Busted !!!

[Chop Suey]

Hi guys,
I finally broke something on my truck after about 10 tanks of hard driving...
What you think of something like the aluminum one like this ?

 

[BuggZy]

wow !!! first time i see a clutch bell broken,

 

[Bigger the Better]

Chop, did you break that cause you needed something easy to make.
How did you break that?
If you busted the steel one would aluminum not be easier to break? How about making it out of a piece of titanium.:drool:

 

[GLYNSAVAGE]

aint the ones on the left hpi baja ones? when i broke my bell i just put a vented one on,think that is the only other option you have got mate,then again i could be wrong! lol

 

[Chop Suey]

Hi guys, I'm think it was just an isolated bad quality part. I'm thinking of making it out of aluminum, but not too sure about the effect of the heat.
I was drving it on a soccer field and could keep the front down with WOT. Dirt shoved up into the stinger and stalled the engine on me twice. Then the clutch bell broke. I'll try to weld it together, but the not-so-simple set up is to obtain a perfect perpendicularity from the shaft to the bell. Or just make it out of aluminum and try it. I'll make half a dozen so I'll have spare to break...hehehe.

 

[cyclops1970]

of all things to break that would have been one of the last ones i'd have said ..
o0o well Minh .. no rest for the wicked ..

 

[toez71]

wow i don't no how u managed that , thatz a first for me,never seen one go like that yet ,someones playin hard:cool2:

 

[Caad5]

Could it possibly have something to do with your custom made gear plate ? As I too have never seen a clutch bell break ever and you are the only one that apart from breaking the clutch bell was also running a custom made gear plate which the clutch bell shaft runs through. Maybe your bearing seized up for some weird reason and caused the clutch bell shaft to jam yet the clutch bell was still getting turned by the motor and clutch and therefore snapped at the point where the shaft meets the bell.

 

[Timmahh]

Good Point Caad5. maybe the tolerance was a tad too tight maybe?
interesting to see what the actual cause is on this one!.
byw, good to c ya Caad.
Timmahh

 

[Caad5]

Hey Timmahh good to see you too. Hows your Baja going , done any more mods to it ? Great to be on a forum that has a mature set of members and every post I have read so far is filled with good bits of knowledge and experience and none of the rubbish that happens on the other forum. I like the way each model has its own section.

 

[Chop Suey]

Hi guys,
I inspected the broken area closely. It was just a bad quality part I just happened to have on the truck.
Btw Caad5, I'm a Manufacturing Engineer for almost 20 years in metal fabrication, tooling design, process planning in many industries, and currently run a machine shop. I do know a things or two about mechanical components. Thank you for the suggestions but when I installed the gear plate, I checked for free rotation before and after each mounting stage of the assembly. Also, the gear plate was on my truck since the second tank, and I'm ran my truck more than 10 tanks by now. Any bindings would have resulted in an uneven wear on the shaft or inside the bell with at least some shinnier areas than others. Also, any bindings would have not enable me to wheelie at will with stock engine and a DDM pipe. The bearings on the gear plate for the clutch bell shaft are in perfect condition.
Anyway, no big deal as I expected that I'll break something sooner or later, and considering the truck has been running very good so far. I'll weld it back together, remachine inside the bell, and adding a small fillet weld around the shaft on the outside of the bell for reinforcement as the current one is almost a sharp corner. Meanwhile, hopefully I can grab one from Advance for the weekend and have a backup one for the rainy day...
Btw, I usually measure all the critical dimensions for a part on a CMM repeatedly about 5 times, then take the average readings. This usually in a range of 0.0008". I know it's overkilled but that how I'd make anything from high precision gauges, toolings, and aerospace components.
Oh Caad5, are you in the business of selling FG trucks or parts by chance?...and what do you do for a living?...

 

[Caad5]

Hey Chop Suey yes I am an FG Dealer. By the way I wasn't in any way criticising your work just trying to work out why it broke as I have never seen or heard of one breaking before. Just looking at your photo of it you can see the bearing has left marks on the shaft.

 

[SELWA]

I think I have a spare one with a few drill holes you can have. If your are making a trip we can bash a bit on Saturday! Wife works! Doug are you in??

 

[whizzy]

my brothers done 2 in a space of a month we are now at the stage instead of buying a standard it is gonna be replaced with a vented one as soon as it turns up in the mail but the first lasted for over year thou lol

 

[SELWA]

I've heard the vented ones aren't good for off-road.

 

[Bigger the Better]

I have a vented one but decided on not putting it on in fear of getting something in the clutch being off road 90% of the time. What do you guy's think? Has anyone tried it?

 

[BuggZy]

I have a vented one but decided on not putting it on in fear of getting something in the clutch being off road 90% of the time. What do you guy's think? Has anyone tried it?

pretty much the same here, a vented one would suck in dirt and probably wear the pads faster.

 

[cyclops1970]

I think I have a spare one with a few drill holes you can have. If your are making a trip we can bash a bit on Saturday! Wife works! Doug are you in??

i wish i could make it out on saturday .. one vehicle and kids activities = no play time for me on saturday this week

 

[Caad5]

Vented Clutch Bells work fine in off road. I run them in all my off roads and have never had any issues.

 

[Bigger the Better]

Vented Clutch Bells work fine in off road. I run them in all my off roads and have never had any issues.

Do you ever have gravel or sand getting into the holes and getting into the clutch housing? I would think with the spaces on my alloy gear plate that the holes would attract debris into the clutch housing? Maybe crap cant get in because of the speed its moving at?