Basically this is how a 15 year old original clutch looks like after 145k miles
the rivets were no longer existent on my clutch and it was practically off the clutch disk plate. Seems like the only reason it was in tact was due to the PP and flywheel holding it in place

 

I wouldn't worry, it's not like the pressure plate is supposed to drag on the flywheel anyway, that's the clutch disk's job. As long as the PP is bolted on correctly to the FW, it should provide enough friction to do it's job.

 

I think I'd pop it off real fast just to be sure there isn't a burr or some debris keeping that portion of the pressure plate from clamping down flush. If there is, and it works loose over time, there would no longer be tension on that bolt, allowing it to back out.

 

Well i wish it was that easy just to pop it off but i would need to drop the tranny all over and putting it back up is no easy task when its hard to get people to come out and help me. I lucked out last night, does any one have experience with this? I know Billman can chime in but who knows if he'll read my thread

 

If it's back together already, why not just drive it and see what happens? I mean you got warranty on the clutch against defects if you bought it new.

 

Pressure plate doesn't clamp against the flywheel, except at the dowels and the bolts, the clutch disk is sandwiched between the two. I mean for one you're bolting the pressure plate to the flywheel so they rotate together, the only thing that slips is the clutch disk, so seeing a hairline crack of light between the flywheel and pressure plate would not worry me, because I know that as long as the clutch disk is clamped between the two, the pressure plate friction surface will NEVER touch the flywheel, nor should it.

OP if your clutch isn't slipping I say don't worry about it.

 

The flywheel must have had some scoring with all those rivets worn to zero. I believe that is what wore out those rivets.

 

so i took the plunge and took the transmission out and had a friend thats a mechanic look at it for a second opinion and gave me the ok. He was actually a little skeptical about the gap and at first hhedid say remove and retorque it but after looking at it closely he noticed around the bolt holes from the PP were dowling a little bit, which is why it explained the hair line crack. So i finally got my car back together but got a little late already, so I'll just bleed my CMC tomorrow along with putting in the notorious top bolt of the starter.

Just out of curiosity, i got put back on my shifter and i was going through the gears (obviously without the clutch engaging) but 5th gear seemed a little rough. Should i be worried or should i just bleed and proceed to run to find out or maybe its just because I'm not engaging the clutch??


i very much appreciate the speedy responses, thanks guys!

 

"Should i be worried or should i just bleed and proceed to run to find out or maybe its just because I'm not engaging the clutch??"

I would not worry about the feel, until you fire-up the baby.

 

I will drop a pp on a flywheel and see if it resembles yours. I'd imagine you're fine.

Note old style disc (equal length springs) and new style disc (2 different spring lengths)