Bolt Kits & Hardware

South Bend Clutch bolt kits and hardware are the quiet foundation of every reliable clutch installation. The friction material you choose, the clamp curve we engineer into the pressure plate, and the surface we machine into the flywheel only perform as intended when the assembly is cinched together with the right fasteners—correct length, shoulder, thread pitch, tensile class, and flange geometry—installed in the right sequence and torque window. This collection brings together pressure plate bolts, flywheel bolts, dowel pins, ring-gear hardware, pilot and guide dowels, pivot hardware, clutch cover hardware, and select washers and locking solutions matched to the platforms we serve: diesel trucks (Cummins G56/NV4500, Power Stroke/ZF, Duramax manuals), LS/T56 and TR6060/Magnum, domestic passenger and American muscle, European performance (BMW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, VW), Jeep and off-road, and sport compact applications. If your goal is a clutch that holds torque, releases cleanly, and feels the same on day 500 as it did on day five, use SBC hardware that’s been spec’d for the stack height, materials, and clamp strategy of the clutch you’re installing.

Fasteners seem simple—until they aren’t. A flywheel bolt that’s 2 mm too long can bottom against the crank before clamping the flywheel; a pressure plate bolt with the wrong flange can dig into a cover, distort the pressure ring, and create hot spotting that customers describe as “chatter.” Mix a coarse-thread bolt into a fine-thread hole and you’ll invite a future service nightmare; reuse stretch-to-yield flywheel hardware and you may get a torque number on the wrench but no real clamp at the interface. South Bend Clutch hardware kits eliminate the guesswork. We package the correct fasteners for your platform and clutch family, chosen for material, hardness, and heat tolerance, with the engagement length and head style that interface cleanly with our flywheels and covers. Instead of improvising with bin bolts or hoping a universal kit fits, you install the parts we validated on the dyno and in real vehicles across heat cycles, load, and time.

Pressure plate bolts do more than keep the cover attached; they control how clamp force develops as the diaphragm is preloaded. We specify head styles (flange head, small-OD washered, or flat head plus washer) to match cover pad geometry and avoid point-loading the cover ears. We also spec thread length to give full engagement without bottoming in flywheel blind holes—a common source of false torque readings. On many applications we include a non-crush washer or hardened washer where the cover design benefits from a wider bearing surface. The payoff is simple: the cover seats flat, the ring stays parallel to the flywheel, and as temperatures rise under towing, track, or trail conditions, the working faces remain parallel, which preserves friction stability and reduces chatter.

Flywheel bolts are a different animal. They transmit crankshaft torque and resist pulsating loads from combustion and drivetrain shock. For diesel trucks, that means class 12.9 or equivalent tensile strength with thread engagement that meets OE or better, a head design that clears rear main seals and housings, and length that accounts for SBC flywheel thickness and any inserts. For LS/T56 and TR6060/Magnum platforms, we balance the desire for lightweight rotating assemblies against the need for robust clamping on aftermarket single-mass flywheels. On European platforms transitioning from dual-mass to single-mass, we include hardware that matches the new stack height so you don’t end up with bolts that strain threads or bottom out. In every case, our torque guidance reflects the hardware material, lubrication state, and thread preparation we call for—clean, dry threads where specified; oil or medium-strength threadlocker where specified. Following that guidance isn’t “nice to do,” it’s essential; torque numbers are only meaningful for the friction state assumed when the spec was developed.

Dowel pins and alignment hardware are unsung heroes. They don’t carry torque like a bolt, but they locate the flywheel and bellhousing with the precision that makes releases clean and shifts crisp. Missing or damaged dowels allow the bellhousing to sit slightly off-axis. The symptoms look like many other problems: pilot bearings wear early, input shafts complain, first and reverse become crunchy when hot, and the driver blames the clutch material. Replace suspect dowels during every clutch service and match the diameter and length to the block and bell. Our kits include dowels for common domestic and diesel applications, and for Euro platforms where a single-mass conversion changes stack relationships, our dowel and spacer guidance is included with the clutch and flywheel you selected. Put the concentricity back where it belongs, and the driveline settles down.

