I'm a member of the South Bend Clutch cult!

[Forrest Nearing]

this is mostly a re-post of the information I put on my input shaft woes thread, but I feel obligated to make a new post about it...



long story short, I bought my truck from an 18yr old kid who was a little rough on the old girl... hey, I would have done the same thing in his position!!



anyhow, this stock diameter OFE clutch had about 50k miles on it when the other day I felt something "funny" in the clutch pedal while backing out of a parking spot... truck wouldn't go into gear after that, so I assumed it was the clutch hydraulics...



limped it home, put new hydraulics in it, and it still was doing the same thing, so I assumed it was the pilot bearing seized to the input shaft.



I got the transmission out and found three broken springs in the clutch disk and the thinnest piece of the center that houses the springs had let go and allowed one of the springs to fall out where it got wedged between the disk and pressure plate...



the clutch held power great and the friction material looked pretty dang good considering that it had some "foreign bodies" trying to tear it up! flywheel and pressure plate looked decent too. (I'll get pics later for the sake of history and to email to Peter just for the heck of it)



I have always been cautious driving the truck, not slamming gears or downshifting violently, I always try to match revs and or let the clutch out slowly on downshifts, but I think it's "previous life" had already done the damage and it was just a ticking time bomb.



anyhow, I got Peter on the phone and told him what was up, he asked me a few questions about my combo and about some specifics on the clutch to help identify which version of the OFE I had... he asked how I liked it otherwise, and I said it's great! (because it is!!) he asked if I thought I could make another 12" disk live, and I said I did... he said, "ok, let me get your address, and I'll get a new disk and pressure plate sent out to you"



I was a little dumfounded as we hadn't discussed price, and I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to afford both at this time... I was hoping maybe he could rebuild the disk or give me a good deal on a new disk... I kinda stumbled out, "uhh... so, how much do I owe you?"



"nothing... don't worry about it, just treat this one right"



:--) :--) :--) :--)



I was stammering so much after that I had to call him back later to ask him about replacing the input bearing while I had the transmission out!! LOL!! it was on my mental list of things to ask, but I was so floored by his generosity, I plum forgot!!



he helped me figure out what parts I needed for the bearing replacement, and when he didn't have the parts on the shelf, he sent me somewhere else and I got the parts ordered and on their way.



I've spent a total of $7 with the man, and this is the kind of customer service I get!??!?!



I realize that I essentially paid for the clutch "by proxy" when I bought the truck, but I would have never imagined in a million years that this would be the outcome of this morning's phone call...



I'm a SBC customer for life, and I hope to bring him a lot of business in the future with various projects of mine, my friends, and my customers!!!



this kind of customer service is essentially non-existant these days... ANYONE who may be "on the fence" about what clutch to put in your truck, I would ask you to look past a slightly higher initial price tag, and look at the "total value" of what you're buying...



you buy a South Bend Clutch, and you WILL be satisfied... that's all there is to it.



I realize this isn't the first post like this... I've read many in the past... but I just felt compelled to post my experience today...



I told a buddy about it, and he didn't believe me for 10 minutes... he kept waiting for me to say "April Fools"!! LOL!



thanks again Peter,



Forrest Nearing

 

[Jeff Clark]

Originally posted by Forrest Nearing

ANYONE who may be "on the fence" about what clutch to put in your truck

I'm not on the fence. I've already decided on SBC.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

Sounds like the Peter I know, there are a few folks in this industry that know what customer service is all about, It's not about making money, it about making it right, the money will come. We the customers will more than make up for it later down the line..... it's called not being greedy!



Jim

 

[Sixpack]

Re: Re: I'm a member of the South Bend Clutch cult!

Originally posted by Jeff Clark

I'm not on the fence. I've already decided on SBC.

Same here!

 

[Cummins Pilot]

When the OE goes it'll get a SBC.



My PSD went over 210,000 on the OE clutch (center broke, suraface material was in good shape), and the Ram only has 34k, so it'll be a while.

