Clutch Housing Explosion (and Calatoral Damage)

[ZENNON]

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[kudos.motorsports]

All I can say is you're a lucky man, it could have been so much worse.

It is to prevent exactly what has happened to you that Exedy, with their Sports Single lines (Sports Orangic, Sports Ceramic & Race Ceramic) use a anti-burst casting.

[Beer Baron]

faulty batch eh? shame he only told you about the faulty batch after it exploded beneath your left leg. Yes compared to the number of clutches sold there has only been a small number of exploding ones but still, frankly I think 1 is too many and the fact that I know of at least 3 over the last few years tells me something isn't quite right. it sounds like everything should get sorted out though.

[STATUS]

faulty batch eh? shame he only told you about the faulty batch after it exploded beneath your left leg. Yes compared to the number of clutches sold there has only been a small number of exploding ones but still, frankly I think 1 is too many and the fact that I know of at least 3 over the last few years tells me something isn't quite right. it sounds like everything should get sorted out though.

agreed, ive made various post over the years in just about every jb clutch thread but its seems people just keep going there.... he must have the gift of the gab.

There is a "shelf" clutch avalable for EVERY application from majors like OSgiken, ORC etc...

[FineLine]

faulty batch eh? shame he only told you about the faulty batch after it exploded beneath your left leg. Yes compared to the number of clutches sold there has only been a small number of exploding ones but still, frankly I think 1 is too many and the fact that I know of at least 3 over the last few years tells me something isn't quite right. it sounds like everything should get sorted out though.

My mind is open at this stage baron. I am only passing on what the man said to me via our first phone conversation.

However, if the old adage "Talk is cheap" holds any sway then Jim is one cheap mofo for sure. He could talk the legs off an iron horse.

We'll see what eventuates on thursday when I present the parts to him.

[dano4127]

Lets hope to god he can pull some strings and get something reasonable sorted for ya noleskies

It was only last week shane was telling me to get one same as yours Might pass on that...

You might have to sue him in order for him to be able to claim on his insurance... might be worth looking into

[IanB]

Yeahhhh i was looking at getting a JB as my next clutch, might hold off until this is sorted out...

[BezerkR32]

the man builds thousands of clutches, 3 of them have issues and all of a sudden his clutches are no good.

the man runs a business , has insurance for these sort of misshaps, and will sort it out. Suggest you guys tread carefully or you might find yourselves up for defamation.

[Shaun]

^^^^^ Agreed Stuart. Jim does have a business to run, so ill just see what the outcome is before i make judgement. Its such a shame to see this happen though.

Jim certainly can talk; ill never ring him on a mobile again!

[PT]

Insurance is all good for car parts but no money can fix your body if a chunk flies into your leg

an old high school acquaintance has lost half of his left calf no longer has a fibula bone....nice titanium rod in place of it, and severely shattered tibia from shrapnel flying through the floor when the drivetrain let go...

unrelated to JB clutches but such results could easily occur from this sort of situation........limp for life, can never run again and need a walking stick.....no thanks

[IanB]

I dont think noel has defamed anyone yet, hes just made a statement of fact as to what happened - the ball is in jims court now as to what happens next.

[BezerkR32]

theres no dought that you wouldnt wish this on anyone, and yes the matter could have been much more complicated if someone had have been injured. I will definately be installing a scater shield in my car now. i can understand you being well pissed. Give the bloke a chance and hopefully all will work out well. Its the hard way to go about getting an engine freshn up but anyway. Good luck with it.

People should also be aware that the covers and diaphrams used are purchased off the shelf items, they are not fabricated. Its impossible to know that there might be a problem with a cover unless one fails. Jim always explains to me on those long phone calls how he searches for the best quality cover with thicker wall thickness etc to try and eliminate these failures. he definately does not use cheap parts in his clutches. im shore if you asked 10 clutch builders if they had a clutch fail, that most would say yes. this is not uncommon.

^^^^^ Agreed Stuart. Jim does have a business to run, so ill just see what the outcome is before i make judgement. Its such a shame to see this happen though.

Jim certainly can talk; ill never ring him on a mobile again!

[femno]

the man builds thousands of clutches, 3 of them have issues and all of a sudden his clutches are no good.

the man runs a business , has insurance for these sort of misshaps, and will sort it out. Suggest you guys tread carefully or you might find yourselves up for defamation.

Are you feeling alright?

I bet if you lost a leg due to a failure like this you would have a completely different opinion...lets see some insurance grow you one of those back.

If these things are happening then he should recommend the use of scatter shields etc with his cltuches to save some legs. Or not sell clutches. 3 too many i say.

Jim is a top bloke. I have a rebuilt HKS Twin done by him.

Where can I get me some protection? Where to buy shields or bags please?

[dano4127]

Are you feeling alright?

I bet if you lost a leg due to a failure like this you would have a completely different opinion...lets see some insurance grow you one of those back.

If these things are happening then he should recommend the use of scatter shields etc with his cltuches to save some legs. Or not sell clutches. 3 too many i say.

Jim is a top bloke. I have a rebuilt HKS Twin done by him.

Where can I get me some protection? Where to buy shields or bags please?

rocket industries sell them mate, but I am going to just buy a clutch with an anti burst cover in the first place...

Just out of interest what was a rebuild worth on the HKS twin?

Edited September 4, 2008 by dano4127

[Shaun]

Where do you install these scatter shields, on the inside or outside of the gearbox? Are they just like a kevlar type blanket?

[GTR1993]

There is different types. RCI make a cheap one looks to not be Kevlar and is some steel belted blanket that you strap around it. For about 300ish US they then sell Kevlar blankets. Then for all popular American transes (mostly auto) they sell pressed steel scatter shields. All these go on the outside of the bell housing. With some transmissions you can buy special casings that they do not require a blanket as its built into the metal.

[femno]

The HKS Twin rebuild was 1200 odd from memory. Basically I sent up a rooted clutch and he sent it back like brand new.

[CEF11E]

I have met Jim and spoken with him at length.

he takes a lot of pride in his work and knows what he is doing. he is not a hack he is a professional with over 30 years experience. If i was to get a new clutch i would have no hesitation in getting one from him. he does cluthes for v8 supercars, group a rally and all sorts of hipo applications.

if it was a faulty cover or even 3 I am sure he will look into it and do what needs to be done.

I hope it all works out.

[Marlin]

No good to hear Noel, no good

I was privvy, no I was not driving or was it my car, to a clutch explosion (not JB) very recently in a 34 GTR which ended in a similar tradgedy for the bellhousing.

Do you by any chance think the failure could be put down a previous over-rev of the engine?

I only ask because after asking lots of question to lots of experts, an over-rev that occured within 500 klm prior to the event was blamed. The car I speak of had a "to first" instead of "to third" monent

[**RB2530**]

Dude,

Did you recover all of the debris..well whatever was on the road anyway...Can't see the pressure plate itself in the pictures...I assume it is now in 50,000 peices..

It looks to me (from the existing pictures anyway) as if the pressure plate itself has failed first, then ejected peices of itself out through the clutch cover and then through the bell housing...If you have a look at the bolt holes in the clutch cover that are slightly elongated radially outwards indicating that a very high load has been placed on these bolts...The clutch cover also looks pretty much intact apart from the deformation..

The steel straps that normally support the pressure plate have also copped a hiding consistent with bits of pressure plate stilll connected to them travelling outwards with great force...

Also if you post up some pictures of the flywheel showing each of the bolt stubbs still in the flywheel, I can tell you if any of the bolts show signs of fatigue or if they all failed due to overload...