Locking strategies matter. Some fasteners are designed to be installed clean and dry; others call for medium-strength threadlocker; still others (flywheel on certain platforms) use angle torque after a snug-to-spec stage because the bolt is engineered as stretch-to-yield. We provide the instruction that matches the kit you purchased because one-size advice doesn’t fit. For example, slathering high-strength threadlocker on a bolt that’s designed to be installed oiled can reduce thread engagement and create unpredictable clamp. Reusing a torque-to-yield flywheel bolt because “it felt fine coming out” invites loosening under thermal cycling even if the wrench clicks at the number. South Bend kits define the lubrication, threadlocker, or dry state to use. Follow the sequence we specify: star pattern, increments to sneak up on final torque, and angle stages where listed. Doing so preserves the flatness of your new flywheel and the geometry of your pressure plate so the friction faces meet like two panes of glass—not like a warped record.

Diesel truck owners feel hardware choices at the pedal and on the grade. Cummins G56 and NV4500 applications see enormous low-RPM torsion and long periods of partial engagement while hitching or backing. A pressure plate held with the wrong hardware can shift on its pads as heat cycles accumulate, narrowing the engagement window and amplifying chatter. A flywheel held with reused stretch bolts can gradually lose clamp and develop micro-movement that shows up as hot spots and glazing. Our diesel hardware kits—flywheel bolts, pressure plate bolts, and dowels—are chosen for the combined mass of SBC steel flywheels and dual disc covers and are validated against the break-in and working temperatures of towing. We also include guidance for thread prep in oily environments common to trucks: clean threads, brake-clean flush, compressed air dry, then the threadlocker or light oil we specify. The result is a system that stays tight, flat, and predictable long after the hitch ball shines from use.

LS and American muscle platforms push hardware with high RPM, aggressive downshifts, and frequent clutch kicks in autocross or drift. Here, pressure plate bolts with the correct head profile keep the cover ears from brinelling; flywheel bolts with the right shank and underhead radius resist stress risers at 7,000 rpm; and washers that distribute load prevent local yielding that would tilt the cover and invite hot spots. If you’ve ever seen a clutch “go noisy” after a handful of track days, hardware often tells the tale: bolt witness marks off-center, cover pads scuffed from micro-walking, or flywheel bolts that were bottomed instead of clamping. SBC kits close these failure doors by eliminating dimensional ambiguity and by pairing hardware with the cover and flywheel designs we ship for LS, small-block and big-block Chevy, late Mustang, and Mopar manual platforms.

European platforms—BMW M, Audi S/RS, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, VW—arrive with tight packaging, dual-mass flywheels, and NVH expectations. When converting to an SBC single-mass flywheel and performance clutch, hardware takes on a new role: hushing micro-movement, preserving balance, and keeping release geometry stable as parts expand with heat. We provide hardware that matches the single-mass stack height, dowels that restore bellhousing alignment to blueprint, and bolts whose head design clears factory covers and housings. We also call out torque sequences and lubrication states that align with the case materials in these cars (aluminum bellhousings, steel blocks, or alloy blocks with steel inserts). The reward is a car that feels OE-refined and SBC-strong: smooth synchronized shifts, clean releases after hot laps, and a pedal that doesn’t wander during long autobahn runs.

Jeep and off-road hardware lives a hard life: heat cycling from slow climbs, contamination from dust and water crossings, and the stop-start nature of technical trails. Our hardware kits for Jeep emphasize coatings and materials that resist corrosion and seizing, washer choices that keep covers flat when the bellhousing takes a bump, and dowels that keep alignment true even when skid plates vibrate. If you’ve fought inconsistent engagement on a trail rig after a few hard trips, inspect the hardware; a small amount of micro-walk on the cover pads can feel like “glazing” at the pedal. Replace fasteners with SBC-spec hardware, confirm torque and sequence, and much of that vagueness disappears.

Sport compact and VW applications magnify small mistakes. A GTI or WRX pedal is short; a millimeter of cover tilt creates an outsized change in feel. Pressure plate bolts that don’t match the cover pad thickness can bottom early, and a flywheel bolt that’s a thread too long can graze the rear main seal housing. Our kits for GTI/Golf R, Audi S3/S4, Subaru WRX/STI, Mitsubishi EVO, Civic Si/Type R, and Miata cut off those failure paths. Paired with the right alignment tools, dowels, and a correctly finished flywheel surface, the correct hardware is the difference between a car that feels OE-plus and one that feels like it needs “more bleeding” forever.

