New Kennedy Pressure Plate - cracked

[Allan Kelsey]

I Rebuilt my 3.2 engine and 915 transmission and have put approx 15 000 miles on it. The engine & tranny were professionally assembled and installed.
One of the replacements I chose was to upgrade the clutch and pressure plate to a Kennedy Engineered Products - Stage 1 PP & clutch package.
My 3.2 has some mild modification and increased compression to 11.2:1 resulting in about 255hp.

A week ago I was decelerating on an offramp and engaged the clutch and the pedal failed half way to the floor and I lost the drive.
After pulling over and getting the car towed to the best air-cooled Porsche shop in the DFW area. Later I got this picture of the pressure plate through the bell housing inspection window.



It appears as though the pressure plate is cracked and thus the motor must come out



Once the motor and transmission were removed and the trans separated from the motor, it was confirmed that the relatively new Kennedy Pressure plate was cracked in 2 places. You can see it better in the picture below at the 12pm and 3pm locations.



I sent the P-Plate and the excessively worn clutch (due to failed pp) to KEP, hoping they would replace their failed products and offer me some cost consideration toward the expense of removing and reinstalling the motor and trans.

All they would do is REFURBISH the failed product and send it back to me.
Here's a pic of the KEP Stage 1 PP next to a factory PP. Note the 18 fingers against the factory 24 finger count.



Im writing to share my experience with the community in hopes that more can learn from my experience and to make an appeal to any service providers or resellers on the Forum. KEP had a clear opportunity to get a raving fan in me by being a little more understanding and resolving their ownership of the whole problem.
They acknowledged their product failure, which also causes me the extra expense of motor & trans removal and reinstallation, which is not trivial. However, in response all they did is refurbish (not replace) the failed product, with no help on the clutch disc that is also damaged because of the failed pp and no help with the cost of removal and reinstallation - which is essentially the fault of their failed product. They could very easily have opted for a more involved solution and would have helped create a very different story here.
Sorry KEP, this is a product AND customer service fail in my opinion.

[jjeffries]

Alan, I think you've stated your situation and concerns with restraint and civility. Sorry you're in this predicament; this appears to be "penny-wise and pound-foolish" on KEP's part, no pun intended. John in CT.

[Tippy]

Man, sad to hear. I’ve used their stage II on a G50 for about a decade. Used 2 different ones thinking I needed to replace the original when it got milled down by the aggressive 6 puck disc. Later learned it just needed a new clutch face. Never had an issue other than the stiff pedal.

[BURN-BROS]

Stated Warranty from Kennedy's site.

Kennedy Engineered Products warrants all products to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for normal use and service for a period of one (1) year from purchase. Written notice must be immediately given to Kennedy Engineered Products within the warranty period. We require a copy of the purchase invoice showing the unit was purchased from us or an authorized dealer to verify the product is under warranty. Products purchased used do not carry a warranty. This warranty is to the original purchaser and is non-transferable.

Kennedy Engineered Products reserves the right to examine any part returned for warranty claim to determine, to KEP’s satisfaction, whether the material or workmanship of the part does not conform to this limited warranty. Kennedy Engineered Product’s obligation under this warranty shall be limited to repairing or replacing at its option, any part which is deemed covered by KEP. No labor, towing, lift or storage charges will be reimbursed for any reason. Damage to Kennedy Engineered Product’s parts resulting from misuse, improper use, or abuse shall void this limited warranty. Failure to follow KEP’s installation instructions and the vehicle manufacturer’s installation procedures and specifications shall void this limited warranty.

Kennedy Engineered Products undertakes no responsibility for the quality of the goods except as otherwise provided in this contract. Kennedy Engineered Products assumes no responsibility that the goods will be fit for any particular purpose for which you may be buying these goods. Kennedy Engineered Products shall not be liable for any damage or injury to persons or property resulting from improper installation or misuse of any part subject to this warranty.

It seems that Kennedy honored their warranty as stated above.

[pkabush]

Many years ago I bought a short block from U.S. engines. The #1 crank bearing failed after 8000
miles. When they tore it down all the machinests stood around in disbelief, claiming they’ve never seen such a catastrophic bearing failure with such low miles. Clearly a warranty issue.
It cost me over a week in lost wages to pull out the motor, tear it down, reassemble it and reinstall it. Although I would have liked it, it’s not really reasonable to expect them to cover my time and or lost wages. Nor is it reasonable for KEP to pay for labor. I agree with the above post. KEP made good on the warranty.

