South Bend A1 in Customer service

[drawson]

Here the deal... Last Tuesday on my way to work I turned a corner went to down shift & the clutch would disengage, The peddle felt normal but even with a new HD Slave cylinder it won't unhook. I got the trans out and one lever on the pressure plate is just hanging there.



I just got off the phone with Peter & once again his customer service is the greatest!!! My truck is my only ride so he is sending me a new set up instead of having me ship mine back to get it repaired.



There are cheaper clutches out there but NO ONE has as good as Customer service as SOUTH BEND!!!!



Thank you Peter Your the man!!!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

With all due respect, and SBC certainly DOES enjoy a great reputation for customer service - but keep in mind, Ford does too - they willingly buy back LOTS of their mistakes!



Personally, I prefer an outfit with very limited NEED for customer service, because there are so few problems, that customer service is only rarely needed or seen.



This is in no way a dig at SBC, or any member here, just sort of a reality check as to the nature of "customer service" and the issues that usually make it visible.



In fairness, MANY contributing issues. FAR outside SBC's responsibility and control cause clutch and drivetrain issues - and they are certainly to be respected and applauded for the many times they have willingly stepped up to cover for issues not of their making!

 

[drawson]

Gary, compairing South Bend to Ford is BAD :{ Believe me if you ever make some high Horse power you'll be running a South Bend!!!



Mechanically things fail and that all this was, and that is all this was was a failure of a mechanically thing not built by South Bend. South Bend uses suppliers just like everyone. I'm not sure but I think the Pressure plate that failed was a Sachs, but I alos know that South Bend uses alot of Luk stuff.



South Bend Clutch is small personal company that has kept up with the high Horse Power & Torque that we build. Inivation and great customer service is what keeps South Bend on Top.

Other clutch companies wait for others to create great products & then they copy them :-{} sell them cheaper.



Oh Gary BTW this Clutch had 32,000 Miles on it of which 8000 or so where hooked to my TT, It made 12 passes down the track. (The Best was 14. 92 @106. 8 MPH) & had held 672 RWHP. How Much HP does that Luk Copy hold?



My truck is driven daily and there was no problems until Tuesday morning last week.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Absolutely no problem with SBC - only a commentary on assigning points for "customer service" where it sometimes isn't fully warranted.



I never had occasion to know how good customer service was at my local Dodge dealership in California with my old '91 truck, because other than routine transmission service due to RV towing, the truck had no failures, and didn't see the innards of their shop.



My own LUK clutch has not been any problem in over 20,000 miles of RV towing - so I have no idea how good the customer service is at the outfit I bought the Cerametallic setup from - and I sincerely hope I *never* need to find out!



I could go on with a lengthy list of aftermarket products I've had thru the years, with no exposure to customer service, since the product was good enough that none was ever needed.



On the other hand, the first Edge Comp I had failed after a year or so - apparently a pretty common happening, and while the rapid and excellent customer service was plus for Edge, I sure would rather have avoided the need to find out!



Then there are those Fords... :-laf :-laf



The basic reason I commented relative to SBC, is the fairly high number of instances reported where problems and failures HAVE been reported, and the accompanying "good customer service" report along with it - personally, I prefer the avoidance of need for customer service, rather than having to rely upon it for replacements and repairs.



But rest assured, if problems with SBC stuff does surface, your fault or theirs, you undoubtedly WILL experience excellent customer service, period!

 

[Tomeygun]

Oh Gary BTW this Clutch had 32,000 Miles on it of which 8000 or so where hooked to my TT, It made 12 passes down the track. (The Best was 14. 92 @106. 8 MPH) & had held 672 RWHP.

I looked and your truck profile shows a CON OFE - thats what I have, and it held 604hp on the dyno, and the street (althought i was not too hard on it)



For the money, these little "450hp-holding" OFE's aren't too darn bad!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Commentaries about Amsoil. or SBC ultimately always end up in some sort of peeing contest - which is why I usually avoid them...



As to my own truck - and the LUK Cerametallic (which really has no bearing on this thread, other than my mention of it in my post above) it has been flawless so far, and you can check my sig for mods and estimated power - but again, this is a CUSTOMER SERVICE thread, not a comparison war between SBC and LUK...



"Customer service" and need for it, is only an issue where stuff fails a lot...

 

[drawson]

Man I've got the fix my profile. I did make 556 HP on the OFE before my turbo blew up and munched the might cummins, this Clutch was an very early South Bend DD 3850 12 CB Clutch. I think I had #3 Piers got the first two of these early 3850s.



Gary this was about customer service & then you came on a started thrashing South Bend AND you don't even have one Iguess it was just a slow day Ah

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Man I've got the fix my profile. I did make 556 HP on the OFE before my turbo blew up and munched the might cummins, this Clutch was an very early South Bend DD 3850 12 CB Clutch. I think I had #3 Piers got the first two of these early 3850s.



Gary this was about customer service & then you came on a started thrashing South Bend AND you don't even have one Iguess it was just a slow day Ah

UMmmmm - started "thrashing South bend" where? If anything, I've bent over backwards applauding their customer service - you missed, or avoided that?



And, I haven't tasted dog poop either - do I have to before I assume I probably wouldn't enjoy it? I don't play the piano - but I sure recognize a sour note when I hear one.



I can make quite a few reasoned and informed judgements about stuff I don't personally own - I can criticize the Fords for their many failures as routinely reported too - must you or I actually *OWN ONE* before we're permitted an opinion or observation?



I think not...