thread (sig.)

well i pick up the flywheel/clutch on monday so i guess ill spk to them about it, theyve been pretty honest with me to date...

ill post what happens for future searches/benefit of other ppl


Dave

[BeRad]

Machining a flywheel does not mean it gets balanced you have to ask the workshop to balance it with the pressure plate.

You have got yourself a heavy duty clutch, indicates to me you are chasing or have a few extra kilowatts.

If it is still off, have you thought of getting the flywheel lightened? A lighter flywheel will make a big difference in motor performance and is one of the easiest ways of getting more from an engine.

Not wanting to pull the motor down for the crank, this is the best you can do but is worth it.

However as said before, you would not need to balance a stock flywheel for a stock application if it has just been faced.

Regards

Rodger

lightening the flywheel makes more in certain areas and loses in others, its a compramise. a lighter object cannot store as much energy as a heavier one, depending on what the car is for depends on weather you would ligthen the flywheel or not.

i woudlnt come out and say its the best mod you can do to gain performance at all. i know hes keeping it n/a, but for instance i wouldnt lighten a flywheel in most turbo applications. nor would i pull down an engine just to balance the crank, in my eyes thats not the "best way" to gain power from an engine. im no expert but the head , intake , exhaust would seem like a good place to start...........

if extra power is needed id look at the head for starters, get it flowing good along with the intake and exhaust.

[DaveW]

yea, ive heard from Joshtix that lightening a stock one is a dangerous game playing with the cast iron piece, and anew one is prob just out of my budget...

my understanding was id lose torque from a lightened flywheel in an NA, something i rlly want to hold on to....


Dave

[BeRad]

theres been many of thread on this exact query, run a search youll come up with something, engines are not all the same nor the reason they were modified in the first place. so be careful on how you go about certain things for YOUR application.

[DaveW]

theres been many of thread on this exact query, run a search youll come up with something, engines are not all the same nor the reason they were modified in the first place. so be careful on how you go about certain things for YOUR application.

cheers BeRad, good advice, yer ive never searched that as it didnt rlly occur to me as something i shuld consider until recently...

(sorry got spread the love b4 i can +rep again )
Dave

[Starfire]

I got a new flywheel made for me for the sum of 2 cartons of beer



The guy used some special alloy that is actually heavier than cast iron though. There has been some material removed but the weight is about the same. For the application though it doesnt matter (Tercel)