LS1 won't turn after new clutch

[savage1987]

All bolted together with new clutch, exhaust back on etc etc... car is complete again.. but engine will not turn.

At all.

Not even by hand with a breaker bar on the balancer bolt.


?????????




Thinking, could I have possibly put the friction plate in backwards?? Would the clutch even have allowed me to do that? I can't bloody remember which way in I put it.

Other thing is the pressure plate bolts around the outside of the flywheel may be too long and binding on the block, but surely I'd have felt that winding them in...? And surely the NPC clutch is well enough designed for that to be eliminated as a possibility. Hopefully I can see whether that's the case through the slightly enlarged ventilation hole in the bottom of my bellhousing.

I'll have a look tomorrow. This is doing my head in right now; I don't want to have to pull the whole shebang apart again but I don't want to fuck a $1500 clutch.

[31-EVO]

You put the clutch plate back to fuck
Wait, you put the wires back on the starter?

[savage1987]

yeah the starter is wired up fine, was never un-wired

didn't even know that clutch plate could go on backwards ???


is it even remotely possible that I did the same thing last time and i have been driving it for thousands of km with a backwards plate in the stock clutch?

[caibs]

not starter if he cant turn it by hand

make sure its out of gear.

even if you put the clutch plate in the wrong way i dont see why you wouldn't be able to turn the motor by hand while its out of gear. it would just mean you'd have issues disengaging the clutch.
seems to me like theres something physically stopping the flywheel from turning?

[31-EVO]

I had an ls come into work a while back via truck for the same thing I don't know why or how but yeah the plate was in backwards. But yeah sounds like the flywheel won't spin

[savage1987]

yeah it's out of gear. If it wasn't I'd have come really unstuck trying to start it with the front still up on stands. :p

I'll have a look in there tomorrow and see if I can spot anything w/out pulling it all the way apart again :s.


weird part is that the first time this combination went together in this car, the same thing happened. I thought it was just a seized motor but thinking back that doesn't make sense and I'd say it's the exact same issue again, whatever the hell it was.

[31-EVO]

I've never heard of it happenening since the one I did, but I've noticed on a lot of the pressure plates you need to reset the spring tension on them, depending on the kit of course.

[H1GHROLLR]

Im going to guess that maybe it has the wrong bolts supplied for the pressure plate/clutch , and the bolts being too long are proceeding past/through the flywheel and jamming on the back of the motor/rear main ? just a guess but i can see how it would happen

[DISTRBD]

I had an ls come into work a while back via truck for the same thing I don't know why or how but yeah the plate was in backwards. But yeah sounds like the flywheel won't spin

LOL thats an awesome fuck up when you consider the flywheel is to shallow to allow plate to go on backwards ..

[31-EVO]

Yer it was interesting to say the least

[savage1987]

Found the problem.

After deliberating at length on how best to figure out which possible issue was the issue, I decided to have a look at the old clutch assembly (remembering it did something very similar to this the first time it was assembled). Looking over these photos got me thinking as well.

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee345/sam_brown_05/my%20VN/LS1%20transplant/cae1.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee345/sam_brown_05/my%20VN/LS1%20transplant/P1010488.jpg

Paying special attention to the shape of the starter relocation adapter plate.




Sure enough, I found this.

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee345/sam_brown_05/my%20VN/clutch/SAM_2746.jpg




Fuck CAE and their shit products. First the extractors and now this. This adapter plate is DESIGNED FOR THIS FUCKING APPLICATION, and yet it fouls on standard length pressure plate bolts. I guarantee it is the same issue with the new clutch. Almost three years on and stupid issues like this are still arising.

I don't want to risk forcing it and letting everything clearance itself (which I did last time under the assumption we were just dealing with an almost-seized engine). Everything has to come apart again now. Exhaust, tailshaft, box, the whole lot. Then to figure out which way to fix it - remove metal from that spacer plate, or file the bolts down.

[31-EVO]

Quality, just get shorter bolts that'll handle the application

[DISTRBD]

So you fitted a new clutch n flywheel and didnt spin it before fitting box back up ?

[RICEY]

Can't say I've ever felt the need to spin the clutch and flywheel before putting the box back on hahaha

[DISTRBD]

Can't say I've ever felt the need to spin the clutch and flywheel before putting the box back on hahaha

How do you do up a pressure plate ?

[RICEY]

OK so I spin it a bit hahaha

[savage1987]

It spun for the first few bolts. I didn't realise it had stopped. Not exactly a problem I was on the lookout for. :(

Terrible job to do on a shed floor, let alone twice in a row.

[savage1987]

Pulled it completely apart last night. Turns out the new flywheel is thicker and was itself rubbing on that spacer plate in two places. I've got the plate out for clearancing (I'll thin down the two appropriate sections without completely removing them if possible) and hopefully tonight it will all be good to put back together.

[H1GHROLLR]

I would let it clearance its self

[savage1987]

^lololol worked alright last time!!! At least we know what that weird rattle was hey.


Clearanced the adapter plate with a grinder and gave it a quick coat of paint.

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee345/sam_brown_05/my%20VN/clutch/SAM_2748.jpg

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee345/sam_brown_05/my%20VN/clutch/SAM_2751.jpg


The flywheel is back on and has no further issues with clearance. Hopefully the pressure plate bolts are alright (should be, I don't think they protrude much if at all) but that's a tomorrow job.


I flicked CAE a politely worded email about the issues I have had with their parts, we'll see if they just ignore me or actually provide some sort of response.