Needing a new clutch soon, need advise

[SVick]

My clutch just started slipping at the Edge Juice with Attitude set on 3 with a lightly loaded flatbed trailer. If I set it on stock or 1, it does not slip, yet, so it is time to start looking for a replacement. Truck has only 45k miles. I have read about the South Bend Clutches. I would like some real world reports by owners of replacement clutches with a similar setup as I have by folks that don't sell the parts, just drive them. I will not be going over 450HP or 850 torque with my set up. I am happy at level 3 and 2 when towing. Also dual or single disc type. See signature for truck info.

 

[SRadke]

Southbend OFE would be a good option for you.

 

[Grizzly]

Go with single disk Southbend. It's spendy, but I believe well worth it. Dual mass is the reason for only 45K.

 

[Harlacher]

Son put a south-bend in is 2004 about 6 months ago and has been very happy with it. Back tires are wearing a little quicker now.

 

[CDonaldson]

When my clutch dies, I am going with a Valair 3850 DD. They are quiet, will hold heavy tow, good aftermarket replacement. I have several friends who have gone with the Valair DD's and several friends who have gone to SB singles. After driving the different clutches, Valair gets my nod and will be the way I go. Upgrading the hydraulics even with a stock clutch replacement is also a good idea, makes a BIG difference.







CD

 

[CDonaldson]

Dual mass is the reason for only 45K.

LOWEST BIDDER is the reason, better quality DD anything is better. A DD takes out a lot of vibrations, not so much with a single, that's why they are noisy and rather grabby. If you go single then you need the harmonic dampner to help with the vibrations. Many with the G56 and a single have then had transmission problems or shorten the lifespan of the transmission due to wear associated with the vibrations. Lots of threads suggest the G56 and a single are not a good match.







CD

 

[Grizzly]

Good to know CDonaldson, I have to admit, I don't know as much about the G56 since I have the NV5600.



My good friend and neighbor has an 06 3500 dually with the G56 with about 45K on the clock. He believes he may be looking at a clutch replacement soon. I'll let him know what you said about Valair 3850 DD clutch. He pulls a heavy 5th wheel.



george

 

[CDonaldson]

@Grizzly. I have 59K on my stock clutch, it has performed excellently, but I know the time will be soon for a replacement. I tow VERY heavy quite frequently, ranges of 18-24K, and while the sorry/poor quality stock clutch has held up to my abuse, I have babied it to get where I am in mileage today. I have a friend in CA who went with the Valair DD 3850, he tows heavy like I do, and he just LOVES the Valair clutch. He runs all over CA's highways, travels some of the steepest grades you could ever want to go around, he tells me that there is no difference in the clutches feel everytime you push it in or let it out it's the same, right there working hard for you. I can say that the 'driving feel' of our stock clutch has it's moments, seems like it is all over that pedal range, and the 2 trucks I have driven with the Valair do feel as my friend describes, right there, same place, good feel, solid engagement. I have not driven the clutch under a heavy tow, probably was about an 8K tow that I drove.





CD

 

[AEdelheit]

LOWEST BIDDER is the reason, better quality DD anything is better. A DD takes out a lot of vibrations, not so much with a single, that's why they are noisy and rather grabby. If you go single then you need the harmonic dampner to help with the vibrations. Many with the G56 and a single have then had transmission problems or shorten the lifespan of the transmission due to wear associated with the vibrations. Lots of threads suggest the G56 and a single are not a good match.







CD

I would have to disagree with the DD taking out vibrations, I belive anytime you take off the DMF you will get more vibrations, I have the 3250 DD and desperately need a Fluidampner, Dont really believe a single could be worse.

 

[SVick]

Good info so far. Anybody with the South Bend Dual Disc?

Thanks in advance.

Scott

 

[AEdelheit]

I have a SBD 3250 DD with the billet flywheel, Holding power is awesome, the pedal even with aftermarket hydraulics is a bit heavy, definitely much stiffer then stock, and its noisy. With the G56 I would recommend getting a fluidampner anytime you get rid of the DMF. Overall Ive been happy with the SBC DD and have heard the newer street versions are more refined, mine is almost 3 years old. I see your in Placerville, I should be in the Sacramento area next weekend if you want to meet up and test drive my truck.

