Another Burb project...another GMT400

[woody90gtz]

Yeah the Luk 6.0 clutch I just put in has the self-adjusting crap, but I thought that was just for disc wear...I didn't actuate the clutch (not sure how I would) before taking the air gap measurement. It landed at 1/8" which is basically perfect, but now you have me wondering. Test drive should be tmo if all goes well. It does also have the two rings of damper springs on the disc, which I'm not a huge fan of on my 8.1. It makes the torque feel kinda bouncy in certain situations. I was hoping to avoid that.
Fun fact though, 6.0, 350, 4.3 clutches all bolt up the same...and the nv4500, nv3500 and sm465 all have the same input splines.

I'll have a video update together at some point. This is crunch time before the snow flies. I made some brackets to move the hitch back about 9" to accomodate the roll pan. Last thing left before dropping it off the lift tomorrow is wiring up the 7-pin and the front axle 4wd actuator...converting from thermal actuator and pushbutton selection to floor shift and motor driven actuator.

Did stumble on to a funny FB memory this week. I may be stupid, but I'm not a liar. haha

[Rettax3]

You might find a solid-disc "Stage 4+" or "Stage 5"... I almost bought one for my project, but it wouldn't have worked after all. Still, someone might make one for your setup to get rid of the hub-springs?

On my LUK clutch, **AFTER I reset the automatic adjuster, since I was using a used pressure-plate...**
-I assembled the disc, pressure-plate, and flywheel together, with the pressure-plate torqued down to spec and the disc centered.
-I loaded the assembly into my hydraulic press, and used an adapter/spacer from a conventional FWD ball-joint service-kit (the old giant C-clamp type) because it fit the clutch fingers nicely. I dropped the press down, compressing the diaphragm fingers until the clutch-disc moved freely, made sure there was clearance on everything, then compressed it a little more.
I used masking-tape on the press to record original uncompressed height, fully compressed height, and post-compression height after the auto-adjuster kicked in. I performed the compression another time or two, but got no change after the initial adjustment height change (which was VERY significant).
For kicks and assurance, I took it all apart, and reset the clutch pressure-plate adjuster again. Then, I put it all back together again, and redid the compression procedure a second time, comparing everything to the initial markings on the masking-tape, and it all matched within about .03" (width of the markings on the tape). I also measured what the maximum possible clutch diaphragm compression-depth would be to determine if I would need shims behind the TOB (I don't) and total uncompressed stack-height to determine if I will need a spacer between the bellhousing and engine (I don't).
It looks like it will work fine, but I had contemplated bypassing the auto-adjuster (somehow). Since it seems okay though, I will probably keep it functional.
This engine/transmission combo has been done already, and documented on the Fiero forum. But everyone there seems to use a custom-made solid flywheel, and I had issues in the GTU with the F40 that I believe were primarily from using a solid flywheel. So I wanted dual-mass, which the F40 normally came with. So, I had to start fresh...

Fun fact though, 6.0, 350, 4.3 clutches all bolt up the same...and the nv4500, nv3500 and sm465 all have the same input splines.

Nice info on the parts compatibility... Sigh, that was why I had joined the GM camp so strongly back in the day... My NV4500HD is from a Dodge 5.9 Cummins, so it is different from yours, including a different input-shaft. But that is okay since I'm putting it with a Dodge V-10 (which uses the same NV4500HD), so all the parts are off-the-shelf for me.
The FrankenSeville, although a GM car with its' original GM Northstar engine, paired to a GM F40 transmission, does NOT have stock swappable components, sadly, and gets a source-list like: Modified BMW Z3 flywheel, modified Mazda RX-8 clutch-disc, Pontiac Grand Am master-cylinder/reservoir/hydraulic-line, Firebird/Camaro brake-pedal assembly repurposed for the clutch pedal, Audi A-3 (European) shifter assembly and cables, Saab 9-3 or 9-5 intermediate shaft, CV axles TBD depending on length, but likely with Buick Verano wheel-hubs to accommodate the more common mid-sized GM hub-splines (opens-up many many more CV axle options for me)... And custom-made brackets for everything. Then the wiring alterations begin... The point is, it is NOT all GM though, and most of the parts require some customization.