Should you always change the flywheel when changing the clutch.

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Feb 27, 2019
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Is it worth the cost or is it better to machine the existing one? Does it affect ride quality later?
 
Depends if the Flywheel can be surfaced or not......Most modern stuff doesn't leave much thickness. Putting a new clutch disc & pressure plate on a high mileage flywheel will most certainly affect clutch life. That will greatly vary with the surface condition of the flywheel.
 
Years go when I had to do a clutch job if I didn't resurface the flywheel, the clutch would engage about 1 inch off the floor. Any adjustment I tried made no difference. It would be perfect after I removed it and had it cut. Nowadays I wouldn't know where to take a flywheel or brake drums to be cut. All the old shops by me are long gone. Sure seems like rotors, drums, and flywheels are made to be throwaways.,,,
 
Years go when I had to do a clutch job if I didn't resurface the flywheel, the clutch would engage about 1 inch off the floor. Any adjustment I tried made no difference. It would be perfect after I removed it and had it cut. Nowadays I wouldn't know where to take a flywheel or brake drums to be cut. All the old shops by me are long gone. Sure seems like rotors, drums, and flywheels are made to be throwaways.,,,
I agree , almost any part is now throw away ..like brake rotors or drums...I know of only one garage that still does it but even he says that with the new stuff there isnt much to cut if any ...generally better off buying new...just the nature of the beast
 
In the days before dual-mass flywheels, it was SOP to resurface one during a clutch replacement.

now, many will replace them - can’t find a shop that can resurface one. And it’s cheaper(labor and sublet costs) and quicker to get a Chicom one delivered.
 
Several automotive forums have suggested the going with a new flywheel but if it has enough material some can be resurfaced.
 
One of the benefits of a new flywheel is you get a new ring gear, pulled a few transmissions over the years for a buggered ring gear.
Replace rear main, front trans, pilot, throw out bearing and in some cases the clutch fork and ball socket while its apart.
 
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Sold my last manual daily driver (a 1985 Volvo Turbo Wagon) in 2003.

For all the manual cars I owned “back in the day”, like that one: resurface the flywheel, and replace the rear main seal.

Plenty of meat on that Volvo flywheel and the replacement clutch worked great, until I fried it pulling a trailer that was way too big/heavy...so I resurfaced it a second time and it lasted the rest of the car’s life.

I can’t speak to “modern” cars, but yeah, resurface every time...or, if they’ve really become that cheap, put a new one on there.

I’m still scratching my head over how a flywheel affects ride quality...
 
Sold my last manual daily driver (a 1985 Volvo Turbo Wagon) in 2003.

For all the manual cars I owned “back in the day”, like that one: resurface the flywheel, and replace the rear main seal.

Plenty of meat on that Volvo flywheel and the replacement clutch worked great, until I fried it pulling a trailer that was way too big/heavy...so I resurfaced it a second time and it lasted the rest of the car’s life.

I can’t speak to “modern” cars, but yeah, resurface every time...or, if they’ve really become that cheap, put a new one on there.

I’m still scratching my head over how a flywheel affects ride quality...

By ride quality I mean clutch engagement, jerky shifting, slipping, etc.
 
Ah, OK, thanks.

Yeah, my understanding with friction surfaces is that you want to “bed” the new clutch disc to the flywheel, just like brake pads to a rotor. So, you need freshly machined friction surface on the flywheel or you WILL get chatter, poor engagement feel, etc.
 
at the least resurface it + many cars use less than optimal OE parts, not to mention dual mass flywheels!! if its a DIY labor is only your time BUT when paying big $$$$ for labor its best to upgrade while doing labor intensive projects.
 
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