I've pretty much narrowed down my '62 PV544 clutch chattering problem when moving out from standing stop, forward or reverse, to uneven spots on the flywheel, so needing re-surfacing. I've never gone into the clutch/flywheel section before and am reluctant to tackle that big of a job.
What are your thoughts, guys, can you do flywheel removal from under the car jacked up on stands, or do you have to remove the entire engine?

Thanks guys, really really appreciate the time and help you guys give out on this forum. It has really been instrumental in my education and advancement in expertise in restoring, also fixing my PV!

When I was 17, my 544 had a very bad vibration as well. I was a decent backyard mechanic, but still developing some skills. As I recall, removing the top 2 tranny bolts was a bitch, so I had to cut the tunnel on both sides to gain access. I too thought about removing the engine to complete the task, but was talked out of it by my father. Anyway, after replacing the clutch & pressure plate (but didn't have the $ to resurface the flywheel) then reinstalling, the chatter was still there. Removed everything once again, I was getting pretty good at it by this point and could have it all out in under an hour. Thought the 3rd time was going to be a charm. Then I was encouraged to believe the crank could be the culprit. What did I know, I was a teenager. Bought another engine, with my parents help of course, slipped it in and it seemed to do the trick. My thoughts are that the input shaft on the tranny while rotating and in gear caused some centrifugal imbalance on the flywheel and its rotating mass. Lesson learned and I sold it within a month after fixing it.

no need to pull the engine, just the trans and clutch. unless the clutch is new, replace everything and resurface the flywheel-whether it needs it or not-so you don't have to do this again.

and get the updated seal housing and seal to replace the felt one or replace the updated rubber rear engine seal. like i said, everything.

You won't know it's damage to the flywheel surface until you get the gearbox and the clutch is off. The clutch plate could be worn down to the rivets but not yet be causing obvious slippage. If you still have an old type clutch with springs you might have something broken there. Replace with a diaphragm type. Fit new pilot bearing. If that is breaking up it can cause the plate to move around when you are on the pedal.

When Volvo updated the clutch pressure plate to a diaphragm style, they also updated the flywheel.

1 of the critical features of the updated flywheel is a recess at the center that is for clearance for some of the rivets on the pressure plate.

If you still have old style of flywheel, the rivets will eventually contact the flywheel and cause the clutch to slip.

This recess can be machined into the old style of flywheel.

I suggest you post a picture of your flywheel before you take it to the machine shop.
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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

Correction on my post.

The rivets that are at issue are on the clutch disc, not the pressure plate.
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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com