Clutch maintenance

I am curious what teams are doing to hold the clutch in place to do maintenance while another crew member is doing the bottom end? I do the clutch and try to hurry to get my stuff done or near before the bottom end guy gets to his but don't always make it.

Any info? I've seen some teams use blocks, but that doesn't work on our new titanium clutch.

C

 

clutch tool

MADE & SOLD BY AUTOMAN PHONE # 530-885-8815

 

Cool tool to torque the flywheel bolts.
But how will the bottom end guy rotate the engine to do his part ?
We just stick the clutch line up tool in and let it all rotate.
We try to time the job so as to not get clutch dust on the bottom end guy and out of the oiling system that keeps them both a lot happier.
In a perfect scenerio the bottom end guy is doing corresponding rods while the valve adjusters are doing certain valves the mag cap is off so the guy turning the motor over knows where everybody is supposed to be and calling it out then rotating again when everybody is ready. The clutch guy sets the pack height as it goes around. Two rotations all done. The pan goes on the can goes on. Then valve covers and transmission spark plugs and oil in plug wires on and fire it up. Shut it off fill with fuel put the body panels on then take her off the stands. The gals folded the laundry. We all take a breather and we are ready for the next round. Sounds easy yea right.
In less than perfect scenerio something is hurt and the heads have to come off. If hurt too much stack it back togeather and put her in the trailer. ( Low dollar team with no spare engine )

 

Its called choreographed mayham,

QUICK & BRIEF REFERENCE ONLY some things will be left out,..
such as oil, lube, yelling ,cussing, screaming and kicking,
the rest is TOP SECRET

Car comes back from the run everybody does there part
to get the car up in the air, and panels off, and restraints,
clutch guy starts tearing into the clutch while the topend
guy is pulling plugs to leak the motor down , bottom end guy
is draining oil, and removing oil line, or dropping pan altogether
with oil in it, topend guys still leaking down motor, clutch can comes off
,pull clutch discs off, a quick squirt of air to the flywheel to blow off the
dust, as motor is turned for the leakdown, bottom end guy is
cracking loose rod cap bolts and listening for air passing threw
the rings. leak down done, bottom end guy gets busy..
about 1:45 seconds per set of rods, changing out the upper shells,
and zipping up the bolts on the rod cap to be torqued up at the end,
during this time the clutch guy has his new pack set up and
going onto the clutch stands, bottom end guy lets clutch guy
know when motor is going to turn, get all bearings changed
and go threw and torque the rods,..its all the clutch guys now.
once clutch guy gets his initial setting on clutch adjustment, the
topend guy can run the valves, once thats done clutch guy
can have topend guy turn the motor,..or visa-versa or whatever
order you want....bam 34 minutes later ready to fire....it will
vary team to team and give or take 10 minutes.
that is if all is well on the leak down, and the rods where ok, and
nothing was broke on the valve train,...but,
what do i know.....ITS IN MY BLOOD......A cha cha cha cha

 

34 minutes WE WISH but I have seen it done with larger teams that have worked togeather for more than a few races. We usually have only three guys including the driver aka the nut behind the wheel and a gal or two. So multitasking is our game plan. And FYI we would be lost without the gals.

This thread is getting fun lets hear from some other teams.

 

Will it can be done both ways, and yes if your not on your
game there is a chance for someone to forget to retorque,
i use to do 1 set of rods at a time and retorque, but i found it helped
out the clutch guy the way i do it now, but
either way, you do it 1 set of rods at a time, or front to back
then back to front to retorque, its just a routine that can be
modified to fit in with any crew,...and if your getting distracted
that much to be forgetting the biggest part of the motor
staying together,..(retorquing the rods),..
then they, should find a different job to be doing, cause thats
one that you just dont f-up....knock on wood..and if you
are not sure, or even question the thought that you might have
forgoton to torque or forgot something,..you better get your ass
back down there and check them ALL.

Also it depends with who your working with.....I do the bottom end
this way because it allows the clutch guy to keep going
with his adjustments at the topside of the flywheel.
and NO i have not let that happen. You just have to know what
your doing, and unless ITS IN YOUR BLOOD. its a challenge
everytime...

 

WOW, well, uh, okay then. I couldn't even read the rest, I was laughing to hard.

 

Not being a completly sick minded individual I totally missed that when I read it but had a good laugh after YOU pointed it out. Good thing Will has a sense of humor. Lest you recive his scorn. It is a great quality to be able to laugh at yourself. Don't take life to seriously you'll never come out of it alive anyway.