Stock G56 clutch life
 

After reading threads about the "weak" clutch connected to the G56 and so forth, I thought it'd be interesting to see how many clutches are being replaced on STOCK POWER trucks.

So far I've kept my 06 stock and with 75,000 miles I have zero complaints with the clutch so far.

So I'm curious to see where everybody else is replacing theirs at mileage wise.

I think I replaced the clucth in my '99 with the NV4500 at around 140,000 miles.

So please vote, post your mileage and maybe we will see a trend!

Mine's got 40k on it, and tows heavy sometimes. Stock clutch has been working fine. I'd like it to have a little more positive feel, but I won't dump the kind of change for a OFE until I have to.

I've got 23k on mine. I few thousand of that is towing 11,000lbs. A couple thousand towing 5000.

I've got 36k on mine, started slipping while towing heavy 15k around 26,000miles than started slipping towing light 8k around 32,000 miles. Now it slips running empty in 5th and 6th under load. South bend Con OFE on the horizon.
I don't beat the truck and my smarty is set on the 90hp setting. I used the truck for quite a bit of the past year on a construction site driving in rough terrain, a lot of slow moving and in and out of the clutch. This is what I think more than anything took its toll. I've never worn a clutch out in my life.[duhhh]

Yeah no doubt the more you use the clutch the more wear.

Plus, throwing an additional 90 hp isn't going to help.

I wonder how many miles I can get out of my stocker?

It's like a lottery!

hahaha

I had to vote Stock clutch is still holding and hasn't needed replaced yet.

I have just over 45k miles. Towed a few times with about 6,000lbs but mostly just heavy stuff in the bed right now. (if anything) So far so good here.

I've have an 06 with the g56 and just turned 100k still on stock clutch. I am at 6000' elev and can run the superchip at tow setting with no slipping. Turn it up to perf setting and it slips in 5th and 6th. Tow mode at sea level and it will slip. Trying to decide between an oem replacement with solid flywheel or a Valair when the time comes.

65,000 miles on the stock clutch. Truck hauls 10-17K regularly, and with SMARTY always on level 3 (stock TQ Management)

Interestingly, the clutch only gets crabby when I ask it for 500+RWHP on the dyno.

Other than that. I should be at 75,000 miles soon, and the SBC3250DD will be going in.

These clutches are not all that weak. The flywheel however......

My father's '05 had 135000 miles when the factory clutch gave out. He is running a heavy single disc ValAir unit now. 100% bone stock and pulls a 32' G/N 90% of the time.

My '08 clutch is slipping with ~38000 miles on the truck now. Truck has stock power (has DPF and EGR delete and the PMT to clear codes but I do NOT run any of the power tunes) and clutch slips with anything more than 12000lbs. behind it in 6th gear. It can also slip the clutch bobtail under hard WOT (the couple of times i've tried). It seems that 325/610 is the maximum threshold of power at which the G56 clutch can handle. The 350/610 of my 6.7L is enough to get it slipping pretty early in life. I doubt if I will see 100K on the OEM clutch.

My uncle has an '06 with around 205000 miles. He is on his 3rd OEM clutch, not sure what mileage he replaced them at.

See my post in the NV5600 thread concerning my '01.

What was the whole reasoning behind the D M F setup anyway?

Why did they change the clutch design for the G56?

i have 72000 on mine, some towing heavy, and alot just running empty. i have slipped it three times. once when i first got my smarty jr and loaded 100 horse, once on the junior on the OLD 70 hp tune which ended up being 100, and once towing my 25' gooseneck with the 40 hp tune, which i guess was a fluke, b/c i've run the 40 hp while towing much heavier and it holds.

The G56 transmission is actually a VERY stout unit. It can handle tons of power and relatively extreme temperature increases and still keep on trucking. However, with the strength of the transmission comes noise. The G56 is a noisy transmission. The dual mass flywheel was introduced, in part, to smooth the notchiness of the transmission and to quiet it down. A dual mass flywheel is an excellent idea on something like a VW Jetta. Unfortunately, like so many other things (read: BlueTec system on a 6.7L), what works well in passenger car applications does not translate to reliable crossover into the medium duty work truck market where steel parts get used and abused every day.

ValAir's entry level setup for the G56, according to Dan, is nothing more than a standard clutch setup for an NV5600 with upgraded hydraulics and a standard flywheel. This is the clutch that my father put in his '05. The clutch pedal is much more stiff (nearly identical to the NV5600 in my '01) and the transmission is much more noisy. The chatter doesn't bother him though, as he knows now that the clutch is going to last.

Good to know.

When It's time for a replacement I'll be ditching the DMF setup as well I think.

I love the G56!

But I can live with some chatter if need be.

I DONT KNOW ABOUT A G56, BUT MY NV4500 5-SPEED stock clutch has 245,000+ miles on it now, and still not slipping, when i upgrade it ,i will add my xzt... (waiting, waiting, waiting...)

My G56 is not noisy.
Mercedes brought the tandom mas flywheel over in I think it was 1998 with the SLK.So I am sure that the G56 is mated to that flywheel in most MB influenced applications as our trucks are.
We haven't had too many problems with them in the cars but then again we don't see a lot of sticks these days.
I have not had any issues at all with mine and I do tow aprox 10,000lbs and thats mostly in the mountains.