 

[ChrisRyan]

I've got Peters double disk drag clutch in my 03 and it has held everything thrown at it. Any problem I have had southbend has fixed and wanted to pay me for my time. How many vendors will do that?!:--)

 

[RHARVEY]

A few weeks ago I called Peter to order a pilot bearing, well that is what I thought it was. I figured since this 13" Con OFE clutch had been in the truck for over 36k miles . . it was the pilot bearing that was causing the shifting problems.

When I talked to Peter. . he said not a problem and he would send one out. But he also said that he would like to send a input shaft kit along with the throwout bearing just to make sure I have the parts on hand if I needed to replace them. Ok. . what do I owe you. . he said dont worry about that right now. . just let him know what I have to use and then we will figure out the bill. Also whatever parts you dont use. . you can send them back.

It turned out that it was not the pilot bearing... it was the input shaft. That main bearing on the input shaft was wore out.

I had all the parts to completely replace all the bearings that has anything to do with the input shaft. Because Peter was one step ahead of me on what I may have needed to get the truck back on the road.

Now let me tell you about what I found when I took the pressure plate off... The disk and plate looked like it was new. There was hardly any clutch dust. . like I expected. There were no hot spots on the pressure plate or flywheel. . And that pilot bearing was as smooth or smoother than the new one... I just put new high temp grease and left it alone. .

In my book... SBC is the best. . and customer service is top notch. . They really have done their homework on these clutches and come up with one that will go the distance and then some.



Rick

 

[amillstream]

Just put a 13"ofe in my 01. I've heard people say this clutch can be a tad grabby. I'm not sure what people call grabby but when my brother drove it, he couldn't tell it from a stock clutch. I was worried about backing heavy loaded trailer with it and getting a lot of buck. The thing slips out just like a stock clutch and driveability with this clutch is definately a non issue. I talked to Woody about the install since we were doing it ourselves and he answered all my questions and was very helpfull. It holds my dd2 and comp fine and I'm sure it would hold a lot more. I am more than happy with my decision with this clutch. My brother has ordered an Fe for his 97 and I'm curious as to how well mannered the Fe will be. If Southbend is a "cult" , I guess I'm definatly a member!

 

[Deezul1]

My experience is the same as the others, Peter goes way beyond what you would ever expect to make sure you are pleased with his product. Thanks again Peter and SBC.

 

[JaMan]

These are the reasons that my new OFE is in transit this week can't wait to put it in along with the new BD II's that are comming also , now problem is daddy needs a new turbo!





Jared

 

[24Vpirate]

just got my OFE installed and the wife said it was smoother then the stock wich is funny cause i thought the same thing DDIIs and comp killed the 02 6 speed clutch at 26k so we will see how long this one lasts

 

[Froadin]

I just finished my break in miles on my OFE and my 1st LP died on me at 74k. So I haven't got to REALLY see how it holds yet.

Man, I wasn't ready for how light the clutch pedal would feel! That was a nice change. And I wouldn't call this clutch 'grabby' at all, more like what the truck SHOULD have come with in the first place.

As for Peter, I called and talked to him to make sure I was choosing the right clutch. He first talks me out of the more expensive setup, then sends me to a local dealer so I can save some more money on shipping, etc.

Yup, that is the kind of service that puts him at the top of my list, and will be the first one I recommend.

In many of my hobbies, you learn that it's the customer service that both makes a company, and what keeps bringing you back. Cause you either pay for it sooner or later, no two ways about it.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

that beautiful black box just arrived... two days before I'd anticipated it!



the flywheel is at the machine shop getting resurfaced... can't wait to get back in the saddle!!!



the disk has some revised springs in it... I'm gonna make this one live for ever



Forrest

 

[fj40charles]

Peter is a great guy to do business with. Nice guy in person too.

I'm very happy with my 13" CON/OFE clutch.