So I have milked 214K out of the original clutch so I am just curios if anyone has a good reason not to have a stock one replaced. I have a predator on tow mode only so not looking to street race anyone and I tow my dump trailer, cargo trailer and a 30' travel trailer on vacation along with my boat.

 

With your mods,that's amazing longevity for a dmf stocker.
Seems to be working for you.
An upgrade would be an sbc stock single disc or OKHD available through the store here.
Transmission gear rollover noise will be present though normally w/ATF+4.

 

Well that's about 150k mi more than I got out of my OE clutch, but I only got about 80k out of the first SB OFE clutch, so, the wife must be hard on them. (Was her DD until this past year.)
I'd probably still upgrade if you're going through the trouble of tearing it down to replace it. The mileage you got out of it is definately not the norm.

 

As I have posted previously, I had nothing but problems with aftermarket clutches. My south bend lasted 15K miles before it was shot and I didn't give the Valair a chance (500 miles is all it got) because it made the truck unbearably loud and had funny vibrations like the flywheel was out of round.

I'm back in the stock DMF setup and that's my preference. I have an Edge chip but don't use it past the tow setting. You can get a stock LUK setup for under $600. "Upgrades" to a SMF setup will cost you double that and the Southbend trashed my input shaft costing me thousands more in a transmission rebuild. I noticed another thread on here recently of another Southbend clutch doing that to another input shaft- so it wasn't just me.

The whole LuK kit on Amazon (LuK 05-182 Clutch Kit) is only $521.57 shipped free if you have a Prime account. That's the flywheel, pilot bearing, throw-out bearing and clutch- everything you need.

Here's my whole story, some instructions for DIY, and some talk about OEM vs. the aftermarket for clutches.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ite-up-318715/

 

Last week I drove an '05 G-56 w/217k on it. The owner had just bought it and didn't know what clutch it had. Due to the stiff pedal it had to be an aftermarket with a stiffer pressure plate than my SBC OKHD. That trans shifted perfectly and the clutch was smoother than my OKHD. The real clincher was the trans was as silent as my dmf!
The owner didn't know what fluid it had in it either.
I'm hoping he contacts the prior owner for some particulars.

 

So how much do the aftermarket clutches vibrate when at a stop? Mine since it is going out is horrible right now and would prefer it to be like it was new. Thanks.

 

My SBC OKHD is smooth at idle.

 

All of those different clutches are good. Clutch longevity is really an operator/driver issue. I am very careful and fully expect to get way more than 250k miles out of my original. Correct clutch use is no secret. Always use low gear from a dead stop. Never depress and hold the clutch down....ever! Don't slip the clutch, let it out quickly. Simple!

 

My Southbend OFE was quiet at idle, engaged. It made for more gear noise from the trans at lower lugging rpms.
My new Southbend, which is not one of their off the shelf clutches (thanks SB for hooking me up when you didn't really have to!), I'm told is a ceramic with 3 finger roller pressure plate. It rattles so loud, the truck sounds like a 24valve sitting at idle with the clutch engaged! Gear rollover noise is higher too. But it's stout as heck and works great.

 

Well I will be in the market for one soon, like less than a week. Which one to go with is a hard decision. To many to choose from. Was driving the truck this weekend, and was hard to get into second gear, no grinding, just would not go in, until i had the clutch pressed for a couple of seconds then it would go smooth.

 

Sounds like the pilot bearing is going south. I had the same issue with my clutch.

 

I hope so Mikey, some people have said it might be the syncros

 

I've got the SBC OKHD. Silent smooth action and won't slip with my camper,285's and Smarty on sw#7 floored in 5th.(So far.) Available in the store here.

 

Danderson, you did talk prior to a noise if you use regular ATF+4, what did you use to quiet it down? How loud is the noise?

 

Yeah,the ATF+4 is too thin. I use a gallon of Delvac 50 thinned with 3qts of Amsoil 5-30 synchromesh.
Some guys use straight Delvac and others thin it with RP Synchromax.
The thicker fluid kills 80% of the noise in mine aside from poking through a neighborhood or parking lot. That's when I get gear rollover noise but no too bad. Recently I drove a guy's truck who had bought an '05 G-56 w/237K on it. The clutch had higher pedal pressure and engaged lower toward the floor. It was smooth as glass and the tranny was as quiet as mine with the dmf. He was going to ask the prior owner what the clutch was and the fluid type.