I bought a Center Force dual friction clutch, and there is nothing in the paper work on what the clearance between the fingers, and the throwout bearing should be. Any of you guys that use one of these know what it should be?

Slide the disc against the flywheel. Get a .060" feeler gauge between the disc and pressure plate.
Doug

Per the FSM ... about 1/8" free play between the fork and the rod.

Are you sure? The service manual is talking about a Bourg, and Beck with an over center spring, this is a diaphragm without a over center spring. I know Mcleod says 1/8 to 1/4 between the fingers, and the throwout bearing. But Centerforce doesn't say anything, and when I call they just said follow the service manual, but that was for a Chevy.

.060" is the standard, but with my experience, as long as the throwout bearing is NOT riding on the pressure plate and when you push the clutch pedal in, you can shift gears easily, you are good to go. Usually you will have about 1/4" free play at the clutch fork and about 1 1/2" of pedal travel up top. My 2 cents. Good luck.

Borg & Beck or diaphram ... why should it matter ?!?!?!

1/4 at the fork and 1-1/2 at the pedal is excessive (in my opinion). Too much play can result in inadequate clutch release which equates to wear. As previously stated, I shoot for 1/8 at the fork and that gives about 1" at the pedal.

Centerforce IS a Chivvy clutch, give me Borg & Beck or give me death!

I use to shoot for .030 on the feeler gauge bewteen the clutch disc and pressure plate or flywheel on RACE DISCs, Most Mopars wth B&B clutches will work well with .060 to .125 between the throw out bearing and prsesure plate fingers. I put a new Center Force clutch set in my 1969 Dart GTS last year, I need to remove the over center spring now to get the clucth pedal to not stick 7/8 the way up from releasing.

If you havent run one dont knock them.They are a great clutch I never measure.Just adjust till I can shift into Reverse easy as soon as it does its set.Clutches last a long time doing that.The CF I have now is about 15 years old and still flawless.rocky

Most of the experienced posters are right, IMHO. As long as the throwout bearing is not riding on the clutch fingers, whatever style, it has enough clearance. I don't measure, just set it up to touch and then back off a little.

As far as clutch design goes, I associate Long style pressure plates with Ford. But Chrysler and GM have both been using Borg&Beck and diaphragm clutches for years and years. Neat thing about them is the bolt pattern is the same so they can interchange.
Another neat thing (mainly for trucks) is with an 11" clutch you can upgrade to a 12" disk just by buying the 12" clutch set, it's a bolt-on. This is for the 143 and more tooth flywheel.
The 12" Borg&Beck in my '64Dog is a McLeod, but there was also a rebuilt 12" B&B from an early '60s chevy truck that I was watching on ebay. Turns out the McLeod was just a few dollars more, so my pressure plate is now red rather than blue.

R.

Exactly what I was trying to say. Don't get too caught up on measurements. This isn't rocket science.......

The reason I'm asking is cause Centerforce won't give any specks. Now here is what Mcleod told me on the phone about their diaphragm clutch. If the throwout bearing is to close to the fingers, they will start going over center, and re in-gauging the disc which is not good.

Oh I have tried the weak-feeling clutches a couple of times, hated them. Maybe when my knees finally go I will have to use one, but I still like the feeling of a clutch that matches the rest of the drivetrain...

The main bad thing about diaghram type clutches is when racing and speed shifting them is if they go over center the clutch pedal sticks to the floor with the clutch disengaged, NOT GOOD AT ALL. Been there, done that, more than once when driving(street racing) someone elses Chevy car back in the day, never ever had that happen with BB or Long style clutch.

I've been wailing on my Center-Force for over 10 years. 7000 rpm shifts. Never sticks, best shifting A-833 I've ever had.
Doug

The last Centerforce clutch I bought lasted <30 days, a big POS...
It went into the dumpster..
Now all we run are McCleod Borg & Beck, a little old school and takes more pedal pressure to disengage but they work well..