[Uwon]

Happened to me as well.
Post 236 and 242
Evolution of a Carrera RST
As you can see, I got a pretty satisfactory response.
Cheers,
Johan

[hcoles]

I believe those holes (1/3"? dia.) are there partly to reduce stress concentration. Apparently they are not big enough or something else happened. This assumes the crack started at the hole. I wonder if the deflection was more than it was designed for - e.g. the diaphragm was moved much more than needed to deactivate the clutch.

[hcoles]

Now that I look/read again....
The 24 finger count for the factory piece puts the stresses in different places and different amounts compared to the 18 finger model. Could it be that the maximum stresses are lower (lower but not a lot of head room) compared to the 24 finger version. I wonder if the 18 finger part is used somewhere else on a stock factory clutch or did Kennedy specify the design.

[Quicksilver]

As to the "why did it happen" I think it almost certainly has nothing to do with 18 vs 24 fingers. It is almost certainly an issue with the choice of material and how it is treated.

Clutches were figured out a long time ago so hopefully they started with an appropriate material. The finishing, hardening, and heat treatment probably has an issue. I would assume they keep track of the lots so they can see if there was a supplier issue or if they need to respecify how the belleville spring is made.

Also...
Cracking in any rotating part in the clutch and flywheel system is insanely dangerous because it is going to "want out". (explode)
At least the clutch isn't inline with your feet which has caused so many injuries in front engine cars.

[jjeffries]

I get the stated warranty and I also understand that the vendor wouldn't have deep enough pockets to "goodwill" a reimbursement of labor charges. But often an effective and amicable solution can often be attained at a surprisingly low cost, just by the vendor showing some empathy and acknowledgment of the customer's situation and concerns. Lemons to lemonade for both parties, turn customers into evangelists. John

[rdimarco]

I have a Kennedy PP that had many years of hard use on it that developed a similar crack. Kennedy did a no charge refurb on it even though it was probably 7+ years out of warranty. Their refurbish job is as good as a new PP. So far, the refurbished PP is holding up well after 2 years of track use. Yes, the labor was on me, but I was very happy with their service.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

I over stressed the pressure plate with improper clutch adjustment on a Sachs performance clutch.
A couple of the fingers let go going into 4th gear on the track.
Earlier, clutch was acting funny on shifting, tightened clutch cable a couple of turns more (more is better, right) and BING.
Solution; new GEMO clutch cable, ANOTHER clutch and proper adjustment, OUCH

[Allan Kelsey]

Originally Posted by jjeffries

I get the stated warranty and I also understand that the vendor wouldn't have deep enough pockets to "goodwill" a reimbursement of labor charges. But often an effective and amicable solution can often be attained at a surprisingly low cost, just by the vendor showing some empathy and acknowledgment of the customer's situation and concerns. Lemons to lemonade for both parties, turn customers into evangelists. John

Thank you John, I think this is all I am looking for.

[manbridge 74]

Certainly not a bad idea to make sure your clutch is not over traveling which I imagine could over stress the plate. Measure full travel at arm under trans while someone presses the clutch after you get it back in.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Allan Kelsey

I Rebuilt my 3.2 engine and 915 transmission and have put approx 15 000 miles on it. The engine & tranny were professionally assembled and installed.
One of the replacements I chose was to upgrade the clutch and pressure plate to a Kennedy Engineered Products - Stage 1 PP & clutch package.
My 3.2 has some mild modification and increased compression to 11.2:1 resulting in about 255hp.

Have a link to that part you ordered ? I was wondering what the specs are on it in terms of load limits.

Sorry about the situation but I don't know of any parts business who would cover any costs beyond the item. If I'm mistaken, please let me know who they are !

[mepstein]

Pretty standard for a warranty to cover the part and just the part. It’s not a guarantee.
I’d be pissed but at the same time not really expect anything other than what they did. They did meet the (reasonabl) terms of their warranty.

[Allan Kelsey]

Originally Posted by pmax

Have a link to that part you ordered ? I was wondering what the specs are on it in terms of load limits.

Sorry about the situation but I don't know of any parts business who would cover any costs beyond the item. If I'm mistaken, please let me know who they are !

I believe Kennedy only sells their products by direct interaction through the phone or their website.