How to maintain dry clutch?

There is always one guy in every group whose car runs just a little bit better than everybody else's. The difference probably lies in the dry clutches. The best tuning practices for dry clutch are more than just running the proper weights or installing the right helix for altitude. A lot of times dry clutch tuners forget that little things do affect dry clutch operation and ultimately their overall performance and reliability. Here are some simple practices to make sure your dry clutches are running at their full potential.

l What is the working principal of dry clutch?

l What are the faults of dry clutch?

l How to maintain dry clutch?

What is the working principal of dry clutch?

Dry clutch uses multiple clutches to make frictional contact with a flywheel of the engine. This makes transmit power between the engine shaft and the transmission shaft of a vehicle. The number of dry clutches means more friction surface. The increased number of friction surfaces also increases the capacity of the dry clutch to transmit torque. The clutch plates are fitted to the engine shaft and gearbox shaft. Dry clutch is pressed by coil springs and assembled in a drum. Each of the alternate plates slides in grooves on the flywheel and the other slides on splines on the pressure plate. Hence, each different plate has an inner and outer spline.

The working principle of dry clutches is the same as the working of the single-plate clutch. The dry clutch is operated by pressing the clutch pedal. The dry clutches are used in heavy commercial vehicles, racing cars, and motorcycles for transmitting high torque. 

What are the faults of dry clutch?

Stop-and-go traffic, towing heavy loads, abruptly engaging or dumping the dry clutch and riding the dry clutch when decelerating are all factors that influence a dry clutch’s lifetime useful service. Failure symptoms of dry clutch are easy to spot if you pay attention to your vehicle. You’ll need to remain vigilant of noises, clutch pedal behavior, and performance to understand the problem.

Pedal of dry clutch makes noises when engaging and disengaging. If you can hear a noise when you depress the clutch pedal or release, or both when the engine is off, there is probably a problem with the clutch release mechanism.

Pedal of dry clutch chatters when you accelerate. When dry clutch pedal vibrates, that means the dry clutch disc is losing grip on the flywheel intermittently.

Pedal of dry clutch pulsates. When rotating parts wobble or vibrate inside transmission, you might feel dry clutch pedal pulsate. If the pulsation or vibration began after servicing the transmission, then it is possible the transmission housing is improperly aligned with the engine.

Pedal of dry clutch remains stuck to the floor. A dry clutch pedal that stays on the floor means that you have binding problems with the linkage or release bearing. Check that the springs in the linkage are not over-stretched. You may also want to inspect the release bearing and check that the pedal stop is in place.

Transmission of dry clutch makes a grinding, whirling or chirping noise in neutral. If your car makes a grinding, whirling or chirping sound when the transmission is in neutral, but the noise goes away when you depress the dry clutch pedal, it’s possible that the noise is coming from a worn-out input shaft bearing.

Dry clutch can’t get transmission into gear. A stuck gear may indicate problems with the linkage adjustment, a linkage malfunction, or a warped or damaged dry clutch plate. On a mechanical system, you may be having problems with the dry clutch disc or pressure plate, release lever, release bearing, shift lever assembly, or control cable.

How to maintain dry clutch?

Never spray any lubricant or cleaner on a dry clutch. The aluminum of dry clutch face are manufactured from is a fairly porous metal and any type of chemical is going to be absorbed into the dry clutch. However, when the dry clutches are used and get warm, the tiny pores will release the slippery material, creating belt slippage and poor performance. When cleaning or servicing dry clutches, the last step should always be washing dry clutches in hot soapy water and then rinsing so that what is left is a nice clean surface to provide maximum traction to the belt.

Wash both the dry clutches and the belt in hot soapy water. Not only should the clutches be cleaned with hot soapy water, but the belt should as well. When belts are manufactured, they use mold release to help the belt come out of the mold easier. This mold release usually leaves a residue on the belt which can cause belt slippage. Cleaning the belt with a soft bristle brush in hot soapy water and then rinsing will reduce the chance of slippage with a new belt.

Check and adjust factory center-to-center and dry clutch alignment. Quite often dry clutch alignment or center-to-center measurements can vary from what specifies. This can hinder dry clutch efficiency and cause pre-mature belt wear or failure. The factory service manual lists the measurement specifications for each model and the procedure for proper measurement. If one of these measurements is not correct, the motor mounts may need to be loosened so the motor can be arranged to bring these measurements back into specification.

Learn more something about dry clutch can know the working principal of dry clutch and how to maintain dry clutch. If you want to buy high-quality motorcycles parts or CNC machining parts with reasonable price, Holy Precision Manufacturing Co., Limited can help you to open up a further and larger market, it is wise to choose us as your business partner. We provide different types of dry clutch by contacting us online.