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Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) CON OFE break in?

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We're putting in a new OFE tomorrow in my HO 6 speed, I've read two schools of thought on break in.



1. Let it slip under power until it seats.



2. Drive gently to minimize slippage until it seats.



Advice requested.
 
SAtkins said:
What does OFE mean?





Steve

Con OFE is the name that southbend has given that clutch. It refers to the type of linings on the clutch. O is for organic, FE is for feramic

You will also hear Con O, and Con FE on here a lot. O being organic linings on both sides, and FE having feramic on both sides.



To the original question, I believe Peter specifically states not to slip them under power, but to drive moderately for the first several hundred miles. The FE will take a lot of abuse, but i would be worried abou the organic side glazing and being garbage if you power slipped it too hard when new. (or anyother time for that matter)
 
rubberneck said:
To the original question, I believe Peter specifically states not to slip them under power, but to drive moderately for the first several hundred miles. The FE will take a lot of abuse, but i would be worried abou the organic side glazing and being garbage if you power slipped it too hard when new. (or anyother time for that matter)



That makes sense, I had another OFE on a different truck that I was told to "burn it in", that may explain why it was so grabby.



This one I will drive easy till 300-500 miles as you suggested.



I wonder if the OFE will hold EZ, Van Aaken and a TST powermax stacked plus RV275's. I have the 275's and Van Aaken on it now, but the other boxes are available if it will hold that much. Any thoughts on what that combo will do to the VP-44?
 
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rivercat said:
what are you running to drag race with rubberneck? or do you drag race?



I have had the truck at the track, but its a pig. 9000lbs. Mostly play on the street. The truck currently has a Haisley mcleod in it. I have done several 3 pedal launches with my current clutch and it does pretty good. It is semi organic, though and you have to be carefull not to glaze it too severely, or it will be junk. They warned me when i bought it not to get to greedy with the gear if i ever decided to hook it to a sled.

Here is my clutch history. At 1200 miles, i smoked the stocker. At that time, the southbend con FE was the only clutch peter had for our trucks. I went that route and it did its job for another 30K miles. The FE holds very well once locked up, but it does not recover really well if slipped off the line. IE, if you three pedal it on the launch to build boost, sometimes it would not hook up unless i lifted the throttle. The cool thing about it, is that you really cant hurt it slipping it. I once was goofing around and got the pressure plate so hot, it went "numb". Absolutely no peddal pressure left. Once cooled down, it worked just fine. I ran it for another 15 k miles after that. The problem i had with it, is I like to hotrod, but I also tow 14-16K pound trailers on a pretty regular basis. Backing a trailer into a tight spot with the FE was a pain in the butt. Just too graby for what i liked. The 2 low kit pretty much took care of that problem, but i got tired of the grabbiness.

Peter had not gotten his twin discs to market yet, so i bought the Haisley modified mcleod street twin. I have been very happy with this clutch. Extremely smooth engagement, very fast shifting and relatively quiet. You do get the standart gear clash in neutral that most twin discs have. Might be very annoying in a quiet 3rd gen, but doesn't bug me. I have 65k on it, and it has performed well. I just finished building a house, and i needed to remove about 60-70 30 year old almond trees. I didn't have a tractor at the time, so i used old red and a 40ft snatch cord. worked great, but hurt the clutch a little im afraid. It is now shuddering on take off, so im in the market for another clutch. I think I will go back to southbend. 2 years ago, i won the southbend clutch give away on the TDR here. Since i had just put the haisley in my 01, and a brand new con ofe13x1. 25 in my 98, i didnt need a clutch at the time. So peter told me to wait until i needed one and give him a call. I think i am going to go for one of his twin discs. I have been hearing good things about them, plus peter is just a great guy to deal with. I am not sure which model yet, I dont know if it is a pipe dream or not, but i would like something as smooth as my mcleod, but not organic, so i can torture it a little. Maybe hook a sled or two and not hurt it. Im sure peter can help me out. FWIW, the only other twin disc i have driven was one of the old mitchell pulling clutches. Those things hold like beasts, but it was way slow shifting. Dont think it would be good drag racing. But i could be wrong on that.
 
Texas Diesel said:
I wonder if the OFE will hold EZ, Van Aaken and a TST powermax stacked plus RV275's. I have the 275's and Van Aaken on it now, but the other boxes are available if it will hold that much. Any thoughts on what that combo will do to the VP-44?



My opinion is it probably will hold, but it all depends on how you drive. My dad could drive a 600 hp truck on a stock clutch and never break it. I could probably slip a twin disc hooked to a briggs and stratton if i tried hard enough. LOL :D Like mentioned above, i have a conOFE in a 98 12valve, and it does a really nice job. That truck doesnt get abused too much, but it does tow a 36' triple slide 5th wheel that weighs 16k. I smoked the stock clutch on the first trip up the grapevine with trailer in tow after adding #6 TST plate and 4K gove springs. ConOFE has never shown signs of nearing its limit. But again i dont "try" to slip that one.



AS far as your combo, i ran an EZ and TST pm3comp for 30K miles , and tried a vanaiken/TST combo for a few weeks. It was a wicked combo. I wouldn't run an EZ and a vanaiken, as those are both timing boxes, but either one coupled with the TST will make for a nice ride. If I had my choice, i would go with more injector and less box though. just my . 02 Phil
 
I was told the Van Aaken and TST were fueling only :confused:



I'll call Peter Monday and ask about that combo, once the clutch seats I'll dyno it to make sure I dont overload the clutch.



Thanks for the advice though!!



We're presently about 40% through, almost got the transmission out :eek: Man all this stuff is heavy, hopefully be done by miller time... Only hickup so far is a leaking rear transmission seal.



Just read in the instructions to drive easy on the clutch for 200 miles.
 
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RHARVEY said:
Peter told me that the best way to break in this clutch is stop and go city traffic!



Rick



He also said to drive the freeway and shift up and down. I waited only 200 miles then it was 5X5 and and laying rubber :-laf
 
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Texas Diesel said:
Man all this stuff is heavy, .



As they say about Jaguars (particularly the XK engine), "The good thing is that everything is pretty big so you rarely need any tools smaller than about 1/2". The bad thing is that everything is pretty big so it usually takes two people to lift it. "



Thread hijack over. :)
 
Texas Diesel said:
I was told the Van Aaken and TST were fueling only :confused:



I'll call Peter Monday and ask about that combo, once the clutch seats I'll dyno it to make sure I dont overload the clutch.



Thanks for the advice though!!



We're presently about 40% through, almost got the transmission out :eek: Man all this stuff is heavy, hopefully be done by miller time... Only hickup so far is a leaking rear transmission seal.



Just read in the instructions to drive easy on the clutch for 200 miles.



Van aaken and EZ are timing/mild fueling boxes. TST = mega fuel, no timing.

If you respect that clutch, you wont go over its ratings. With 275's, you arent throwing that much fuel.



Oh one more thing. Dont ask me how I know, but its a good idea not to roll the NV5600 off of the transmission jack on to your foot! :{ :rolleyes:
 
It's finally done.



We didnt recognize what a marcelled fin was and had to consult with Peter before finishing.



And we found out why the CON O was slipping. Lubricant and clutches dont mix. :{



Let me just say that Peter was MORE THAN FAIR with me on the new clutch even though the failure of the CON O was on my end.



I plan to get the clutch disk relined to OFE or FE and put it in and the pressure plate the classifieds.
 
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