Clutch finally died...

[GreenRiverCummins]

Well after 190k mile's nearly 170k with a fifthwheel behind it my stock clutch died last monday. After i vacumed the inside, cleaned with wipe's, washed the truck, hand dried it, waxed it, and went for a sunday drive down by the river got to the bridge before the turn gearded down to 3rd and hit the clutch to downshift to second pedal went to the floor.... had to ride 3rd gear for about a mile till i could safely pull over. After a few not PG-13 word's and praying i called for some help home. I was gonna haul it but, my angry was alittle high had to start the truck in gear and just speed shifted it home (Not a good idea but i was that mad) lol So i contacted thoroughbred diesel talked with them for about half an hour on what they suggested for my rig and i ordered a South Bend 3250 Dual disc clutch kit for $1250. They talked me out of the #3800 Valair dual disc i hope i went with the right brand. It will be here monday and the trans guy will have her back to me that after noon can't wait to try it back at 100% been at about 50% since i bought it last year from the orignal owner who only used it to tow his fifthwheel hence the 170K mile part. So did i choose right with the south bend over valair???any input would be great so i know in the future.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

south bend and valair are very good clutches i like my single disk

[CSM]

I had a SB con-ofe and flywheel and it was great. The larger flywheel smoothed out the motor a bit too. I upgraded the hydraulics as well. I was harsh on that clutch, and had zero issues with it.

[dripley]

I have the single disk valair and other that being a little grabby on launch it has been a good clutch. Holds fine with the 5th wheel. My stocker did the same as yours around 200k and it turned out to be the hydros and not the clutch itself. Replaced the master and drove it 2+ years before replacing the plate. Maybe your hydros have just failed.

[mopartechnician]

I have used both multiple times and havnt had any problems. Even had a customer that refused to change his rear main and smoked the valair single disk and they warrantied it with no questions asked.

[GreenRiverCummins]

Got my Clutch kit in today at 1 o'clock CST and dropped it off at the trans shop. He told me to call before i got it so he could go ahead and have the old one out and ready for the new one cause my truck is my living. So i called at 9 his time and informed him UPS had me down for delivery at 12 his time. Got there at 1 the truck still sitting turns out his Secratery/ Daugther "Forgot to tell him i called" so i have to wait another day or more since he moved other customer's ahead of me. I had to pay extra for quicker delivery due to need of truck so wasted that money and costing me money just sitting there. So i hope he will pick up the slack on there end and get my truck fixed. Fill y'all in as soon as i get the truck back on how i like the new Clutch

[GreenRiverCummins]

Just giving a quick update went this morning and picked my truck up. Had to wait an extra day due to the shop being closed due to sickness.....And the owner was fair enough to throw in a new Master/Slave kit on free of charge and no install fee on top of that for all the issue's and delays he caused. Turn's out my old clutch was nearly gone and the preesure plate had mutiple bent finger's. My Master also had a small leak internaly so that's why he tossed that on at no charge. I gotta say i really like the Clutch so smooth to drive has so much power now that it's not slipping. It is alittle grabby in first from a dead stop and does the same down shiffting but it more then make's up for it towing my camper which i hooked up to for alittle test run. give update's as i drive it more.

[hex0rz]

Sweet! Now, how much do you wanna sell it for?

[Crepitus]

Thanks for the write up. Im a little confusied about a point that is important to me, does the clutch down shift well? I realise that it may improve as the clutch breaks in and the operator gets used to it. I drive a lot of steep twistys, a clean down shift is a must have.ThanksDave

[GreenRiverCummins]

Only driven the truck about 50 mile's as of now and haven't had the chance to tow the camper up or down hill's. But empty it is a bit grabby when downshifting compared to stock not sure if it will become less as time goes on. But so far happy it's amazing how easy the clutch is to shift through the gear's. Further update's to come