More photos...

Here are some close up's of the old and new flywheels.

 

With that setup the engine should rev smartly and the lighter disc will do wonders for your synchros.

 

Thanks. I need all the help I can get. I have all the smog devices known to Alfa, and the single butterfly SPICA system. I figured this should pep it up a bit. Thanks for the confirmation of my thought process. My minds not always what it should be!

 

But, wont these neat alum flywheels be a problem if say, the engine burps, and without the inertia of steel, the engine can stall? Is it really worth it to mess around with non stock parts?

 

If I had a more powerful engine I would agree with you. In fact, I would love to keep everything stock on this machine.

But, this motor is gutless and it needs something to help with off the line pickup that will not alter the smog equipment. I'm thinking of other things I can do as well to the internals of the motor.

A California smog inspector is, generally, a tough cookie. I'll put up with the occasional stall, if needs be, to gain some spirit. The only thing I worry about is losing the fabulous 'engine braking' the car had while going down a mountain.

 

Some will agree with this tip, others will not. I used it, and it worked great for me. Nothing was overstressed and I felt in control of the process all the way through.

I used a screwdriver instead of those plates to keep the motor from turning while removing the flywheel bolts. There are holes in the flywheel that a mid size screwdriver can fit through and then the handle blocks movement because it is caught between the rods from the block.

It's all nice and clean, ready to accept the new flywheel (after replacing the bushing).

 

Faster Acceleration Baby!!!................that is what a aluminum flywheel will give you. It takes a little time to get use to starting off but not bad.

 

just a question.. alocal shop here, when i asked them about useing a alum. flywheel, pulled out an alum. flywheel, and told/showed me why i should not buy one.. these alum/ flywheel had elongated holes where it was bolted to the crank..any worries here..or was this just a bad instale?

 

just a question.. alocal shop here, when i asked them about useing a alum. flywheel, pulled out an alum. flywheel, and told/showed me why i sould not buy one.. thise alum/ flywheel hade elongated holes where it was bolted to the crank..any worries here..or was this just a bad instale?

Good point. Steel/iron & aluminum expand at different rates. Because of that fact I can see that the flywheel would eventually come loose. Those of you who have worked on engines that have an aluminum head on an iron block, & vise versa, know what I mean.

 

I doubt that changing the flywheel interfere with your down hill breaking. A lighter flywheel will enhance acceleration & deacceleration when the engine is within it's happy spot in the power band and you are in a gear that will allow the engine to accelerate. I doubt that there will be any difference that is noticable when the engine is in a steady state. As fas as starting out from a stop you will need to rev the engine more to prevent stalling because you have now lost the energy that was stored in the mass of the flywheel. Expect a shorter life from the clutch as a result.

As an example; In my '82 and on level ground I can let out the clutch without touching the throttle since the stored energy in the heavy flywheel will be assisting the engine at idle. If I had an 8.5lb flywheel I doubt that I would be able to let out the clutch without giving a little gas. Now once the clutch is engauged is when the fun begins. That's when you will feel the benefit of the lightened flywheel since you won't have to accelerate an additional 14lbs of mass.

The car manufacturers have to live with a compromise since their customers range from the totally inept to highly skilled. An inept driver in a car with a ultra light flywheel will be a disaster in customer dissatisfaction and warranty claims. Thus we all get a heavy flywheel.

 

One unexpected plus with this setup is cleanliness.

The old steel flywheel captures clutch dust and seems to keep it trapped tight within the unit. When I pulled the pressure plate and clutch plate out a TON of caked dust fell out!

With the new aluminum unit, there are big holes for the dust to escape. It might also help cool the system?

I wonder if this clutch dust could be causing odd problems in other Alfa's?
Any anecdotal stories relating to this?

Coat Hangers are strong!!!! (in tension)
Notice the improvised flywheel holding unit made from coat hanger wire. The new flywheel does not have holes for the screwdriver, so, good old home spun solution provided. Notice the way it is wound. I tried to keep all of the strain inboard and directly in line with the tension direction. It worked for me!

 

Thanks everyone for your helpful input.

I learn new things everyday on this bb! The real world experience stuff is of great help to me, and I am sure to other Alfisti reading.

Thanks again!

