|POWERTRAIN Aftermarket Powertrain Communications DON'T TOUCH THOSE STEEL PLATES!! Based on personal expericnes, every rebuilder develops fan indisidva "style" which he believes produces the ‘best robust tansmission possible. However, some rebuilding practices ae bated on out ded practices that are no longer of salue One such practice i= resurfacing stcel clutch plates by sanding sand or bead ‘lasting, bulling with an abrasive ped and dic grinder. for in some eaieh over aggressne fumbling Long ago. sintered metal fiction clutches were common in aulomotive applications Thee inthe fils. ‘Set clutches contrnued to evolve int a thick. coarse paper material containing asbestos These hard compounds required a rough steel plate surface 0 promote break-in and obtain a good contact area in a thon period of tine. With todays softer paper fiction ‘matenal. rough sel surface finishes tend 0 shee, or shave. the fnction material causing accelerated wear before breakin can be achieved In fact the resiliency fF paper Faction matenal allows clutch assemblies to operate efficienth without needing break-in wear Evaluating Steel Plate Finish Under normal conditions. 75% of clutch wear occurs ‘within the Fist 100 cycles. Obvious. steel plate surface roughness has a reat del to do with how ‘much material is removed dunng and aficr this period ‘Typically. see! plate surface finish 1s measured im microsnches designated by the symbol "jn". One smiero-inch 6 1/1.000.0 of an inch (sin = 000001"), The maximum surface roughness of a news OE ste! plate # L6yin This value 16 based on an arthmetie (AA) of the measurements taken bs 3 eter" which opceatcs like a record plaser elas oaks and valles along a section of the plate surface (sce Figure 1) 1s no surprise thatthe smoother the surface, the lower the wear rate during break-in In Tact, extensive testing has proven that surfaces that have been sand bead, or anit blasted repcally measure 10+ yun and can lead to catastrophic clutch failure. Tumbling. sending anc other Figure 10 ‘profimeter” ir wed ty mesure wafoce {Pinsh of tel platen Maxima wafoce roughnets (AA) teen. resurfacing methods have also resulted in excessive surface roughness in the 4uin to Tuin range Visual Inspections The most common misconception is that when ste! plate becomes shiny or gloss. fncton clutches will not apply and hold as well i other words, shifts will be Aqicker and firmer when the plates are rough, night? WRONG” The coefficient of faction. when using, like friction material. remains constant and independent of steel plate roughness which means clutch performance 1s NOT smaproved bs sncreasing surface roughness. In Feta good used sicel plate works best when reused Vasual inspections of stcel plates 48 not even a good Indicauon of surface roughness as illustrated in Fagure 2 Both plate A and plate B have the same surface roughness because the peaks and valleys are the same distance from the surface ofthe plate. However, plate Bwill appear shiny because the “flat tops” will reflect light better. just like a mirror Although steel plate A would “look” better (dull finish). the sharp peaks could ‘cause more wear during break-in. Visual inspections are important. however Always replace plates that have “hot” or “leopard” spots, Although tumbling or sanding can hide the surface spotting. they will reappear afier the plate is back in service, Rust. nicks. and radial scratches are other conditions that require plate replacement. Rust areas will increase clutch wear at all points of contact due to the rougher. pitted surface. Radial scratches. which are usually found ‘on new plates. will accelerate wear across the entire face of the friction clutch disc (sec Figure 3) Although any scoring is undesirable. circumferential scratches tend to damage a very small area of the clutch surface Steel Plate Guidelines Although the information contained in this bulletin contradicts existing "folk lore”. field evaluation and SAE machine testing confirm these findings time after time. Use the following recommendations for maximum clutch performance and durability 1, Maximize clutch performance and minimize wear by using new steel plates with new friction clutches. 2, NEVER blast steel plates using sand. bead. grit or other media. NEVER use a dic grinder and abrasive ppad, or sanding to “resurface” plates. Surface finish will bbe excessively rough which accelerates wear without improving clutch performance 3. Replace steel plates that have heat or “leopard” spots 4. Replace steel plates that are rusted or pitted 5. Replace steel plates that are scored. warped. or radially scratched 6. If used steel plates are to be installed, save time and effort by reusing them "as is". If you feel you must resurface used steel plates. (umble them in a soft media. Avoid tumbling spceds and media that resurface too quickly. Never allow sicel platcs to contact cach other during tumbling AAAAAA PORTER [HYPOTHETICAL CONDITION: This typeof surface woul appenr dul, butroughness Is the same ae Piste 8 eta PLATE ®. HYPOTHETICAL CONDITION: This type of surface would appear shiny but ia na smoather than Plate A. Figure 2: Plea & B could have the same surface roughness, but B would appear "shiny" because it reflects light beter. Plate A may appear to have a beter finish, but ‘could "skive” friction material RADIAL (CIRCUMFERENTIAL } i Figure 3:40 vraches und scoring on steel plates are undesirable, but “radial” scratches are more devastating 10 {friction material