J
Jack Klarich
Guest
HD wet clutch is a very STOUT clutch and a lot less noisey than the old dry ones we had for so many years, and will out last and out pull them all day long:s
Clutch Problem?
- Thread starter remellon
- Start date
HD wet clutch is a very STOUT clutch and a lot less noisey than the old dry ones we had for so many years, and will out last and out pull them all day long:s
Mad Dog Jim
Banned
Would be cool to read a "laymen's terms" explaination of exactly how they work. Would help my better understand how to use it and how to adjust it
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
HowStuffWorks "Fly Wheels, Clutch Plates and Friction" this will help you to understand how they work I think
Mad Dog Jim
Banned
Kinda have the basics, talking about HD multi plate wet clutches.
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
Pretty much the same the wet helps transfer heat and reduce chatter
How Do Wet Clutches Work?
Clutch Operations
A wet clutch is one that is soaked in oil, as opposed to having no oil in the parts. It has a series of plates called drive plates, engaged in a basket to apply drive to the vehicle. A wet clutch consists of a series of discs inside a cage or the clutch basket. Each drive plate has notches on the end of it that fit in the slots in the clutch basket or cage. The pressure plate assembly, which includes the drive plates and discs, slides into the the cage to engage it. Since the clutch basket is connected to the drive chain, this puts the vehicle into drive.
Drive Plates
In the drive plate assembly, only some of the plates are always spinning, even though this is connected to the engine all the time. The friction plates are what actually apply the leverage to get the vehicle moving. When these squeeze together, it engages the clutch, and all the discs start moving together. This includes the notched drive discs, which come in contact with the clutch basket.
Drive Plate Assembly
The drive plate actually looks like a stack of pancakes with one friction plate, one driving plate, one friction plate, etc., stacked one on top of another. It is is held together by springs and screws called drive screws, which apply the pressure to the plates, and this needs oil to operate properly.
Wet Operation
This whole mechanism is soaked in oil because of the amount of friction involved in its operation. In a dry clutch, there is no oil in the mechanism. It is an assembly of dry plates that operates on friction. A wet clutch uses the friction component of the oil between the drive plates to allow the plates to slide past each other and for proper operation.
Source:
How Do Wet Clutches Work?
TQ
Mad Dog Jim
Banned
Thanks guys!
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After reading the eHow page and then studying the parts diagram I think I have a handle on it. Its takes a bit of mental acrobatics to get it all in your head because the clutch activation rod runs through the shaft and reverses the way things work. See if I have the concept. Power comes off the crankshaft and is sent back to the trany b way of gears and a chain (stock) or pulleys and a belt. That first rear sprocket is not connected directly to the front drive pulley, there is a cluch basket between them. Obviously... The clutch is made up of 8 drive plates and 9 clutch plates that rub together. There is a spring that holds them together normally, creating enough friction that it moves as one peice. On the outside of this drive plate/clutch plate series there is another cog (for lack of better term) that is connected to a shaft that runs back through the whole thing and delivers power to the front drive pulley. When you pull the clutch lever the cable pulls on a ball and ramp assmebly that pushes a rod through the main trany shaft and pushes against that spring releasing the preasure between the drive plates and clutch plates. There is an adjustment screw that allows you to alter how soon that rod pushes against the spring. So if you have that adjustment screw turned in so it is already touching the spring before the clutch lever is pulled, that would potentially cause the clutch to slip too much and be disengaging too soon when you pull the clutch lever. If you have the screw turn out away from the spring too much, then you have to pull the clutch lever too far to get the clutch to disengage. Hence the proper adjustment is just touching the spring plate then backed out 1/2 to 1 turn. The reason that the cluct still grabs a little when you have the clutch lever pulled all the way in is because there are 9 clutch plates, 8 drive plates, and two outer main plates that are all covered in oil and in close proximity to eachother and the oil between each of these (about 40) surfaces, and the drag of the oil makes it feel like the clutch is still engaged.
Am I right? Close?
================================================
After reading the eHow page and then studying the parts diagram I think I have a handle on it. Its takes a bit of mental acrobatics to get it all in your head because the clutch activation rod runs through the shaft and reverses the way things work. See if I have the concept. Power comes off the crankshaft and is sent back to the trany b way of gears and a chain (stock) or pulleys and a belt. That first rear sprocket is not connected directly to the front drive pulley, there is a cluch basket between them. Obviously... The clutch is made up of 8 drive plates and 9 clutch plates that rub together. There is a spring that holds them together normally, creating enough friction that it moves as one peice. On the outside of this drive plate/clutch plate series there is another cog (for lack of better term) that is connected to a shaft that runs back through the whole thing and delivers power to the front drive pulley. When you pull the clutch lever the cable pulls on a ball and ramp assmebly that pushes a rod through the main trany shaft and pushes against that spring releasing the preasure between the drive plates and clutch plates. There is an adjustment screw that allows you to alter how soon that rod pushes against the spring. So if you have that adjustment screw turned in so it is already touching the spring before the clutch lever is pulled, that would potentially cause the clutch to slip too much and be disengaging too soon when you pull the clutch lever. If you have the screw turn out away from the spring too much, then you have to pull the clutch lever too far to get the clutch to disengage. Hence the proper adjustment is just touching the spring plate then backed out 1/2 to 1 turn. The reason that the cluct still grabs a little when you have the clutch lever pulled all the way in is because there are 9 clutch plates, 8 drive plates, and two outer main plates that are all covered in oil and in close proximity to eachother and the oil between each of these (about 40) surfaces, and the drag of the oil makes it feel like the clutch is still engaged.
Am I right? Close?
Last edited by a moderator:
Mad Dog Jim
Banned
Sweet!