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Q) I need my clutch rebuilt and my flywheel resurfaced. Do you offer a rebuild service for these components? Who do I contact for pricing? A) Hays does offer clutch rebuild and flywheel resurfacing. We offer a variety of services that keep your parts performing at their best. Make sure to give us a ring before sending your product!
Please call Jim at "The Clutch Bench" directly at 216.658.6313
Hays Rebuild
10601 Memphis Ave. #12
Cleveland, OH 44144
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Q) I put one of your heavy-duty street/strip clutches in my 1989 Firebird and now the clutch pedal feels mushy and the clutch won't release. A) The street/strip type clutches of years past do not work well in today's cars equipped with hydraulic clutch linkage. The hydraulic linkage is designed to work with a certain amount of clutch pressure, and when this is exceeded the slave cylinder cannot push the pressure plate in far enough. In some cases the master cylinder and/or the slave cylinder can be damaged. It is best to stay with a street clutch that is close to the pressure of the factory unit.
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Q) A friend tells me I should put an aluminum flywheel into my car. Is this a good idea? A) Usually not. A flywheel stores inertia and greatly affects how the car will launch. A lighter flywheel won't store as much energy and won't hit the tires as hard. This can hurt sixty foot times and cause a loss of power between shifts as it won't store as much energy. A medium or heavy street car on street tires and streetable gears will benefit much more from a thirty, forty, or even fifty pound flywheel (depending on the car's horsepower, weight, and gear/tire combination). A heavier flywheel will "hit" the tires harder. An aluminum flywheel is best suited for use in a lightweight very high horsepower car with a "slipper" or multi-disc type clutch, or a circle track car for faster downshifting. This is one case where lighter aluminum is usually not better.
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Q) I keep burning up clutch discs after only a few runs. What could possibly be the problem? A) There are lots of ways to burn up a clutch. Assuming you are using a clutch combination that should stand up to your vehicle, here are a few things to check:
Throw-out bearing clearance. This is absolutely critical, especially on a centrifugal assist clutch, such as the Hays street and strip Borg & Beck. The throwout bearing should be 1/4" off the fingers when released. The fingers will come up with RPM's and without the proper clearance the fingers may catch the bearing and unload the plate.
Clutch linkage flex. If your linkage is flexing, the car will usually "creep". If your car is "creeping", your linkage needs to be strengthened. To check, stage the car with line loc disengaged. Rev the motor to launch RPM, depress the clutch, drop into gear, and check for "creeping". If a line loc is engaged before this situation is corrected, you may burn up the clutch disc.
Check for a weak motor mount. This may allow the engine to "torque-over" too far and pull the linkage with it.
You may also find flex in the bellcrank /z-bar, or even the firewall. Some cars are notorious "flexible fliers". These include Mustangs, Firebirds, Novas, and Vegas. This situation must be corrected by whatever means necessary to stop excessive flex.
Not enough gear in the rearend differential. A heavy vehicle, 500 horsepower, and 2.73 gears will burn up the weakest link in the drive train.
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Q) I have a Hays aluminum flywheel with a steel insert in it. I’m going to install a new clutch and want to know if it is all right to have the face ground flat. A) You do not want to have your aluminum flywheel resurfaced on a grinder. You must replace the face with a #76-200 Steel Insert. You can also send your flywheel to us to have the insert replaced. If the flywheel is ground down, you will not be able to replace the insert in the future as the insert will be above the surface of the flywheel.
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Q) " My Clutch seems to need more clamping power to prevent slipping, But I'm afraid a higher clamp load will make pedal to hard to push " A) Try using the Hays Roller Assist Pressure Plate # 31-212, This uses roller weights as centrifugal force to raise clamp load as RPM climb !!
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