My clutch went out at the 944Cup races at CMP this weekend. Here's a link to my CMP weekend. http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/599327-bad-day-at-black-rock-cmp.html#post8018721

I just found that apparently there is a different clutch for the 2.7L engine. Can anyone tell me if a 2.5L NA clutch will fit? I checked a couple of different sites and some list the same P/N for the 2.5 and 2.7, while others list different part numbers.

If I change the flywheel can I use the 240MM turbo clutch on the 2.7L NA?

I am about to pull the crossmember and was wondering if I should pull the engine instead of the transmission/torque tube to change the clutch.

I'll know a little more tonight when I get the old clutch out, but the problem was at first intermittent and now the clutch won't disengage at all. According to the collective wisdom at the track, its probably a spring that came adrift and is banging around in there.

The most common clutch failure where it will not disengage is a torn lining. The Sachs clutches will all do this eventually as the rivets that hold the linings on are too tight and fracture the material slightly. All it takes then is a poorly matched downshift and the lining fractures, tears and takes up the space that is needed to disengage.
I would suggest replacing the Sachs disc with a racing style clutch disk using the standard Sachs pressure plate or having the plate rebuilt to about 10% more holding power. We have replaced a lot of these clutches and have eliminated this type of failure with our pressure plate and disk. The 225mm clutch is lighter than the 240mm Turbo set up and it will easily hold the torque of a 2.7l. Greg F

Greg,

Thanks. Do you know who does pressure plate rebuilds? Also do you recommend a puck style disc or one similar to the stock disc?

I use a company called Clutch.net that will rebuild the stock pressure plate to a higher rating and furnish a new disk. If you use the 225mm set up I would reccomend a 6 or 8 puck spring center racing disk. This will completely eliminate the torn lining problem and give good life. The spring center just takes it a little easier on the ring and pinion and axles. ( shock loading)
If you opt for the 240mm size they also offer a Kevlar clutch that works pretty sweet. Very easy to drive, no shuddering like the puck style and seems to make good grip. Greg F

Greg, thanks for the information. What's your view on lightening the stock flywheel?

I have had cars in the past with lightened flywheels with nothing spectacular to report. All of our cars up here are ITS prepared, and they do not allow the flywheel to be lightened, only balanced. I remember some years back when light flywheels were a big bone of contention in SoCal. They made all of the competitors that admitted they had done this add 50lb to their base weight and as I recall it made no difference to the outcome of races. Now they only allow you to run the light flywheel 4 races or something like that on a waiver. Greg F