 

Some history and experiences

A little history for anyone interested. I have been using aluminum flywheels in Alfas since the mid 60's. Early on, Alfa flywheels were grey cast iron (750 and 1300 101). About Duetto time, earlier for Autodelta, they went to nodular cast iron, referred to by some as the "steel" flywheels. In racing, the most brittle were the grey cast iron. Attempts to lighten them from the about 22 lbs. could cause disaster, with breakage either at the hub or the "posts" that were used to support the pressure plate. I have an AUSCA grey iron unit lightened to 10 lbs with ring gear, that survived a 65 GTA. Though better, the nodular iron or "steel" flywheels still lack flexibility to be really light without some risk. Two years ago I weighed the remains of one that broke at the hub, behind a 1600 single plug. It had been shaved to 8.5 pounds. This brings me to my preference for aluminum flywheels. Early Autodelta units looked a lot like the old Tilton aluminum flywheels, but the facing was plasma-sprayed and did not last long. These could be lightened further with radius posts to support the pressure plate, or often just holes swiss cheesed through the walls. Some material could be removed from the backside, away from the hub, to lighten them more. When they came apart, they bent and contained much of the spinning debris. Sometimes this saved the bell housing. When the facing burnt through, we faced them with thin steel, like current aluminum flywheels, but this did not work well, as the thin steel plate warped with heat and would pack things up, sometimes pretty good. Enter Tilton that used an iron plate and removed material from the back of the aluminum flywheel and thinned the outer walls, with areas completely removed. These weighed 9 lbs or so and were difficult to blow up. We found more material could be cut, like balancing holes from the plate surface down toward the ring gear, cutting weight to 8 lbs, with the iron facing and a thinned ring gear. They did not come apart. I checked with a friend, Richard Jemison, yesterday, and both of us believe Tilton no longer makes these other than special order. However Peter at >ptomashevski@aol.com< makes aluminum flywheels in either size, with any bolt pattern and new ring gears for $500. These are of a forged hunk of aluminum, and can be about any weight you wish. He made me a GTA unit @ 7.5 lbs. A very nice piece of work. He is honest, and makes these up to order, very quickly. Use my name as a contact should you inquire. Peters flywheels are not generic, but made to your wishes. Be sure you order correctly! All of these wheels will not loosen if properly torqued, with correct sheet metal locking tabs under the bolt heads and the use of Loctite blue on the threads. No oval holes. Here are some pictures. I hope this helps. The first is an allembled Tilton 9 lb flywheel set up for a GTA. THe second and third are Peter's 7.5 puund unit.

 

The transmission is ready to install. The Redline trans fluid is topped off and I've located and cleaned all the bolts, nuts and painted the brackets.

As you can see, I've got a new rubber transmission mount. I'm also adding the synthetic Transmission Mount Reinforcement (yellow items).

Yes! If you tip the transmission back far enough, the fluid pours out the shifter area. Some would say, "Don't be so lazy. Put the fluid in last!". Ha! Those people do not know how lazy I really am!
It's only taken 5 months to get this far! I'm blazin' along (for me).

 

The muffler bracket snubbers, or whatever they're called, need to be pressed out and the new ones pressed in. Following the lazy theme, I think I will cut the old ones into 2 parts and remove them that way. Then, using a block of wood and a hammer, smack the new ones in.

Will this be bad? Or is there another DIY lazy way to do this?

Also, what way are the rubber parts oriented? That might be good info to know.

 

Here's a crummy picture to study. After a while you will figure out which way it goes together. I made a pusher (or puller) out of a piece of pipe with a hole drilled through a pipe cap on one side, and the other pipe cap (on the pipe) tapped for the BIG bolt. Pulled the sleeve of the silent block right out!

 

Be absolutely sure you want those tranny mount reinforcements in there before you install everything. Everyone I seem to recall who's tried them on the BB has hated them because of the resulting NVH. This seems to be one location where rubber is definitely best.

I would do a search and then make the call.

 

I just glued some "push on" hydraulic hose in the opening. The hose stiffened up the mount, reduced the sag, and still remained flexable.

 

This may be a torque related question, Tom, I'm not sure. Tried them behind my 1600 GTA engine and went back to rubber. They must work in some applications though or they wouldn't be out there.

 

Thanks all. I'll leave the yellow parts on for now and see how it works out. It's an easy fix later if I don't like them.

The transmission is now installed. No trouble putting it in filled with fluid first. I did have a problem with the new engine mounts. They are so stiff that when I first tried to put the trans on, things did not line up. I eventually figured out a solution. I remembered others on this board talking about loosening the motor mounts.

I got the correct angle for installing the trans by loosening the bottom bolts and nut on the studs, for both engine mounts. With the floor jack and a block of wood (to spread out the pressure on the oil pan), I lifted the front of the engine up, tipping it back so the top of the engine was nearly to the firewall.

