Clutch Cork thickness

[Deleted User]

I am looking for the thickness and diameter of the original cork inserts for the stepdownHudson clutch. I imagine this thickness can be considered the thickness of the clutch plate assembly once assembled?



Is there a source of these inserts? Also, has anyone ever tried a material other than cork in a "severe usage" situation?



The T-5 stepdown retro-fit is looking very good thanks to fellow HET members Ed Wood and His uncle Bill - thanks for the visit and the parts swap!



Mark Hudson

Uncle Josh

Geoff Clark, NZ recorks his own clutches I believe, Doug Wildrick is the US clutch guru and re-corks and rebuilds clutches, and Steve Farkaly has developed a non-cork dry severe usage retrofit.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Uncle Josh,



I suppose I should explain what I'm up to here. I'm trying to hitch up a Borg Warner T-5, 5 speed transmission to the Hudson stepdown bellhousing. I'm taking alot of pains with it to keep the amount of "one off" parts to a minimum. An adapter plate is for sure, but if I can use mainly "off the shelf" parts it should be easier for the next guy who wants to try this.



I need to know the thickness of a rebuilt stepdown clutch for two reasons:



First, so I know where to properly space the original cork clutch in the stack and keep enough spline length for it to work properly should a person go with an original cork clutch. The clutch hub would be the only thing needing to be swapped in such a situation, as I'm looking at 1" X 14 spline input shafts from S-10 and Astro Van 5 speeds from the 2.8 V6s.



Second, I've just recently learned of some facing materials used in industrial clutches that run in oil similiar to the stepdown. If I knew the size of the corks, I might be able to find an alternative to cork that would stand more clamping pressure and beef up the springs in the pressure plate.



I do believe the original stepdown flywheel is too thin to handle a dry clutch and dissipate the heat without warping. May be fine on a short hop, but I doubt it would like stoplights very much. Steve's outfit is a good one and definately up to the task of severe usage - but pricey and not without modifications of its own. I like the oil-bath clutch idea and it can be found in new John Deere tractors known as "everlast" clutches. I just need to find a suitable modern material rather than the cork.



Mark Hudson

[Deleted User]

Hi Mark,

How about the everlast clutch?, what type of material does it use for a facing material ?

BJ--TN

[Deleted User]

BJ,



I don't know what the facing material is for that clutch. In fact, it really doesn't have a facing like a common clutch. It has a series of driven plates and a series of driving plates with the friction rings sandwiched in between. It is a multi-disk arrangement with a continous exchange of oil being pumped into/over/around it via the 15 gallon hydraulic system.



International Harvester used a similiar outfit on thier PTO clutches from the 60's to late 80's. I've seen those friction rings up close and are a silicon bronze type alloy. IH also used a wet clutch for thier "on the go" shifting mechanism apart from the main engine clutch. These go out pretty often and new ones are manufactured from kevlar.



Evidently, there are alot of materials out there and I'm learning more all the time.



Mark Hudson