Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Not Happy With South Bend Clutch

[Neibe]

When my clutch went out a year ago I called South Bend told them my intended use with my power upgrades and was told the Rally Clutch was all I needed to handle my intended use. Well here I am again blew out the Rally clutch pulling our camper. Call SBC today and talked to Woody and he told me that the Rally will hold 700 ft/lb. but the springs will not and could go at any time. Tried to talk to Peter but he was off today. They offered to send me another Rally but said the springs could go at anytime. That was only the clutch they offered me not pressure plate. Also, if the springs will not hold 700 then what good is it to advertise that it does.

 

[ELake]

sorry to hear about your misfortune...

all I ever read about is the 13 inch con OFE regardless of mods. Seems like you cannot go wrong with that clutch perhaps they will offer you some kind of warranty and knock some off of a more "performance" oriented clutch?

 

[HeavyHauler]

Do you remember who you talked to at SBC when you called for the clutch recommendation? A few of those guys don't deal with the light-truck clutches and really don't know one way or the other...



Always make sure you're talking to Peter when you call about your Dodge. From what I understand, he's the man the designs and builds the clutches for our applications.



The Con OFE is the "lightest" clutch you should consider for towing reasonably heavy. I feel like Peter would have told you that had you talked to him.



Good luck with your problem. SBC has helped a lot of guys out on here and I'm sure they'll make it right with you.

 

[Will24]

Woody took care of me when I hurt my 13" con fe, he's awesome! (he's peter's brother)



-Will

 

[HeavyHauler]

From the main SBC Dodge Diesel page:



"When choosing a clutch it is very important to match the appropriate horse power and work load. For example: The MU 0090 Rally and MU 0090 Con O are capable of handling the horse power and torque ratings provided in our listings, but if the truck is used for heavy hauling when coupled with torque ratings exceeding 600 ft. lbs. damage to the clutch disc WILL occur... "



Here's the link:



http://www.southbendclutch.com/dodge.html



From what I remember, that page has been there for a long time. I'm really curious as to who you talked to in the beginning.

 

[Neibe]

I talked to Peter to answer Heavyhauler. Today I talked to Peter and he took care of me just like y'all said he would. AWESOME CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!!

 

[HeavyHauler]

I'm glad to hear it worked out! They seem like really good people there at SBC.

 

[wilddiesel]

I have been dealing southbend clutches for several years now, never have I seen a company that stands behind there product so strong as southbend clutch. Peter and the rest of the crew are top notch.

Diesel Performance LLC.

Ogden,Utah

 

[wcjp]

I ran the Rally Clutch with my very big slidein camper, trailer and Jeep. Never a problem. I've since sold the camper. It turns out the Dana 80 was the weak link. It's currently in the shop. The clutch is still working great. Sorry to hear you had issues.

 

[GCroyle]

I don't have your failure details, but anytime that damper springs have popped out there are additional causes or issues to look at and the NV4500 with the seperate bell housing has two dowel sleeves that center the bell housing to the engine. If these are missing or damaged the center line of the crank and the center line of the mainshaft will not be concentric and the damper will fail prematurely. If something is between any of the mating surfaces, (engine to B/H, B/H to trans. ) then an angle is created (mainshaft to flywheel) at the torsion damper and the damper is doomed. Both of these conditions can be measured with the bell housing on the engine with a mag base dial indicator, details in Dodge shop manual.

 

[BigBadDodge]

You can't go wrong with SBC, they have a clutch for all aplications, you just have to get the right one, And customer service means a lot to me they A1 in my book.



BBD