New Concept Modular Manual Transmission Clutch and Flywheel Assembly

Most United States vehicle assembly plants produce significantly more automatic transmission equipped vehicles than manual transmission vehicles. Assembling these two vehicles on a common production line can create complexity problems. This paper describes the design and development of a pre-assembled manual transmission clutch and flywheel modular assembly which reduces most of these problems. This assembly is used on the 1993 model year mini-van with a 2.5L four cylinder engine.

This modular clutch system utilizes the same starter ring gear carrier (driveplate) used on automatic transmission equipped vehicles. It pilots into the crankshaft similar to the automatic transmission torque converter. It is balanced as an assembly which results in a lower system imbalance. A significant system piece cost saving, in comparison with today's competitive market, was achieved. The production vehicle assembly technique is common between the automatic transmission torque converter and the manual transmission modular clutch. This assembly also eliminates three parts from the assembly plant and uses the same attaching bolts as the automatic transmission torque converter.