I'm ordering a South Bend and thought it would be pertinent to know what you guys have had to do to change the clutch in my 5 speed.  Any things I should watch out for or anything I need to get before I start.  I'm assuming I'm going to need a tranny jack and in saying that, do I have to split the tranny and transfer case if I have a tranny jack?

 

Thanks.

I think its easier if you split the trans and transfercase when doing it, If I remember correctly south bend balances the flywheel and pressure plate as an assembly so it will probably have a stripe of paint going across and you want to keep that lined up when you put everything together in the truck. Thats all I can really think of at the moment.

I was hopping that I could get away with keeping them mounted together but if its going to be a pain then it doesnt seem worth it.

Southbend...

 

Make sure to pay attention to the throw-out bearing fork/lever. It can be reversed and won't work properly.

 

Make sure to add the shim to the ball stud as supplied.

 

On assembly make sure the throw bearing is up in the sleeve of the input shaft.

I put in my southbend without splitting tranny and transfer half and without a transmission jack. I just used a floor jack with a rachet strap around it. It is a fairly straight forward project. 

Wow.....  Did you have help?  Or are you that large green guy.

Wow.....  Did you have help?  Or are you that large green guy.

 

I had one other guy with me to make sure I didn't drop it and to help me stab it. I've done a couple clutches before and these aren't too bad just a bit heavy sometimes!  I usually try to keep the green guy hidden!

Just make sure you keep everything really clean when it comes to your clutch disk and plate, you don't want any foreign debris to get on it prior to install, i.e. grease, brake cleaner on the disk, brake fluid. etc.  Clean the inside of your bell housing while you have it out and check your input shaft for any signs of compromise and obviously make sure you get it oriented correctly.  I kept mine married when I swapped out my clutch and I did mine by myself but I suppose I cheated as I had a lift and a transmission jack.  If you haven't ever taken out your trans cross member you're in for a treat. its really not to bad of a job.  Which south bend are you putting in? Good luck

I'm getting the 13125-OK-HD.  Supposed to hold 425 at the wheels.  I've asked more than once if this is the correct clutch for my HP and trailer weight and they keep telling me yes so.....

 

Thanks everyone too for the advice but did anyone change their input shaft seal or should I bother?

I did not change mine, but I did not see any signs pointing to needing to either.  From what I have been told after speaking with a few different fellas that work for south bend and valair: both stated to me the clutches are rated below what they will and can actually handle, so I imagine you should be good to go.

It's not a big deal, but you might consider doing the rear main crank seal. It is a pretty easy seal to change and doesn't require disassembly of anything to get to it. While you are that far in, might be a good thing to do.

I'll check and see how much they are and where to get one.

when i replaced the clutch on my 6spd i did the easy way and dropped the tranny xcase in one piece. i replaced the all clutch internals with new, throw out arm/bearing/pivot ball/pivot ball clip and lubed the input shaft lightly and the groove inside the bearing <---- mandatory.  i replaced the rear main while i was in there. <---- take your time on this.

 

tossed it all back together and had zero issues since. i used a valair clutch single disk with pressure plate and had the flywheel resurfaced as it was in great shape.  took me and a friend a day to do it

Havent received my clutch yet as its on backorder.  I picked up a pivot ball and spring and I'll see how everything else looks when its apart.  I "may" just leave the tranny and t-case together since I have a jack.  We'll see.....

i found it easier to pull them as one piece, be warned it is a off balance heavy chunk of metal!

If you do happen to pull the T case apart from the transmission it isn't very hard. Just 6 bolts around the trans 2 drivelines and the shift linkage! 

i found it easier to pull them as one piece, be warned it is a off balance heavy chunk of metal!

I also did it in one piece as well. Just got very creative with ratchet straps and a floor jack.

^^^^^ what he said.  you can build a make shift trans jack with some wood........and a long bolt through the middle that you can put a washer and nut on the bottom side of the jack bucket.....Just FYI.  Creative enginuity trumps adversity when you apply it.

I second the ratchet strap/s! I used a tranny adapter on my floor jack and didn't chain it or strap and it slipped off the jack...not fun. Next time around I used 1 ratchet strap and it worked great.

yeah i chained mine with 2 chains...  still wanted to slip