This is one of the reasons I peruse this site. There isn't as much dealer interaction now as there once was, but it is still nice to see.

Peter... do you still have that 4bt SBC Jeep?

Peter is a salt of the earth kind of guy....nothing he does in an attempt to improve Customer Service surprises me...he continues to earn my respect every time I read his responses :)

While on the subject of clutches...
 

Well, the clutch appears to be on its way out in my wife's 03. I've noticed for a while now that the engagement was getting higher and higher on the pedal. Also, last summer while hauling hay I was slightly bogged down in the pasture and truck started "hammering" as the wheels were slipping in the mud. At first I just chalked it up to the Thorsen-style anti spin setup, but the thought of a slipping/grabbing clutch was in the back of my mind. Last night, while backing the camper up a hill (only about 10K pounds) it really started hammering again, so I had to feather the clutch while raising rpm. When I was done, the wife wrinkled her nose and asked what that smell was. My only reply was "your clutch". So, she's not happy about that.
The real kicker? Her truck only has just a hair over 76K miles on it! Yup, that's right. Less than 100k miles! I have never had a clutch go so quickly on me. Granted, we DO haul pretty heavy sometimes, but I am always patient and use the ZTL on takeoff, always start in first (even unloaded) and NO, we do not have any type of programmer/chip on it. I am an old guy and don't think these things are built for racing - they are for hauling loads, and I am never in a hurry when I am going down the road with five times more weight than anyone else around me. The stock clutch in my 01 lasted well past 150K, and I haul almost as much with that truck as we do with the 03.
I grew up with a manual transmission, and so did my wife. When I met her, she was driving a 1973 Chevy C10 with three-on-the-tree, and I had my 1978 Power Wagon (4 spd man). We don't have any bad habits like riding the clutch, we always shift to neutral when stopped/idling and then drop our foot off of the clutch pedal.
Anyway, the truck has an appointment for a visit to the local tranny shop down the road next week. At least around here the guys at the shop are familiar with trucks used to haul. He asked me some very good questions while talking to him. Things like: how much weight do you haul, do you have a chip, how often do you drive this truck, etc. He said that he had a brand of heavy-duty replacement clutches he has had very good luck with. I will ask him more when I drop it off, but anything has to better than this quick to fail OEM one.
I have had good luck with the SPEC Stage II installed in my truck at 201K miles. My only complaint is that the clutch engages lower than I had gotten used to - just about two inches off the floor.

Done ventin'...

The "hammering" as you describe it and the conditions also speak to "axle wrap".

That is where traction bars come in handy!

Interesting
 

OK, tell me more before I commit to a $900 clutch replacement next Wednesday.
In my original post I also mentioned the fact that engagement had traveled to the upper end of pedal travel and there was stinky clutch smelling smoke as I rode the OEM to its final resting place in the sky in order to move the camper to a higher spot to allow the RV cover to be built this week. If I can save a dime, I am all ears!

Ok, first the clutch... it is possible at this point that you smoked the clutch by slipping it to avoid the "hammering". You may have to replace the clutch regardless. I can't diagonse that from the internet. Some clutches get really "grabby" and cause something like you describe, but then it would be all the time, not just certain situations.

The two scenarios you describe are classic axle wrap. Ever go to drag races and see a wheel "hop" when the green light hits and the clutch is dumped?

What happens in a nutshell is that the torque in the driveline and axle cause the axle to pivot in the springs. (think of the front of the pinion and u-joint suddenly start to point upwards to the bed or down toward the ground from its normal position). When the axle pivots, it reaches a point where the spring tension overcomes the "wrap" and forces the axle back into position and the process starts all over again. It happens quickly and violently and can destroy your u-joints. Ladder bars, traction bars, Cal-tracs are devices that prevent that axle wrap by maintaining the axle geometry. Cal Tracs are the cheapest and easiest to install. Feathering the clutch as you did simply removed the torque from the drivetrain to a degree that stopped the wrap from happening. The first time it happened to me I was in deep snow... this has nothing to do with the anti-spin diferential.

Google "axle wrap" for better explanations than mine for a clearer understanding.
Good Luck!

Thanks. Yeah, I remember seeing the guys bolting the ladder bars to their rear leafs to stop the hopping on clutch-dump launches years ago.

The first time I felt it was several years ago in soft sugar-sand while pulling our fifth wheel. Never had it since then until last summer, but the clutch has really started to engage higher and higher. It is near the top inch of pedal travel now. I guess since the magic gripping smoke leaked out it is time to reline the clutch anyway.

Resolution to issue:
 

R&R clutch assembly, pedal engagement still too high. Replaced hydraulic master and slave cylinder. Clutch working like new.

Apparently the hydraulics failed and led to a premature clutch failure. Lesson to all - if your clutch starts feeling different, check you hydraulics before you end up with a more expensive repair..