Clutch Slippage

[kkrebs]

I just replaced my original cluth at 179K. I use a 30 ft. goosneck daily and my new cluth is slipping. My flywheel, pressure plate,clutch, t. o. bearing, and slave cylinder are new.

Any thoughts on this matter... ... my wallet is floating in the wind.

 

[cumminsgetme]

Give us some info on the truck/clutch. What modifications have been made to the truck? What kind of clutch did you put in it? How clean was the clutch (grease,oil,etc. ) when it was installed?

 

[Bob Wagner]

I would guess...

t hat you didn't purchase a South Bend Clutch



<b>Post your signature to show your trucks mods</b>

 

[kkrebs]

The truck is a 1994 3500 Diesel. nv4500 5 sp. No engine modifications done to it. Thats all. I use the truck to haul short runs of pallets on a 30ft. flatbed. I have litterally never had a single problem out of it mechanically, except for a bad blower mtr. on the AC.

The truck is 2wd. I bought the clutch from a local supplier and had Cummins Cumberland put it in.

 

[South Bend Clutch]

A stock clutch should have done the trick for you, however, it depends on if it was an OEM clutch or an after market clutch. The box may say "NEW" but that does not mean a hill of beans. There are a lot of after market companies suppling new products into the the clutch world but some of them can be sub standered. What is the name of the place that you got the parts and what was the brand of the clutch? I will tell you if the clutch that you got was right for your truck. If it is a good product then the install mite not be right. Did the garage grind the flywheel? If not, that mite be your problem. Sometimes you can give that a little time to seat and the problem mite could go away for you.



Peter

 

[kkrebs]

I do not know the brand of clutch which was purchased. I do know that it came from a supplier called Kentucky Clutch in Brooks, Ky ? I called him on it and he told me that the clutch may also seat itself? Cummins Cumberland claimed that the flywheel had to be replaced while they were into the job.

 

[South Bend Clutch]

kkrebs



I called Kentucky Clutch today out of curiosity and it appears that they sell both new and rebuilt. They prefer to sell rebuilt simply for the profit margin. Rebuilt is fine if the clutch can be rebuilt properly, however, the clutches in your dodge trucks normally can not be done properly. The reason is that the diaphragm or (pressure spring) in the pressure plate is not available to the after market. If the clutch is rebuilt then the diaphragm had to be reused which in my opinion is a no no. It has already been through its life, you can only push them up and down with high temperatures so many times before they loose their clamping strength.



As for the flywheels, I have heard this so many times that the flywheels have to be replaced. Some of the reasons that you will hear are that the flywheels have a built in taper or if you resurface the flywheel that you can run into problems with your hydraulics. All I can say to this is BA HUMBUG!!!! Yes the flywheels have a slight taper about 3 thousandths of an inch. Personally I prefer the flywheel to be flat because you gat a full immediate contact but . 003, give me a brake. As for the hydraulics, the slave cylinder which actuates the clutch fork that releases the clutch moves anywhere from 7/8" to 1". When a flywheel is resurfaced the norm of metal removed is anywhere from . 005 to . 015. Even if your flywheel is in bad shape it may take . 030. Now the gap in the pressure plate that is made between the casting and the disc when the clutch is released is between . 135 t0 . 195. There is plenty of room for resurfacing the flywheels even more then once.



Peter

 

[Bob Beauchaine]

I would listen to Peter - I put a South Bend Clutch in my '93 and had some problems. With Peter's help and knowledge all is well in Cummins land. My problem was hydraulics and Peter picked it right from the beginning - from 2000 miles away.

Thanks Peter.

Happy trails