Hello all. decided to go ahead and post before i get kicked off. I have 2001 5 speed. just bought truck and already had a few mods. previous owner said it had a south bend clutch. My question is, when i push clutch in i get a loud rattle. I'm pretty sure its goin out but would like to know b 4 i buy a new clutch. My buddy said his rattles when his lets out. He has same model year and south bend. It will grid/engage when try to put into reverse also. Clutch holds pretty good under load, slips a little when get the boost up high. Any input would be helpful. Thanks

Clutches despite being frustrating at times, are actually quite simple to understand. Noise when the clutch pedal is depressed is typically due to a bad throw-out bearing or damaged fingers on the pressure plate. In most but not all clutch systems the throw-out bearing is typically only held in contact with the pressure plate fingers when the clutch is depressed. Its this force against the fingers of the pressure plate that causes the plate to release, removing the clamping force that holds the clutch disk to the flywheel. When this bearing goes bad it will cause a noise that only appears when the clutch is depressed. In either case you would need to pull the transmission. While the transmission is out inspect the clutch fingers for damage and/or excessive wear, and replace the throw-out bearing. The FSM manual and guide you through the rest. Also here is a technical write up on various transmission and drive train designs including the clutch. http://www.carbibles.com/transmission_bible.html

Noise when the clutch pedal is depressed is typically due to a bad throw-out bearing or damaged fingers on the pressure plate

I disagree.... IF the previous owner has a SBC Double Disc clutch installed it will have the tell-tale rattle that most all the big doubles have.HowevermPeter has engineered his units to not rattle as bad as others and eariler versions of his own design.I call that being politically correct they call it making the customer happy,LOL.Many owners when they go to the big double discs complained about the rattle and SBC did their best to limit how loud it is.I can tell you this they are alot quieter than my old school EEP double that sounds like its flying apart when you depress the pedal.I would ask the previous owner what SBC unit it is though before seeing what the issue is.If the owner will not help you or can not remember ask him who did the install and maybe a simple call to peter at SBC and you will find your answer. I will also offer that many double discs get unhappy with street daily driving and need to be taken out and burned in.Meaning that you walk into it at high rpm like the puller do to reseat the unit and make it happy again.If they get glazed from daily driving they will slip under a load however do not do this unitl you have done some legwork to find out what unit you have..........Andy