I am in need of a clutch. I am considering a Con FE but I am not sure about the engagement of this clutch. I do not want a clutch that is going to make me look like a rookie driver for the life of it. I have read that this clutch is not recomended for livestock trailers. Is this clutch really that jerky. I don't currnetly tow heavy but it is in my future plans. I don't want to give myself whiplash while pulling a heavy trailer. Thanks for you input.
Jason

 

If your looking for comments, I would go with a EEP Dual Disk. I have nothing but good things to say about EEP's clutch. They really did there homework on this setup. IMO

 

i just pulled a con 13.25 from my truck and went with a dual disk. the fe would really suck with the trailer if i didn't have 4 wheel drive. i just droped it in low range every time i had to back the big trailer up. if my truck were 2wd i would have pulled the clutch in the first 1000 miles. it is jerky, so keep this in mind.

 

Its grabby

 

Yep, it will chatter on engagement.

Rusty

 

So what are we to do???

I am in the same boat.

The only thing I tow is a pair of JetSki's, but I have to deal with 45min of stop-n-go Los Angeles traffice daily.

I talked to Peter about which clutch to use, and his recommendation was to use the FE, because I might had a turbo and injectors in the future.

 

The FE is a *little* jerky/chattery on "2nd Gear" engagement, but it is liveable. A first gear engagement yielded little to no chattering. I had a 13" FE in my last truck for about 3 months before I sold it. I found that if you brought the RPM's up a little when engaging the that it help some. Its still not as bad a previous TST Button clutch I had though. That thing was either IN or OUT! Backing a heavy trailer can be frustrating too, 2wd Low would be ideal in this situation. However you said you wouldn't be hauling much so you might be able to live with it.

 

I have the FE and its not real bad. IMHO opinion its worth it to me as opposed to a dual disk as I have read/heard firsthand the dual disk clutches can be hard on the synchros.

If I exceed the limits of the FE I will have to go dual disk. So far so good.

I tow heavy but not livestock. At 33,000 pounds I experienced some nasty grab starting out in 1st and 2nd. I found that the starts in 2nd were easier if I brought the rpms up about 200 from what I do empty.

I had an FE in the 01 and was near 500 HP. I had a big 5th wheel RV and a car trailer.
It was fine, I adjusted to it.

Scotty

 

I work with a guy who has a livestock transportation setup going and he is making some nice side money. I know you have to be easy on catle can this clutch be driven easy enough so as to not injure these cows if I decide to help him out. I would be looking at about 16k on the trailer and load. Thanks Again Jason

 

Jason, get the FE and I will follow you around with the George Foreman Grill in case there are any mishaps.

You will be fine with the FE, practice a bit with an empty trailer.

Keep in mind too that hauling across some roads will be a lot more bouncing for the livestock then parking or stop and start.

Good luck on your venture.

Scotty

 

I just put in a SB DD 3600 rated for 650HP ..... I had to change out the stock slave for a 12v setup... with a minor mod I am up and running again.

I love it and I find it better shifting than the stock setup.

 

I am running one of Peter's 3850 plate load 12 ceramic button DD's now. It shifts/drives SO MUCH smoother than my 13" FE I was in total aw!

However a new SBC DD and input shaft is double the cost of a 13" FE