hey guys, I am getting ready (in about 3 days) to put my rebuilt engine into my car, I would have purchased a new clutch but I dont have the money right now.... my question is. is it possible to drill out the rivets, check everything thoroughly and clean everything, then either re-rivet it back together or use bolts and nuts. the clutch has a good bit of mileage on it and due to moisture in my garage it has rusted a bit, hence the cleaning...thanks

Originally posted by 420Adebt
due to moisture in my garage it has rusted a bit,

Leave it sit until next payday, when you can get a new clutch. (A PTCruiser clutch is less than $300 shipped.)

This is what happens to flexplate bolts that have been exposed to slight rust.


And this is what happens to your bellhousing when they fail and your clutch starts flopping around on the shaft.


This was three days after I got her running for the first time in seven months. Then, the output shaft bearing inside the tranny failed the following weekend. You DO NOT want to take THIS path.

He's not talking about the flexplate .... he's asking about actually seperating the modular clutch. YES, you can drill the rivets out. I believe I drilled them out with 21/64" drill bit (it's fairly big) and used stainless steel hex bolts to put it back together. You have to be careful about how far out the bolt heads/nuts stick out though b/c it can wreck your RPM sensor (I think?) Do some checking in the manual tranny forum and you should be able to get some hits on what I'm talking about.

Originally posted by techboy
He's not talking about the flexplate .... he's asking about actually seperating the modular clutch.

Sorry, bro. I know what he's asking. I'm giving additional, pertinent information.

Originally posted by 420Adebt
the clutch has a good bit of mileage on it and due to moisture in my garage it has rusted a bit, hence the cleaning...thanks

My clutch was exposed to moisture and had a bit of rust on it. We cleaned out the threads for those four bolts (the ones you have to bolt to the clutch through the flexplate once the engine is in place) and used red Loc-Tite on them. They still failed. I, personally, would not put any clutch back into the transmission if it's got any rust on it. If something fails, it will fail in a bad way.

That picture above is one of the four bolts that hold the clutch to the flexplate damaged in my "little bit of rust" that was "cleaned up." If you recall, they're Grade 10.9. That one is almost cut in half. I have another one that was ground completely flat as if it was plastic. The metal panel that closes up the bellhousing where there is no block mating surface was perforated and cratered everywhere and the flexplate was demolished. All four of the holes were elongated and out of round. Pieces of the clutch actually fell out when we pulled the engine out of the way.

Since the hot transmission was effectively drained of fluid, a week later, when we had the bell housing welded shut and a new clutch installed, the output shaft bearing took a shit on me three days thereafter. We had to yank the tranny again, pull it apart again and pick all the loose rollers out of the gears. Since that day, my tranny has an umistakable whine once you are cruising at speeds above 2500rpm. I bet there is a tooth or two in there somewhere that took a hit and has a knick or somethign in it that's making the noise.

I just wouldn't risk it. I would opt for a new clutch just to avoid the risk of having to fuck with things like that again. That episode actually had me planning to revert her to stock and buy something else. Seriously. I wouldn't wish that ten days of misery upon anyone. To me, it's worth the $250 price of a new PTC clutch. This one can be saved for a core or something to tinker with long term to make a non-mod/mod setup imo.

Gottcha. That makes more sense. I wouldn't wish that trouble on anyone either.

Shouldn't be able to just get some new flexplate bolts and maybe even a flexplate at the dealer though instead of buying a whole new clutch?

EDIT: Nevermind, I just re-read his post. He's saying his actual clutch is rusted, not the flexplate/flexplate bolts.

Hey, this is Andy at South bend clutch. If you would like I can disasemble your clutch and R&R it for you. I also have take-offs with very low miles. 800-988-4345