Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) New Sb Clutch

[nopowerforme]

A SHOP TO STAY AWAY FROM





I am happy to say I followed a lot of good advice and decided to get a new MV 13 125 CON OFE Clutch from South Bend.



What a big difference from the original clutch



I decided to pick it up at South Bends shop and have it installed at a local shop. Peter set me up with a place called ** **** little did he know it was the shop of the long wait.



I arrived at 9:00, clutch in hand and then SB drove me back to their shop to wait and wait I did.



It was 5:30 before I left with my new clutch installed... Yup! you read right 8 1/2 hours to get it in... ... . I had Amsoil oil in it which they managed to spill out all over the shop fllor taking out the transmission... . but to be fair when I told them what I had in it the replaced it with GM synthetic oil at no extra cost to me.



A day later I was back at the same shop at 10:00 in the morning, because it became fairly difficult to shift ... much more pressure was needed to get into gear.



DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS AS TO WHY? I don't even want to drive it anymore... ..... I'M SERIOUS



(I live in MN and just returned after having this work done, I tow a rather large trailer the clutch is performing great, but the hard shifting is anoying. )



They crawled under the truck and they said too much fluid was put back in and that was why it was shifting hard then they told me the rear seal was leaking and that the excess fluid caused too much pressure in the transmission and may have caused it to leak.





WAIT!!! WAIT!!! It gets better Solution... . replace the seal and it won't take long ... ..... anyone want to guess how long? Give up?



it was 3:30 before I left and they now said that the seal was leaking because the shaft was slightly pitted ( the existing seal was installed in a dodge shop in ID almost a year ago to the day)



HMMMMMM!!! Someone changed their mind as to why it was leaking... .....



I might add there was no oil on the shaft and very little on the undercarriage.



If it was leaking before they replaced the clutch why did they not tell me then ? Why did I have to drive back an hour from where I was staying with my trailer to have them pull the driveshaft to replace the seal and charge me... . OH YES!!! Charge me all that labor to pull the shaft again.





SO HELP ME OUT HERE!!!! Why is it shifting so hard ands what can I do to fix it. ?????



Sorry this was so long but a lot happened and I would love to hear back from those of you that know trannys



PS: I do not blame Peter for sending me to this place I love the clutch.

 

[zjones]

Sounds like they did not install the pilot bearing properly??

If its not get it fixed quick or you'll be replacing the input shaft.



Good luck,

Zac

 

[nopowerforme]

Hi Zac

Thanks for the Info... If I remember correctly Peter from SB told me that the shop had to call SB about how to get the treanny out and they were using all kinds of hydraulic piston (not sure what they call them) to get it out.



I sure hope they did not mess it up I had to tow the trailer from South bend IN clear down the other end of IN and then back her to MN



Question for you... . If I bring it into a transmission shop or a good mechanic will he be able to tell for sure wether the bearing is in correctly or not without any doubt?



Thanks

 

[zjones]

Yes any trans shop can tell if it is installed properly. Which pilot bearing did you use (bearing, brass bushing, or teflon)?? I had a lot of trouble shifting my NV4500 (just did not want to go into gear) then one day I just could not get it out of gear (replaced the hydraulic master & slave cylinders - the stealer sells the system complete with fluid & prebled-this did not fix my problem) When we pulled the trans the pilot bearing was dry & froze on the input shaft thus destroying the input shaft (it had marred the bearing surface-new input shaft=$360+or- ).



I'm getting a new clutch soon (13-1. 25 ofe or fe not sure ) & I'll be putting the teflon or brass bushing in to "hopefully" solve the problem (running a bearing right now ) some people never learn



? did they pull the trans apart?? if they did the clearances need to be checked.

Also it is possable to have a bad clutch. ?. we had a toy-ota that had a center-force clutch (crap) in it & it had the same prob-the fix was a different clutch.

Keep us posted on your results.

Thanks, Zac

 

[zjones]

By the way-



A trans shop HAD TO CALL TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET THE TRANS OUT???? :--)

 

[The patriot]

This is exactly why I do everything I can on the truck myself!!

Eric

 

[RHARVEY]

I just had the 13" installed in my truck last week. It took me a couple of days to learn how to shift the truck because is hooks so quick.

But other than that it is one smooth clutch! What does Peter say about the shifting problem?????



Rick

 

[nopowerforme]

Clutch

It was not a transmission shop it was a shop that does a lot of truck work mostly big trucks. But it was the one Peter sent me to... ..... so i assuned they knew what they were doing,,,,,,,,,,,I think most of the problem was the people that did know kept going out on service calls.



Peter told me he was not going to use that shop anymore but that doesn't help me.



I have been home since thursday and haven't driven the truck since... I am bringing it into a shop on Wed. to have it looked ast.



Peter! if you read this could you tell me exactly what bearing you supplied?





I trusted Peter to give me everything I needed and I'm sure he did.



I will let you all know what I find when I get it back WED.

 

[South Bend Clutch]

nopowerforme



The question I have for you is... does it grind while trying to get into gear or is it just stiff? This will help me to diagnose the problem that you are incurring.



Peter

 

[Todd T]

first of all, i think zjones is talking about the throwout bearing not the pilot bushing. the bearing comes with the clutch kit and is prelubed out of the box. just a little hi temp grease on the input shaft is all that is required. the pilot bushing is in a machined hole in the flywheel. it is pressed in. again if you got a flywheel from SBC it would have been in there already.



now to check the throwout bearing would require the transmission to be pulled again. no access to it in the vehicle.



the reason the shop called to figure out how to get the transmission out and why they used hydraulic jacks (porta power) is because the frame rails in some trucks have to be spread apart to get the crossmember out. you should be thankful they called instead of just strong-arming it out and bending it.



first thing i would do is ask them if they lubed the input shaft. if yes, how much and with what. if they answer correctly, decide then if you should go back and let them fix it. if incorrectly find a new shop. dont give them the answer, make them give you the answer. if they say "yes" then play dumb, ask "do you have to put a lot on it or what. is it a special kind of grease or just regular bearing lube"



get the idea?



keep us informed,

Todd

 

[nopowerforme]

Answers

Peter... .



It does not grind going into gear, it is just more difficult now than it ever was. Sometimes I reallly have to push to get it into low or OD no problem pulling it out of gear.



Never had this problem before, it shifted fairly smooth.





Appreciate any help you guys can offer.