The transmission slid on like a factory install! NICE!

It had been so long since I removed all the bolts, I needed to study the situation a bit. I drew on this photo to help. (NOTE: photo has been repaired. Shoulder bolt is now depicted properly. Thanks Joe! (jetta06hbg))
For strengthening the trans up during the first part of the install the most important structural attachment points for the transmission to the block are the 6 in the photo with the red dot and yellow center.

So much for now...

 

Thanks all. I'll leave the yellow parts on for now and see how it works out. It's an easy fix later if I don't like them.

The transmission is now installed. No trouble putting it in filled with fluid first. I did have a problem with the new engine mounts. They are so stiff that when I first tried to put the trans on, things did not line up. I eventually figured out a solution. I remembered others on this board talking about loosening the motor mounts.

I got the correct angle for installing the trans by loosening the bottom bolts and nut on the studs, for both engine mounts. With the floor jack and a block of wood (to spread out the pressure on the oil pan), I lifted the front of the engine up, tipping it back so the top of the engine was nearly to the firewall.

The transmission slid on like a factory install! NICE!

It had been so long since I removed all the bolts, I needed to study the situation a bit. I drew on this photo to help.

For strengthening the trans up during the first part of the install the most important structural attachment points for the transmission to the block are the 6 in the photo with the red dot and yellow center.

So much for now...

Wow... it is shaping up!

I have an edit for the parts labelling picture. The starter shoulder bolt is the one in the middle of the three starter bolts, not the bottom one as depicted. That picture is a great help for anyone undertaking a DIY transmission related repair.

Joe

 

Here are some photos of the driveline installed.

Blue Polyurethane bushings and new trailing arms with new heavy duty springs and Koni Yellow shocks should help get around corners well.

Almost ready for a test drive!

 

The exhaust is half way installed. The exhaust manifold is bolted and torqued up.

As you can see I have all kinds of exhaust gas recirculation pipe action. The down pipe bracket is now complete with rubber donuts. I'll paint it and install it tomorrow night.

I also replaced the brake booster, clutch slave cylinder and added the hefty new clutch shaft/arm. THAT was a job!


Just to keep me honest, the wire for the car horn ripped out and fell out of the steering box. Oh joy! Anyone have and ideas on this one? I did not need this fun excersize added to all the rest.

Gotta get to bed and rest my aching muscles. See y'all later.

 

Let me know how all your quests for more power go because I also live under the "lovely" californian smog laws. I have one question and I'm not sure if youve run into this yet but when I installed the yellow transmission bushings and now I cant make my console fit back together properly because the shifter seems to be sitting higher. If you run into the same problem I'd love to see your solution because the car is looking brilliant.

 

Yup, it does sit higher. The OEM rubber one sags about the same as the rubber engine mounts. With older engine mounts, other BB'ers have discussed the same problem. While new engine mounts will help, the stiffer transmission mount is more a competition item. With cars set up for the track, interior consoles are absent. You can install very stiff competition engine mounts, and everything evens out some, but for a street driver, the engine, drive-train vibration is pretty annoying. If you will look up some of the older posts on this type rear transmission mount, you will find you are not alone with this situation.
Though I have never tried it, the solution in post 22 by geezer sounds pretty darn good.
Just my opinion.

 

I'll let you know.

I have to go several steps backwards to go forward. I have found that the clutch fork is cracked badly on the outside tip and I installed the fork spring wrong.

I'll keep the yellow poly parts though. I need to see what all the hub-bub is all about. I'll check the console fit and report. The way it looks, it will be another 6 months before I can get back to it. I am REALLY slow.

Before I tear it all down again, here are the latest photos. Lots of smog pipes! Notice the ginormous 30mm wrench on the smog valve. I need an even larger 32mm (I think) to remove and reinstall the intake plenum nut!

New drilled and slotted brake rotors, carbon metalic pads, steel braided brake lines, refurbed trailing arms, blue poly bushings, yellow koni shocks, and new limit straps. At least all of this was right. No need to re-do.

Let this be a lesson: Never let me touch your cars!

 

But.... LOOK how nice it looks! Stuff I do for others is done ASAP. An engine I'm building for myself it moving into the third year.

 

Thanks. I was hoping to drive it to the Italian and French car show in LA, but it looks like I won't make it. Darn!

If I hustle, I might make it, but I'm not wired that way. I'll try and overcome my natural slothfullness.