Do I need a clutch alignment tool when changing out my clutch to ACT hd/ss. I went to honda and they said they do not carry one, and can not sell me one. Anyone know where to buy one or if I even need it. All the other hondas I have done all came with the tool.
Thanks in advance
Kenny

BTW search wont work for me

 

My SPEC clutch included one.

Tim

 

It helps to have it but you can alwasy use a broomhandle and eyeball it. Perfect alignment makes it much easier to seat the tranny.

 

Good luck getting the tranny in without the tool.

 

Ask around for a 24 spline, 26mm hub I.D. clutch disk alignment tool.

 

The tool does nothing more than help line up the FD with the FW while you are tightening down the PP. It is not critical that it be a particular device so a broomhandle or dowel of the right size works just as well.

Don't pay attention to these scare statements that are not an accurate assessment of the situation.

 

You'll know if you don't have the disc centered, the trans won't push flush with the block. The alignment tools aren't precision devices, but they do get the disc centered accurately on the flywheel.

 

The fact that the alignment tool is splined into the clutch disk hub and then snuggly inserts into the pilot bearing means that the disk will be perfectly centered in between the pressure plate and flywheel.

Remember, once the bolts on the pressure plate are tightened, the disk ain't a movin. I don't see a broom handle aligning the disk as well as a proper clutch alignment tool will align the disk. If a dowl fit snugly inside the clutch disk hub (would not necessarily have to be splined to the disk hub) and also fit snugly inside the pilot bearing, it would do a good job of centering the clutch disk inside the pressure plate and the flywheel.

I sure's hell wouldn't battle a transmission by using a broom stick to center the clutch disk when I could just spend 5 bucks on the RIGHT TOOL and just simply slide the tranny right in.

 

Gee, really coulda fooled me.


Maybe it is not critical that a particular tool be used, but it is very critical that the disk is perfectly centered inside the assembly. If the disk is slightly off-center, you may still be able to wrestle the tranny back into the bell housing, but do you want your disk slightly off-center even if it is only an amount that can be measured in thousandths of an inch?

 

I've always used an alignment tool because they're cheap and make the job easy. I'd hate to wrestle a transmission up to the engine only to find that I can't install it bacause the shaft won't go into the pilot bearing.

With that said, if it's aligned well enough to install the transmission, then it's good enough. Think about what happens the first time the driver depresses the clutch pedal... The pressure plate moves away from the disk and the disk is free to slide on the transmission input shaft, probably taking on a microscopically different alignment every time the pedal is released. But I suspect we're talking about fractions of one thousandth of an inch here rather than several thousandths.