American made flywheel

[addicted]

Im gathering parts for my NP 435 swap and I cant seem to get the straight scoop on a quality flywheel. I really dont want to run Chinese junk. Are there any brands out there that are for sure made in the USA? Thanks.

 

[jn2630]

taiwan junk ok? ;D

 

[addicted]

Sadly Ive heard that Taiwan junk isnt quite as junky as Chinese junk. lol. But I would prefer American made.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I know I can find an american made flywheel, trouble is it will cost many times more then the low cost import stuff. Start going throught the race clutch catalogs and see what you find.

 

[addicted]

So are most people just running the the Taiwan and Chinese stuff?

 

[garberz]

So are most people just running the the Taiwan and Chinese stuff?

Unfortunately, most people don't have a choice, when needing to buy new. There's a long list of parts that are only available from China these days. Try finding Ball Joints made anywhere but China.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yep, when you go down to the local auto parts store, no matter which one in most cases, they're stocking/ordering what their suppliers are selling. Their supplier is stocking what their buyers were sourcing with the help of the factory sales guys, and what was demanded over the last twenty years by their customers. And that was less and less expensive brands.
Hence very little Made in the USA stuff like this readily available.

I won't go as far as saying they're not around. They're just not readily to hand in most markets.

There is a place called San Diego flywheel that sells re-furbished/surfaced flywheels for about 50 bucks plus a 130 dollar core-charge.
Obviously, these are not going to be new, but there is a very good chance that one you get from them will be an old Ford factory unit that's been resurfaced and inspected.
Maybe there's a place like that near where you live?

Never thought I'd say this, but are the big discount houses (Summit, Jegs, etc.) stocking any by any chance? At least they will list both cheap and expensive brands together, when available.
Anyone looked specifically for one there?

Even though much of what Mr Gasket Pretty sure that some of the Hayes flywheels (http://haysclutches.com/) are USA made, but not sure if they make truck versions for anything that fits our stuff.
Worth a look perhaps.
Maybe even search USA made in some of the bigger websites like Summit.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[addicted]

Thanks Paul. Im going to take a look. I dont know how big of a deal it is in a non racing application but I just feel better buying American made stuff when I can.

 

[DirtDonk]

Absolutely! Me too for sure.

Paul

 

[addicted]

Im not even sure what application I should be looking at. When I bought my NP 435 the seller threw in a Zoom clutch and a flywheel. He also gave me two bell housings. One is an aluminum one from a late 80s truck and the other one is an earlier cast iron version. The way he explained it to me was that the clutch is an 11", which is stronger than a 10", but wouldnt fit in the cast iron bell housing. Does that make sense? Now Im trying to decide if the larger clutch is worth the hassle because I need a hydraulic set up to make it work. I also dont know anything about Zoom clutches. The trans is going behind a moderately built 351W. Any opinions on the clutch size and brand? Who else makes a good quality clutch and is it worth running a hydraulic set up? Thanks for any info and advice. I want to do this right the first time.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Im not even sure what application I should be looking at. When I bought my NP 435 the seller threw in a Zoom clutch and a flywheel. He also gave me two bell housings. One is an aluminum one from a late 80s truck and the other one is an earlier cast iron version. The way he explained it to me was that the clutch is an 11", which is stronger than a 10", but wouldnt fit in the cast iron bell housing. Does that make sense? Now Im trying to decide if the larger clutch is worth the hassle because I need a hydraulic set up to make it work. I also dont know anything about Zoom clutches. The trans is going behind a moderately built 351W. Any opinions on the clutch size and brand? Who else makes a good quality clutch and is it worth running a hydraulic set up? Thanks for any info and advice. I want to do this right the first time.

Back in the 60's there was the aluminum car bellhousing that housed the 157 tooth flywheel and 10" clutch, then the cast iron truck bellhousing that was 164 tooth flywheel and 11" clutch. Then came the 80's and the truck bellhousing went on a diet going aluminum, but usually the linkage changed enough that it isn't used unless you want a hydraulic clutch. Make any more sense?

 

[DirtDonk]

Larger is much more desirable from a truck standpoint. And it's what our Broncos had originally anyway. The heavy vehicle weight puts stresses on clutches that simply adding horsepower to a lighter car doesn't even do.
So you really want to stay with the larger one if you can.

Have you verified that the clutch and flywheel are indeed an 11" and 164 tooth versions, respectively?
Just to make sure 'ya know.

As for the bellhousing, larger is a necessity if you stick with the larger truck clutch. Whether you source a correct one or use the one you have with the different linkage, we're still going on the premise that "bigger is better" with clutches.
And compatibility is your friend!

Even though it's nice that you got some housings in your deal, maybe you have to keep looking for a correct bellhousing.

For a flywheel, you absolutely need to verify that it's one with the 28oz imbalance factor. The flywheel you got could have the correct number of teeth on the ring-gear, could have the right bolt patterns and be the right size, but could still have the wrong imbalance factor for a later 5.0 engine.
It's probably good, since it came with a 435 tranny, but you'd be better off now by verifying it, than later finding out that the PO of the stuff didn't know what he was into and sold you the wrong stuff he was just unloading.
Even if it was an honest mistake on his part, it'd suck if you had to pull it all out again due to a severe engine vibration. Knowhatimean?

Paul

 

[addicted]

Yea I totally agree. I want to make sure its all right before it goes in. Mostly I just wanted the NP435 and AA adapter. The rest was kind of a bonus. I was already planning on getting a non Chinese flywheel so I'll make sure the new one has the proper balance. I cant find any numbers on the clutch that match up on the web site so I might just get a new clutch too. My only other dilema is the bell housing. I definitly want to run the bigger clutch so I just need to decide if Im going to stick with the aluminum housing and go with a hydraulic clutch set up or find an iron bell that will accept an 11 inch clutch and use linkage.

 

[tasker]

what about an original and get it cut?

 

[addicted]

What do you mean Tasker?

 

[tasker]

original 351 flywheel and have it machined/resurfaced

 

[addicted]

original 351 flywheel and have it machined/resurfaced

Oh. Gotcha. I guess I could look for one on ebay or something. I think trying to get one from Pull a Part would be a pain in the butt.

 

[tasker]

let me look, might have one.....

 

[addicted]

Right on. Thanks.