Amer. Pwrtrain Hyd. Throwout Bearing

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CRUZE 418

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Question: Has anyone installed the American Powertrain #HMCH01101G Hyd throwout bearing kit? Specifically, do you have a Centerforce II diaphragm clutch? Was it straight forward in ease for installation? Accurate installation instructions?
Did the mstr cyl fit or did you have to alter the inner fender well?
Is there a mstr cyl brace?
Does it work as advertised?
Easy to push pedal down?

I am put off by the price, I could probably piece something together for less money, but would bite the bullet if this kit will do the job. I have an issue with my left leg from two hernia surgerys, I need an easier way to push the clutch in. The diaphragm clutches benefits are cancelled out when the overcenter spring is removed, and I am tired of fighting the linkage fix bandaids.
 
i put one in my car. the main thing i had a problem with is getting the space between the TO bearing and the clutch fingers correct. what they send in the kit will not work and they tried to up sale me the correct piece after the sale. if you know this you could get the piece upfront. i wound up just modifying the "anodized blue keep the TOB from spinning thing" to the dimensions of the one they were trying to up sale me to. i believe i had to take either.125 or .175 off per side to match the dimensions they told me over the phone. i don't have a mill so i used a belt sander and was able to get the piece parallel within .001 luckily. and no shims were used.

i had to mount the reservoir where the normal clutch push rod comes out of the firewall as there was no other space to mount it. mounting in that location put the reservoir at an angle but it turned out OK. also i did have to put a ding in the inner fender to clear the 90 degree fitting on the end of the slave cylinder.

after i worked out the bugs i can say i am pretty happy with it. but i have only put about 30 miles on it so far. i think it feels better than a stock setup. i used to have never ending problems with the stock set up back in the day. yes it is pricey. i hope it lasts.

its about twice as much pressure depressing the clutch pedal as a 4 banger honda if that gives you a reference.

i used a McLeod clutch and pressure plate
 
Question: Has anyone installed the American Powertrain #HMCH01101G Hyd throwout bearing kit? Specifically, do you have a Centerforce II diaphragm clutch? Was it straight forward in ease for installation? Accurate installation instructions?
Did the mstr cyl fit or did you have to alter the inner fender well?
Is there a mstr cyl brace?
Does it work as advertised?
Easy to push pedal down?

I am put off by the price, I could probably piece something together for less money, but would bite the bullet if this kit will do the job. I have an issue with my left leg from two hernia surgerys, I need an easier way to push the clutch in. The diaphragm clutches benefits are cancelled out when the overcenter spring is removed, and I am tired of fighting the linkage fix bandaids.

I bought and installed one on my E-Body. I love it because it stabilized my clutch pedal feel during easy and hard use of the throttle.

I added a longer piece of hose that allowed me to move the reservoir farther away from the it's master cylinder, but only as a preference. I had to drill one hole in the firewall and mounted the master cylinder at the original clutch rod hole.

I did beef up the rod that attaches from the clutch pedal to the master cylinder using a 1" long nut and added more jam nuts to lengthen and strengthen the threaded rod. The additional nuts act like a pedal stop when the pedal is fully depressed. I drilled a hole in my clutch pedal arm to attach the bolt to get the proper travel to fully stroke the master cylinder. I had to use a spacer on that bolt to properly position the hiem joint end there. My clutch and power brake pedal are at the same height for the first time ever in my car.

I had no issues achieving the desired free play at the clutch fingers. I did verify the clearance once everything was back together using a screw driver to collapse the slave cylinder and a short piece of properly sized steel to check the remaining gap with.
I used a large C-clamp to keep the slave cylinder fully compressed (almost eliminates any room for air to collect in the slave cylinder)and an Earl's brake bleeder to stop any back flow of air into the system when power bleeding.

I love it and would not willingly go back to the stock linkage. I have always been hard on clutches due to feeding extra torque into them with sticky tires. I have finally found a worthy clutch in the McLeod Street Twin, which is actually no longer available. Best clutch I ever drove in 40+ years. It is a bit stiffer to push than a stock one, but not much.
 
I put one in my 47 desoto. I too had issues with the throw out bearing clearance. I believe I cut a piece of exhaust pipe to get the proper clearance. Also the stud that keeps the bearing from spinning was not long enough. I has to weld a bolt on it/ grind it down to make it longer. It’s been in the car for three years without any problems. It’s a 318/833od. I had to fabricate just about everything on the car and this was no different. It has pedals from a ram 50 with a reinforced firewall
 
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