Installation practices are as important as part selection. Always dry-fit a few pressure plate bolts by hand to verify free engagement depth before committing. Clean threads in the crank with the appropriate chase; do not “tap” unless threads are damaged, and even then proceed carefully to preserve fit. Inspect bolt holes in the flywheel and cover; burrs or chips under a bolt head will throw torque readings off. If your kit calls for threadlocker, use the strength and amount specified—more is not better. If your kit calls for oiled threads, use clean engine oil sparingly and consistently; mixed conditions (one bolt dry, one oiled) will yield uneven clamp at the same torque reading. Tighten in a star pattern in stages: 1/3 torque, 2/3 torque, final torque. Where angle torque is specified, use a proper angle gauge and perform it smoothly. Re-check dowel presence and seating before you torque, not after. Small, repeatable steps deliver a level, stress-free assembly that behaves exactly like we engineered it to behave.

Troubleshooting hardware-related issues starts with simple observations. If the clutch chatters after heat soak but not cold, check cover bolt torque and imprint patterns on cover pads. If first/reverse engagement balks only when hot, inspect bellhousing dowels and flywheel bolt torque; a creeping flywheel or off-axis bell can masquerade as “dragging friction.” If the pedal engagement point “moves” during a drive, inspect for blocked master compensation ports and confirm release bearing travel—but also confirm pressure plate bolts haven’t loosened and that the cover isn’t rocking on uneven pad contact. If a new clutch feels “harsh,” look for cover distortion from incorrect washers or mismatched head styles. In each case, the right fastener set, correctly installed, removes the variable you’re chasing.

Because buyers search symptoms as often as parts, this collection maps to the queries we see: flywheel bolt kit for G56, pressure plate bolts NV4500, LS flywheel bolts torque spec, BMW single-mass flywheel bolts, Audi clutch cover hardware, Porsche dowel pins bellhousing, Jeep clutch hardware kit, WRX pressure plate bolts torque, VW flywheel bolts stretch, Miata clutch cover bolts. Each of those represents a real need: hardware that fits, clamps, and stays put. South Bend Clutch packages that hardware with the platform and clutch family you’re buying so you can install with confidence and get back to driving.

Service intervals and reusability deserve a clear answer. Unless your SBC instructions say otherwise, do not reuse stretch-to-yield flywheel bolts. Even when not officially torque-to-yield, heavily heat-cycled bolts can lose clamp and should be replaced if there’s any sign of necking, corrosion, or thread damage. Pressure plate bolts may be reusable in some platforms if they measure within length and show no thread or head damage, but the safest path—especially on high-heat or high-RPM builds—is fresh hardware that you know meets spec. Dowel pins should be present, straight, and snug; replace them if in doubt. Threads in the crank and flywheel should be clean and intact; if a hole feels soft or pulls, repair with the correct insert system and torque to the spec that accounts for the insert.

Finally, think of fasteners as force translators. They don’t just hold parts together; they translate the pressure plate’s clamp curve into the friction surfaces, translate the flywheel’s inertia into smooth take-off and controlled launches, and translate your installation choices into years of consistent behavior. The right bolts, washers, and dowels installed the right way mean your South Bend Clutch system behaves exactly as designed—quiet take-offs, predictable engagement, clean synchronized shifts, and the resilience to handle towing, track, trail, or daily duty. Choose the bolt kit and hardware that match your platform and clutch family here, follow the included prep and torque guidance, and give the rest of the system the stable foundation it needs to turn torque into traction every time you lift your foot.

If you found this page searching flywheel bolts, pressure plate bolts, clutch hardware kit, bellhousing dowel pins, flywheel bolt torque, pressure plate torque sequence, LS flywheel hardware, Cummins G56 clutch bolts, NV4500 clutch hardware, BMW single-mass flywheel bolts, Audi clutch cover bolts, Jeep clutch hardware, VW flywheel stretch bolts, or WRX/STI pressure plate bolts, you’re in the right collection. South Bend Clutch hardware is the engineered, validated, repeatable solution behind every successful clutch job—small parts that deliver big confidence, mile after mile.