 

[Cattechcolt]

S. B. d. d. 3600 for me, had a single, and it died rather quickly, fluidampr did make a difference, but it is still a real truck clutch, you can't expect a clutch that will hold more than three times stock power to have the same manners as stock. yes it's noisy, but it does what you ask of it time after time. The customer service at S. B. C. is second to none, And there newest street versions are supposed to be much quieter. just mt . 02

 

[SRadke]

Looks like we have a few Valair cheerleaders here, anybody that actually has one in their own truck want to offer up an opinion?

 

[Scooby]

I just had a SB Dual Disk installed on my truck last month. Clutch pedal is a little firmer - nothing bad at all, though. The truck at idle is as quiet as stock. The only thing you notice is the missing DMF... . so you will now know when you are lugging the engine. I tow a 5'r and have a Pacbrake... . which is why I was recommended to go with a DD.

 

[HHhuntitall]

I've installed several dozen SB clutches, DD and single. I have a Double in my '03 3500 4x4(SDD3250), used to have one in my '96 2500 2x4 twin turbo, a single in my '97 3500 4x4. I've replaced several DMFs with Southbend's kits(G56-OFEK, single disk rated to 475hp), and every one of the customers has been happy as can be. I've heard some comments about grabbing with the DD, and can say with my '03, I don't like the way it launches sometimes. If you're never going over the 450hp mark, I'd say stay with the Single, which is what's in my '97. It's pretty stout for a towing truck, pushing 45psi boost fairly regular, and I've not had any problems with it. The '97 and '03 very seldom burn a tank of fuel without a trailer, so they tow quite a bit. The '97 has 85k on the ConFe, and the '03 has 35k on the SDD3250. My DD really does rattle a lot with the clutch depressed. Even had a guy tell me my throw-out bearing was out. I told him no, it wasn't, but he was a FULL-TIME MECHANIC, so he should know... ... . (told him it was a double disk SouthBend and he just stared at me, and said "It can only be the bearing, there's nothing else that makes that kind of noise"... . )



The clutch in my '96 didn't gave up on me, but I was afraid to reuse it... . the input shaft gave and dumped shrapnel and oil into the front disk area... . not a pretty thing... . Probably would have been fine if I'd realized what it had done immediately and not ever pushed the clutch in to let the metal between the facings..... :{



Also, I believe all the G56 clutch kits come with the upgraded master/slave cylinder assembly.

 

[BHiggins]

I thought my clutch was going a few months ago, it ended up being the dual-mass flywheel. The two halves were slipping at the friction ring, which is SUPPOSED to lock them together. The pressure plate and friction disc looked brand new. I ended up going with a South Bend unit, and I'm happy I did. If I had replaced it with another stock unit, I would have always been worried about that crappy flywheel... Go with a South Bend.

 

[SVick]

BHiggins, which SBC did you use. I thought a dual mass and a double disc were the same, are they not?

 

[seafish]

Dual mass flywheel refers to the OEM flywheel that Dodge started using in Ram trucks along with the G56 transmission. The DMF flywheel/clutch assembly is made by Luk, but is NOT necessarily a reliable unit to transmit the power and pulses that the mighty Cummins makes. There have been more then a few failures, though many also continue to run fine. That being said, some people feel that it is best to abandon the DMF in favor of a more reliable billet flywheel, when it comes time to replace the clutch. But this comes at the expense of more Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) transferred down the driveline which the DMF helped to eliminate,which is why the engineers speced the DMF in the first place.

A Dual (or double) disc clutch is a high horsepower application clutch that uses dual clutch discs instead of a single disc. The dual discs add more surface area for the clutch lining, so they can and do transmit more power. The dual discs ALSO tend to rattle and make even more noise then a single disc clutch, especially at low rpms and in neutral. However, the folks at Sourthbend have designed a much more quiet and "streetable" version of a dual disc clutch that many people are liking. I myself will soon be installing a Southbend single disc, Con-OFE clutch with upgraded hydraulics and billet flywheel that shpould be good for 450 hp.

Hope this helps!!

 

[SVick]

Thanks Seafish, that helps me understand much better.

 

[Scooby]

FWIW: My new DD does not rattle...