almost 200,000 miles on G56

[lmills]

Had a 05. 5 truck in the shop today with a G56 transmission that was used for towing trailers for a living. The truck had just over 194,000 miles. The dual mass flywheel was ehhhhh... ... . shot. :-laf Yep thats definitely the word for it.



Other than that the truck ran great. The owner called me on the way home to compliment the smoothness of the southbend one piece unit that took the place of the dual mass flywheel. He said the truck had run rough for so long he hadn't realized how smooth it should be till he got the clutch taken care of. He said the truck feels as good as the day he bought it now.



The dual mass was cheesed up pretty bad. And to think that was almost all highway miles, locked in one gear and at stock HP. The clutch disc had zero wear on it and the pressure plate and flywheel surface was in great shape. Just the flywheel internals gave up.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

No telling how long it was actually trashed beyond spec - pretty much confirms the fears and concerns of some who were critical of the DM setup based upon the experiences of other makers using that design.



Kudos to SB for having the solution with their great conversion setup - too bad MDC was incompetent in doing it right in the first place!

 

[machinemover]

boy, I wish I new about the SB replacement flywheel, I just replaced mine with OEM, 85,000 miles on the truck. Damn!!

 

[DavidThompson]

Had a 05. 5 truck in the shop today with a G56 transmission that was used for towing trailers for a living. The truck had just over 194,000 miles. The dual mass flywheel was ehhhhh... ... . shot. :-laf Yep thats definitely the word for it.



Other than that the truck ran great. The owner called me on the way home to compliment the smoothness of the southbend one piece unit that took the place of the dual mass flywheel. He said the truck had run rough for so long he hadn't realized how smooth it should be till he got the clutch taken care of. He said the truck feels as good as the day he bought it now.



The dual mass was cheesed up pretty bad. And to think that was almost all highway miles, locked in one gear and at stock HP. The clutch disc had zero wear on it and the pressure plate and flywheel surface was in great shape. Just the flywheel internals gave up.

QUESTION????? I have a 07 drw 3500 with the g56..... DOES... ... my truck have the duel mast flywheel????? IF not... what does it have and is it heavy duty and does it last????..... trucksalesdave..... central Georgia

 

[d90boy]

Yes you have a dual mass flywheel. I just put my southbend in and got to see the DMF. It's a hunk of junk but it does quiet the transmission like it's supposed to.

 

[Regcabguy]

G-56

I intend to retrofit my clutch with the SB conversion someday,but it sounds like the stock setup did pretty good considering it towed cars all of its life. This is a quiet transmission with the D. M. F. Thank God for Peter.

 

[DavidThompson]

Yes you have a dual mass flywheel. I just put my southbend in and got to see the DMF. It's a hunk of junk but it does quiet the transmission like it's supposed to.

SO... it is not like a regular flywheel... ..... does it slowly go out over lots of miles or craps all at one time???What is the est. replacement cost with the Southbend setup..... Does the new setup make the trans rattle???... ... . trucksalesdave... ... central Georgia

 

[klenger]

194,000 miles on a clutch isn't all that bad. I'm impresed, and I assume that the G56 is still going strong. So much for all the G56 doom and gloom.

 

[d90boy]

It's basically a spring loaded flywheel, it actually bolts to a flex plate which is bolted to the crank. The intent is to cushion the 6 impacts of power the engine makes every two revolutions. Over time the springs wear out especially with upgraded power. There are a few in depth reviews on here, do a search, or find the TDR article. I have to say I'm impressed too, I knew the G56 was good but the DMF was questionable.

 

[2broke2smoke]

No telling how long it was actually trashed beyond spec - pretty much confirms the fears and concerns of some who were critical of the DM setup based upon the experiences of other makers using that design.



Kudos to SB for having the solution with their great conversion setup - too bad MDC was incompetent in doing it right in the first place!

what?



194k miles towing and "The clutch disc had zero wear on it and the pressure plate and flywheel surface was in great shape. "



how much do you want?

 

[steved]

what?



194k miles towing and "The clutch disc had zero wear on it and the pressure plate and flywheel surface was in great shape. "



how much do you want?

It really doesn't matter what the other components looked like if one of the primary ones failed... you replace as a set (at least I would... ). .



steved

 

[lmills]

194,000 miles on a clutch isn't all that bad. I'm impresed, and I assume that the G56 is still going strong. So much for all the G56 doom and gloom.

I was impressed too, but my point is this... ... . since the clutch and pressure plate surface was in 100% perfect condition with 194,000 miles on it, how much longer do you think he may have made it had the cheap ole dual mas not crapped out?



This guy drives 500 miles a day when he is on the road and does very little shifting. The truck spends most of its life in 5th and 6th gears. To give you an idea of how much of the milage is highway, he got 145,000 miles out of his first set of tires. :--) That is the reason why the clutch surface was in such great condition.

 

[2broke2smoke]

It really doesn't matter what the other components looked like if one of the primary ones failed... you replace as a set (at least I would... ). .



steved

i know that, you wouldn't be happy with 194k miles towing?

 

[steved]

i know that, you wouldn't be happy with 194k miles towing?

Isn't it obvious that the owner would have gotten MORE miles had something not failed? That is the key here... doesn't matter how well the other components looked if the DMF gives up the ghost at 200k...



My dad got 220k out of his stock clutch in front of a NV4500... that was mixed city/highway, and the flywheel looked like new (we didn't even have it machined, but simply ran a sander over it and installed a new clutch)... I guess I'm not impressed and don't understand why I should be about this DMF??



I mean it was highway miles... I would not expect to see much clutch wear (even on a towrig) that is primarily highway driven.



But that's just me...



steved

 

[BSwope]

I think all in all its gonna be a good transmission! No problems with mine and love the way it tows!

 

[lmills]

Let me put it in a little better perspective. His dual mass lasted 30% longer than his set of tires :-laf. All in all, I didn't start this thread to trash a G56. I was impressed with the miles the truck has in such a short time. And he told me he does it for fun. :--) He referred to himself as a slacker compared to some of the other drives.

 

[BSwope]

Didnt mean anything by that Lloyd I guess i should of said i agree that its gonna be a good transmission and i just towed a 33' camper from Cumberland MD to where i live and man it sure worked nice!

 

[steved]

I believe the transmission is good, but the DMF leaves a little to be desired...



I was just thinking about the first few threads I read talking about the "plastic" G56 gears... :-laf



steved

 

[NJones]

Dual Mass Flywheel. Not the greatest, but big deal. It is what it is. Wear it out and put a Southbend in. That's what I'm gonna do and not worry about it. MY DMF on my 6. 9 lasted 18 years before it went south. Only 120K miles but a lot of pullin and not many road trips. As far as the G-56 transmission, It's the best shifting one I've ever driven, I'm glad it's the one in there. Happy new year my fellow DMF owners.

 

[Regcabguy]

G-56

Dual Mass Flywheel. Not the greatest, but big deal. It is what it is. Wear it out and put a Southbend in. That's what I'm gonna do and not worry about it. MY DMF on my 6. 9 lasted 18 years before it went south. Only 120K miles but a lot of pullin and not many road trips. As far as the G-56 transmission, It's the best shifting one I've ever driven, I'm glad it's the one in there. Happy new year my fellow DMF owners.

Exactly my sentiment. I knew going into this '07 that the DMF would be a weak link,but this transmission by far is the best shifting,quietest truck transmission I've ever driven. Southbend is ready with the upgrade when I am. It's gonna be awhile.