My car has gone through clutches like crazy recently. My second Sachs clutch pressure plate failed after only a couple hundred miles. Before installing my third Sachs clutch pressure plate, I followed some online advice and put shims in between the pressure plate and the flywheel to get the top of release plate to sit in the right position.

When I installed my clutch without any shims, the release plate face was basically flush with the top of the pressure plate. Apparently the release plate face needs to be 0.125" to 0.140" out from or above the rest of the pressure plate. I tried installing a single washer on each bolt between the flywheel and pressure plate but this put the release plate way too far out.

So I needed a shim that was extremely thin. I ended up using some HVAC ducting sheet metal. That put me in the right range. I did NOT install spacers under the clutch pressure plate springs as described in that article. I figured, worst case the clutch will slip a little but it should still be drivable. Turns out I was right. Upon reassembly I can feel that the clutch engages further out on the pedal travel, but it still works. I haven't noticed any slipping yet. So for my dimensions, I was able to get away without spacers under the clutch springs, at least initially.

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Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg shims ready for installation between the pressure plate and flywheel
Smll Med Lrg Blurry picture but with the shims, the release plate is about 3 mm out	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg Receipt for the file work I had a shop perform on this 3rd pressure plate. It engages smoother now	Smll Med Lrg sachs release bearing, new-ish but clearly the Timken is superior
Smll Med Lrg Last time I got a Sachs bearing in a Timken box. What a rip-off. This time I got an actual Timken	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg Timken on the right is far sturdier than the Sachs one.
Smll Med Lrg I thought release arm bearing cuts might have been worn out but the Timken fits snug, which is good	Smll Med Lrg Somehow I lost a locating dowel, positioning spacer, whatever you call it	Smll Med Lrg I measured the one I did have	Smll Med Lrg I couldn't find anything locally that fit perfectly so I got a 5/8" nylon one and cut it
Smll Med Lrg Nylon spacer installed. I will try to avoid putting weight on it, but it will still locate the parts	Smll Med Lrg	Smll Med Lrg ready for reinstallation	Smll Med Lrg Cleaned up and greased the axle needle bearings. I had to pull one needle out of my spares cache