VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 How to remove pressure plate from flywheel

Greetings
I have decided to try to bring a 26/27 Chevy I've had setting out in the woods back to life. I pulled the motor this morning and found a rats nest in the flywheel area. Most of the bolts came out OK, I broke two off, but the pressure plate is not coming out of the flywheel. I suspect the clutch is stuck fast. Ideas?

You may not be able to save the clutch disc, but it is probably time to get serious and dig out the tire irons. You will need help as it works better if you have a worker on each side of the clutch plate. Both can pry at the same time and keep things level.

The pressure plate is flush with the flywheel, what am I going to pry? There's no room between the pressure plate and flywheel to get anything in there to pry. I thought that perhaps I could rig some sort of puller and grab hold of the center hub?

I talked with a chevy man today and described my pressure plate and he did not recognize it. He said it is either a later model pressure plate or a non-standard. The pressure plate on my car has a solid surface with round holes. The coil springs are somehow attached to these holes. Further toward the center are a series of oval holes. Does anybody recognize this?

The holes are all too small to do much prying. I am still suspicious that its the clutch that has everything stuck and am tapping on the pressure plate. It appears to be loose around the edges.

There is a cylinder in the center that has a flange on it. I can get a pry bar behind this flange and place a block at the bell housing and tap on the bar?

You may try to place a heavy wire under the center device with the flange. That cylinder must come out, however you don't want to break off any of the flange.

OK, I have placed a puller on the center flange. I used a spacer between the pilot hole and the center bolt of the puller. I figure I'll put some pressure on it and tap around it. Eventually something has to give. I would just like to know I'm not doing something stupid.

So much for that idea. I just went back to tighten the puller one more time and the flange broke in half. If nothing else I just learned how not to try to remove a stuck pressure plate. Looks like I'm in the market for a flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate.

Contact me off line and I might have what you are looking for. You pay postage and I will donate this to your cause.

Oh I also broke one trying to get it off so don't sweat it. they can rust solid.

mike.quezada@m2prsol.com

I would give it the shock treatment, HAMMER . Give it a few bangs on outter surface, and then turn it and hit it some more and turn it keep it up. It will probably start to come lose. Make sure all bolts are out.

Caution. Whenever you have a stuck pressure plate, remove 3 of the bolts and insert 3 longer bolts in case it breaks loose, those springs have a lot of pressure and if you remove all of them and tap it just right and the rust breaks loose you bay be eating that pressure plate ....those longer bolts with about an extra 3/4 slack will catch it if it does come loose

Ron

Excellent recommendation!

The flywheel and clutch Aha discribed I have apart and sitting in my shop.If you can figure a way to get them you can have the assy, but the wheel weighs a lot and I am in the Kootenays in bc Canada.

I would like to update this thread for those who might encouter the same problem. I ended up getting the majority of the pressure plate off and used a small side grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut the center of the clutch out. This allowed me to get to the nuts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft. My engine shop has a furnace for cooking oils off of engine blocks prior to rebuilds and I plan to drop the flywheel off to them. He assured me the furnace would burn the clutch material away leaving the flywheel free of the clutch. I can then get the flywheel resurfaced and be ready for another clutch/pressure plate.

I just read this thread and am confused as the previous post by sqtubing says he has the flywheel and clutch in his shop and apart and was posted several months ago. Not sure of the sequence of events but if it's been sitting for 8 or 9 months then perhaps having it in a molasses and water bath would have dissolved the rust .

I think our Canadian friend meant that he has a setup like the subject clutch setup.

Mike

AHa started the original post/thread. Perhaps I missed the connection, but have reread and still confused but did want others that have a similar problem to know that soaking in a rust dissolving solution (if time permits) could be a beneficial solution without destroying hard to replace parts.

Success at last.
As I stated before, I was able to get the flywheel off by cutting the center out of the clutch. This allowed me to get to the nuts holding the flywheel to the crank. I then took the flywheel with the remains of the pressure plate and clutch to an engine shop. They placed the complete assembly in an oven designed to cook the oil off of blocks. The heat caused the clutch lining to turn loose and the whole assembly fell out. It was the clutch lining that was stuck fast to the pressure plate and flywheel. I'm not sure the beet juice would work on this problem. I guess I should have tried.
Thanks for all the advice.