Just my $0.02...

dvw I do the same with mine I usually shift at 6800 to 7200.Never had a problem.I had a 3400 pound McCleod in it before.The CF bites better and is light to hold.30 days you should have sent it back.Rocky

After blowing up a couple of B & B clutches in my Road Runner, I removed the over-center spring and put a Centerforce in. I was very happy with Centerforce. Light pedal pressure, bites hard, shifts were improved. I'm a believer.

As for the spacing on the TO bearing, I just make sure it is not riding the forks all the time and adjust for pedal free play.

It lasted only 30 days? What happened to it? Mine has at least 100 passes with slicks. No rocket but a nice street car runs 12.50@110. I've beat this clutch as hard as any I've ever owned. I never had a clutch go more than a year or so until this one.
Doug

Just how far does the throwout bearing have too go once it makes contact with the diaphragm to disengage the clutch? There must be a measurement but I haven't found one. You can't go over center with a Center Force because the weights on the fingers will contact the clutch disk first. That is from the Center Force diagnostics guide. I run a centerforce in my cuda and one in my SRT-10. Love the 'Cuda clutch hate the SRT-10. Difference? The 'Cuda is all manual linkage the SRT-10 is hydraulic.

That is why I said to measure .060" a the disc. .060" departure of the pressure plate puts the fingers at the proper height. If you don't like the engagement point with the .060" setting put a travel stop on the pedal so it doesn't go as far to the floor and readjust for the proper setting. I did this when I was bracket racing mine. I was able to get the .060" setting with way less pedal travel. This helped reaction times for me by a bunch.
Doug

Do you mean .060 between the disc, and the pressure plate when the pedal is push in?

No. How far does the throwout bearing need to go to fully disengage the clutch after contacting the clutch fingers.

I would never buy a centerforce clutch again. Had one fail on my GTX and the one on my challenger has a sticking pedal. The one on my GTX was out of balance and had to be balanced again.

I talked to some of the centerforce folks at a drag racing show in Chicago, and they said both clutches must have been installed wrong, and the mopar guys that did them are virtually idiots. They actually made that point clear, and at my expense, got some other folks standing by, to chuckle at my mishaps.

Now one guy that helped me has 2 original A990 hemi cars and max wedge cars he raced for years, and has some mopar racing titles, and never had issues with clutches, the other guy that helped me has a hemi cuda he never had issues with (other brands). If either of these guys were with me when Centerforce made their comments, I am sure he would have set them straight some.

Maybe they are a great clutch, I have only had bad luck though with them. Customer response was about as rude as it gets (atleast their rep in Chicago).

The 2 things you need to look for in setting up a Mopar clutch.

1. Clearance from the throwout bearing to the fingers. 1" of freeplay, 1/2" of freeplay or 1/4 inch at the finger. The factory spec asks for this HUGE clearance to account for disc wear. The fact is you need some clearance and the less clearance, the better. I've even chased this as close as looking at the throwout bearing with the engine running. Adjust until it spins and back off like 1/2 a turn. This will ensure clutch release earlier and less wasted pedal stroke to shift gears. I mean, unless you like the 1st inch of travel to do nothing and have to go to the carpet to shift gears like an old lady.

2. This will be okay if all the clutch linkage geometry is good but it is good to check for flywheel to disc clearance. 60thou is decent. Engagement with the pedal down half way up or higher is better. If you need to push the pedal all the way down to shift, you will prematurely load the synchronizers and it will reduce your chances of throwing quick gear shifts.

Yes

I know you're trying to answer my question, thanx, but I'm running a tremec with a full bell housing and there's no way I can measure the distance between the disc and the pressure plate. So how far does the fingers on the clutch need to be depressed to fully disengage the clutch:?

Please re-read my posts. Your answer is there.

If you cant get a CF clutch to work and/or last, there is another issue.

With a full bellhousing, just set the bearing for clearance by feeling the linkage. Similar to setting up engine lifter clearance. Adjust for no play then add a bit.

Then when you drive it. If the pedal starts to engage the clutch about half way up or higher, you're good.

I'm surprised it's not been mentioned yet but a small return spring pulling the clutch fork forward will help keep the linkage from preloading the bearing.