Stock LS1 clutch parts on the cheap

Thought I would throw this out there for anyone looking for a cheaper flywheel/pressure plate option. I just got my new Luk 04-173 clutch kit in from partsgeek, price was $217 with free shipping for a new FW+PP+clutch. The new parts are identical to what I pulled off the GTO motor but the "GM" casting has been ground off, part numbers are the same.

Just be careful with the LUK product. I'm not sure if it the same kit I bought back in '07, but when it was all put together the fasteners on the PP that protrude toward the rear of the car when the clutch pedal is pushed in (disengaging clutch) hit the bell housing and punched a hole in it. I replaced it with a Ram 11" PP and McLeod 11" disc, no problems since.

Hey Marc.. thanks for the heads up. Do you know what the part number was on your PP? Also were you using the 1pc or 2pc bell housing? I have the 2pc, and don't have my master cyl. set up yet so can't really test it with the clutch released. But the kit is advertised as "Corvette Camaro Trans Am Gto Stock Replacement Clutch Kit" so I would be surprised if it didn't work with the corvette bell housing. These are what they show for applications:

1998 - 2002 Chevrolet Camaro SS V8 5.7
1998 - 2002 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 V8 5.7
1997 - 2004 Chevrolet Corvette V8 5.7
2001 - 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 V8 5.7
1998 - 2002 Pontiac Firebird Formula V8 5.7
1998 - 2002 Pontiac Firebird Trans AM V8 5.7
2004 Pontiac GTO V8 5.7

I am sorry, but I do not have any information about the kit except it was larger than 11". I was and am using the 2 piece bell housing.

It really surprised me when it happened to say the least.

Hey marc.. do you remember where it hit the bell housing? Was it on the bottom section? I checked the top portion of the BH with the PP in there and it looked like there was plenty of room.

Either way, I will need to change something out anyway because I just realized that the conversion disc I have from Eric is 11" and the inner diameter is too small for this PP. I thought LS1's all came with the same size clutch and didn't read anything about them having a 12" version.. kind of frustrating.

Im using an LS7 clutch flywheel and pressure plate with an 11" disc. This was setup by my local clutch house.

supes6 wrote:the conversion disc I have from Eric is 11" and the inner diameter is too small for this PP.

I don't think it matters very much...100% of the conversion disk surface facing the flywheel will make complete contact and if a small amount of the PP surface side (especially the part closest to the inside, which is a lot less surface area than the part closest to the outside) doesn't make complete contact, it shouldn't be a concern.

supes6 wrote:Hey marc.. do you remember where it hit the bell housing? Was it on the bottom section? I checked the top portion of the BH with the PP in there and it looked like there was plenty of room.

Either way, I will need to change something out anyway because I just realized that the conversion disc I have from Eric is 11" and the inner diameter is too small for this PP. I thought LS1's all came with the same size clutch and didn't read anything about them having a 12" version.. kind of frustrating.

Looking from the rear of the car forward the hole was between 2:00 and 3:00 o'clock and above the seam of the bottom piece of the bell housing.

Thanks for that Marc.. I will take another look at that area.

944convert wrote:
I don't think it matters very much...100% of the conversion disk surface facing the flywheel will make complete contact and if a small amount of the PP surface side (especially the part closest to the inside, which is a lot less surface area than the part closest to the outside) doesn't make complete contact, it shouldn't be a concern.

Do you have any experience running a setup like that? From my measurements there would be an inner ring 9/16" wide on the clutch disc that would not contact the PP. It just seems like it would create a ledge on the clutch surface and cause problems.

944-LT1 wrote:Im using an LS7 clutch flywheel and pressure plate with an 11" disc. This was setup by my local clutch house.

Do you know what the dimensions are on your PP? My pressure plate surface is 11.5" OD and 7.625" ID. The conversion disc is 11" OD and 6.5" ID.

I believe, but am relying on memory, that the 11" Ram PP that I bought bolted right up to the LS Flywheel. BTW there are clutch kits for the LS that go from 10.5" to 12".

As I'm planning to use the OEM flywheel & pressure plate and also bought the Spec stage 1 conversion disk, I measured it with both the C5’s stock FW/PP and with the LS7 FW/PP...neither of which is a perfect match with OEM PP's inside rim to the Spec conversion disk. I spoke to Jeremy of Spec Clutch and he said the minor overlap will not affect any operation of the clutch (seating/bedding...feel, smoothness, life)...all will be normal.

update:

btw...I just measured the width of the Spec I clutch material (each side) that comes in contact with the '04 C5 Z06 GM OEM fw & pp and together they add up to 98mm total.

Did the same for the GM OEM clutch disk and together it also adds up to 98mm total.

And the LS 7 fw & pp is a better match (almost perfect) for the Spec I conversion disk.