This is why I would not buy a centerforce

scbird1

Registered User
This is what I found in a car I just bought. It a 93 black on black 5 speed. The clutch was only a few years old. Anyone ever see clutch do this?
 

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It grenaded and took out the slave cylender and tore up the fly wheel. Here is a pic of the car.
 

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BTDT

FWIW it does mean the clutch was slipping a bit which built the heat that allowed it to happen. However, it still probably would not have done that but for the driver depressing the clutch pedal at high RPM after a WOT run. If the driver had just closed the throttle and coasted down with the clutch engaged it likely would've survived.

This could be another instance where the SC breaks the "rules". The Centerforce depends on RPM to get the assist from those added weights on the fingers. The SC makes a lot of torque at low RPM and could in theory overcome the holding capacity of the clutch pressure plate without the assist from the inertial weights. Similar in concept to why most torque converters prove to be too loose, and stand-alone computers for the 4R70W don't work too well in SC's. The torque curve is outside what those systems were designed for.
 
I've broken the center out of a few clutches (in my old Dodge diesel, pulling too much weight) but never broke the outer part.


That looks like my garage

car.jpg
 
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That just proves that whoever was driving it didn't have it clue. I'm willing to bet any clutch would have fragged from that abuse.
 
I've been running the CFDF clutch now for over a year, and I've been nothing but happy with the results!

Bill McNeil has had the same clutch in his car for quite some time, and he's flogged it EXTREMELY hard in trying to work out a good launch with all the power he's putting to the pavement, and that clutch has held up quite well.

I believe he recently installed a SPEC flywheel, and possibly a new SPEC clutch to try out a new combination, so it will be interesting to see how he feels about the comparison between the two product lines.

Like most others have said here, I think that damage was much more likely due to driver error than poor quality or workmanship in the clutch.

Best regards,

Sean
 
A look at the flywheel would tell more about the failure, but to me that looks like extreme heat as well as shock loads blew that clutch apart.

If it was a manufacturing problem it wouldn't have come apart like that. The facing would have come off the clutch or the disks would have seperated from the housing.

Instead that shows the pad torn off the hub. I'd take a hard look at the output shaft of the transmission as well as the rear half shafts. Anything that can tear up a clutch disk like that is going to likely shock all the driveline components.
 
Cfdf

i haqd a CFDF clutch ion my bird for about 8000 miles, loved the feel of it. one day when downshifting to first (rolling stop) at a stop sign, it took the big dump.. all the disk came off one side of the clutch. centerforce would not sell a replacement disk so i went back with a RAM HD and have about 20k on it but its starting to wear out. the ram is a good piece.
 
Just so you know the guy who sold me the car said he was comming to a toll booth, down shifted and when he went to take off. It would not go into gear. The flywheel is not burnt at all. Just a little scratched from the metal parts flying around. Well the cause is still up in the air but Im going to replace the whole clutch kit, the pilot bearing and the front bearing on the trans as long as im in there doing a rebuild on that as well.
 
I dose not leak a drop at 136k so it looks like im going with the if it aint broke dont fix it.
 
Luk

Centerforce clutches are made by Luk. They just add the weights. Most american makes if standard come with a Luk from the factory, It kinda looked like the friction material had some oil or something on it?
 
Drnaline said:
Centerforce clutches are made by Luk. They just add the weights. Most american makes if standard come with a Luk from the factory, It kinda looked like the friction material had some oil or something on it?


Yep. It is kind of hard to blame Centerforce, they didn't make the Disc, they just put their name on it. A Zoom would likely have the exact same clutch disc.
 
i always ran cf dual friction or cf stage 2 clutches in my mustangs.that looks like the cheapy stage 1 clutch there.i believe gold color was stage 1.which is alil better than stock.never had any problems with my cf clutches before.stage 2 made the clutch pedal kinda hard to press but not bad and dual friction felt like stock pedal
 
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