Clutch

[G.L. Smith]

My truck is a 94 2500 with 187000 mi. I pull a fiftwheel camper

out west once a year sometimes twice. I make several short

trips to the lake and around local ,2 to3 hundred mi. And Ihave

pulled up to Maine once. I live in southwest Virginia, drive the

truck to work 17 mi. oneway. Ihave a 14 ft. gooseneck trailer

I sometimes hall farm tractors and building materals on.



The clutch seams to work ok right now. It will slip under a load

in 5th gear if you put it in a strain. I have the 250 hp plate.



Should I change the clutch before I go cross country again?

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

With those miles I would, even if you select another stock clutch, the Luk pro gold, or the Centerforce, all bottom-of-the-line clutches. Of course there are premium clutches too, some better just for more holding power, some longer lasting like the Sachs used from 1989-93, but with the premium facing with a lot of brass wire in it, not the cheaper standard facing Dodge used. South Bend also makes good clutches. Of the various components involved I would rate the likelihood they will fail as most likely--pilot bearing, second, clutch facing, third, clutch disk hub, fourth, throw out bearing. Order will change depending on amount of town driving and how much you tend to hold the clutch down at stoplights.

 

[Steve Campbell]

Joe, why do you think the Sachs clutches (used 89-93) lasted longer? Better disc material pressure plate design or everything in general? Perhaps it was just a function of the HP output of the Pre-7100 motors?

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The Sachs used high quality facing, and had a lot more surface area than the LuK. The clutch sells for over $1100 from Dodge vs. less than half that for the LuK. Aftermarket the difference is not so severe, but the Sachs still costs noticeably more. The Sachs hub is also much better than the 12. 3" hubs used by Luk, imho.



South Bend uses some LuK pressure plates but generally not their 12. 3" hubs--he uses Valio hubs, or the 13" ETH LuK hub, which is a different animal.



I have seen a number of cases where trucks that slipped the LuK would be held by the Sachs clutch. the regular facing is not so good--chatters, but the premium facing is smooth and holds well.



I put the good Sachs stuff in a few trucks and they wroked well.

 

[JJW_ND]

Are you changing how you use your truck?

GSmith... . If you have no plans on changing the way you use your truck I would put either the ProGold or Centerforce in. They are better then the factory Luk and you should be able to find them at a cheaper price.



Considering how many miles you have on and how long it took to get there, a premium clutch would last twice as long.



How long you want this thing to last.



With those miles and age, you obivoiusly know you to drive a stick. Replace the worn out components (you got very good like out of) and your good for another 200K.



Put the better Kelvar pilot bearing in is probably a better upgrade them the clutch in this case.



Sometimes with a better mouse trap we never realize the benifits because we use or trucks the same way that gave exceptional life out of the factory stuff.



jjw

ND

 

[SLang]

If you are staying close to stock power contact Fort Wayne Clutch. They have full kevlar clutches that hold a little more than stock power, but offer 2-3 times the durability and at a cheaper price than others.