Ok folks I have a concern, the other weekend we all were at a party and got to talking about trucks and what not, well of course there was some liquid encouragement involved I decided to hook chains with a 7.3 cclb dually.....needless to say I got embarrassed, not I took off hard and right away a nast smell of clutch came about and when I stopped i had no pedal so I pumped it a couple times and took it for a spin to make sure it was ok, everything seems normal every once in a while Ill get a nasty smell as a reminder of my stupidity....so i guess the question is....am I gonna be shopping for a new clutch or am ok for a little while?

 

Depending on how worn your clutch was before your "Tug of War Game" most likely it will be slipping when pulling any kind of trailer with any weight value. Probably be ok without pulling anything, until you stomp down the "Go Pedal" at a quick take off. Not a good idea you guys had but I was young once and tried all kinds of stupid stuff too especially when I had a few adult beverages in me. The outcome usually ends up costing you money or someone getting hurt..Just my 2 cents. Have a good one...

 

No lecture from me either, having been there and done that. You should start saving your coins immediately as you will likely be shopping for a new clutch fairly soon. The problem being the blued clutch plate and smoked disk, it will work under a day to day basis until you need to put some power down.

Alcohol fueled lessons do tend to be a bit expensive - the voice of experience speaking.

Cheers!

Mike

 

HAHA thanks fellas, appreciate the advice!! Ill say that I have been driving and pulling on a regular basis I really dont see or feel any diffrence and trust me I dont baby it....im not stupid (only once) but it gets ran how it should

 

Ben, I have got mine stinky on occasion as well. I try not to, but so far mine has held.

Of course I have a SB DD3250 waiting to go in, so I can be brave...

 

Yeah, once you have heated the surface material to the point of smoke, you have started the degradation process and can expect a reduction in lifespan.

It may last quite a while...or not. You will know when it starts to go so you may want to order up its replacement so you have it on hand, as it will probably fail on a Friday evening or Holiday!!

 

I got my clutch good and smokey a few years ago, it was the factory clutch. Since then I put 120,000 miles on it and one season of plowing snow. This last week I replaced my factory clutch with a south bend CON OFE. When I slid the trans back there was a few disk springs laying in the bottom of the bellhousing. I dont have any pics but that pressure plate was blue with a few deep burn marks..

I would start putting a few bucks away and order a South Bend, have it sitting on the shelf at least if I was in your boat. (and I was )

 

I forgot to mention that my stock clutch actually looked pretty good, but the hydraulics went bad and the blocker rings in the trans were shot so I replaced everything.

Sometimes my southbend Con OFE will get a little grabby and then get back to normal, haven't figured out why......

 

My stock clutch looked good too, but slipped when towing my fiver. I imagine the programmer had alot to do with the slipping. I had a SB clutch installed not a real radical one just wanted one for towing with no problems. The one I had installed {in my signature} only grabs when in reverse on an incline but dropping the transfer case into low cures that problem don't know what the non 4x4 guys do when they grab like that in reverse with a load...
As was metioned a clutch might be around the corner for the orginal thread starter.

 

I know what you mean about reverse, mine backs up way too fast in 2/4HI!!

He may still have a lot of life in it but it sounds like he likes to get on it a little so we will have to wait and see.....

 

HA HA HA you guys are awesome!!! Im gonna be ordering a clutch here eventually but im figuring on valair, buddy of mine had one in his 12 valve and he seemed pretty happy with it, and from what I understand they are cheaper than South Bend.....As for the reverse subject.....what is the deal with that any ways, no one is trying to win a race here why make the reverse gear (unmistakably the most important gear in a truck) so high dont get me wrong some guys they will tell you all day long they could back up at a 100mph but me, I like to take my time and get it right and not break stuff in the process

 

Like you when backing up with my trailer I do take my time don't want any damage to my truck or trailer either mechanically or body wise. As far as being low geared in reverse they probably think you don't back up for hundreds of miles in reverse and with weight you need a low gear to push back. Reverse without a load is as normal as can be. I went with the SB clutch cause the shop usually put them in but what I have read about Valair they seem to do the job just as good or better. I have pulled my trailer across the United States several times {Northwest to Northeast coasts} with this new clutch and had no problems other than EGTs rising not because of the clutch but probably cause of the programmer so I just throttle back and shift down not in any hurry anyway, {us being retired helps} . I have said before that our trucks might not win all the races but they always finish them!!

 

I have 3.55's and a 6 speed, which runs reverse off the same ratio as first, its just too darn high for backing up.

Dodge engineers...go figure. I guess it couldn't be lower than first but WTH?! It's like a front wheel drive Turbo Laser in reverse!!!

 

I agree, the majority of backing up is A) with a trailer or B) where you dont have to go like speed racer....there is no reason to have a reverse gear so high as it is in these trannys, why do u think semis have two ranges? Plus un like for dodge doesnt have l/o hubs where you can slip it in low range with out being in true 4x4 which makes turning a whole lot easier