Dodge clutch

[oscar p]

Clutch has miraculous went out on my dodge 3500, a 45,000 miles. Warranty won't cover it. Wear item. Shop said it was hydraulic problem. Master cylinder.(wear item) is what lead to clutch wear. Shop wants to put Southbend duel clutch and accessory. Anyway, southbend is a heavy duty performance clutch. My truck is all factory. Do I need a performance clutch? Southbend says there will be some clutch chatter and a little stiffer clutch. Anyone had any experience with Southbend clutch?

 

[RanchMan90]

Southbend is good. It'll be a single mass conversion with upgraded hydraulics. Should be a trouble free upgrade good for stock horsepower and towing.

 

[skyhightree1]

Clutch has miraculous went out on my dodge 3500, a 45,000 miles. Warranty won't cover it. Wear item. Shop said it was hydraulic problem. Master cylinder.(wear item) is what lead to clutch wear. Shop wants to put Southbend duel clutch and accessory. Anyway, southbend is a heavy duty performance clutch. My truck is all factory. Do I need a performance clutch? Southbend says there will be some clutch chatter and a little stiffer clutch. Anyone had any experience with Southbend clutch?

This may not answer your question but if I have that issue at 45k miles that truck is leaving my place quickly that's a sign.

 

[Atimm693]

The warranty should cover it. With the cost of that job, I would pursue it.

If the clutch failed because of a fault in the hydraulics, not by any fault of the operator, FCA should be on the hook for it, not you.

 

[oscar p]

The truck has not been worked hard at all. I'm not a clutch rider. I carried it to the dealership. They said it was a wear item. Clutch and hydraulic system.

 

[Kingfisher]

So who's been seevicing it and didn't notice master cylinder leaking? Diagnosis sounds fishy... What's your complaint?

 

[Kingfisher]

If master goes out slave doesn't work. That doesn't wear out disc. Might soak disc in brake fluid. That would be a pretty poor design.

 

[Nesikep]

What year is the truck?

Southbend IS a good clutch, but they do have a fair bit of pedal pressure.. if you do city driving at all, you may not like it much for that.

Look for a Luk Gold clutch, they are a strong clutch with modest pedal pressure.. they are a little grabby though.. Much cheaper than a Southbend though.

On a 2wd truck it's pretty easy to do the clutch.. the G56 manual isn't too heavy, the NV5600 is a behemoth, NV4500 isn't too bad either.. The G56's dual mass flywheel is troublesome, they've been known to come apart and break bell housings


I'd pursue warranty as well.. if the clutch, as well as the hydraulics are wear items, then the engine, tranny, and everything else is a wear item too.. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

 

[oscar p]

Truck is a 2012, 45000 miles. Have had no trouble at all, stopped to eat, when I got back in truck, it wouldn't go in gear. Turned truck off, put in gear, started it up and drove off. changing gears was a little hard but went well, you just couldn't gear it down. Had to turn it off and put it in gear. Called dealership. They said it was clutch, bring it in Friday. Truck sat all week. started it up Friday. Truck drove like it always did. no problem. Dealership said couldn't find anything wrong, said keep driving it. Three days later, started slipping. Dealership said clutch. In the warranty it says clutch not covered in any way.

 

[wbvs58]

You might say it is none of my business but the same attitude happens in Australia. I think the first thing that Trump should do to make America great again is to not only look into the quality of workmanship and design reliability of your manufacturing but also the after sales service and warranty repairs. Even if they take a hit on some unfair repairs when you get looked after well you will definately be back for another one when the time comes. The Japanese by paying attention to detail and reliability set the benchmark.

Brings to mind the $hit that TCRanch went through with her almost brand new truck when manufactures design filters and alarms to alert to fuel problems yet they wiped their hands of it. They know how to chase people away from buying another.

In my opinion I would be double checking the adjustment and free play in that clutch. If you couldn't get it in gear doesn't sound like the clutch plates are worn.

Ken

 

[Nesikep]

Well, the slipping part of it is worn clutch, but the not going into gear part points to the hydraulics, unless there's something that's stuck between the friction surfaces which could cause both

I've had every kind of problem known to man as far as clutches go!

 

[Kingfisher]

Truck is a 2012, 45000 miles. Have had no trouble at all, stopped to eat, when I got back in truck, it wouldn't go in gear. Turned truck off, put in gear, started it up and drove off. changing gears was a little hard but went well, you just couldn't gear it down. Had to turn it off and put it in gear. Called dealership. They said it was clutch, bring it in Friday. Truck sat all week. started it up Friday. Truck drove like it always did. no problem. Dealership said couldn't find anything wrong, said keep driving it. Three days later, started slipping. Dealership said clutch. In the warranty it says clutch not covered in any way.

Go get a second diagnosis Not a second estimate or second opinion.

 

[Brute 23]

Truck is a 2012, 45000 miles. Have had no trouble at all, stopped to eat, when I got back in truck, it wouldn't go in gear. Turned truck off, put in gear, started it up and drove off. changing gears was a little hard but went well, you just couldn't gear it down. Had to turn it off and put it in gear. Called dealership. They said it was clutch, bring it in Friday. Truck sat all week. started it up Friday. Truck drove like it always did. no problem. Dealership said couldn't find anything wrong, said keep driving it. Three days later, started slipping. Dealership said clutch. In the warranty it says clutch not covered in any way.

Go get a second diagnosis Not a second estimate or second opinion.

I agree. Good advice. :nod:

 

[LongLopeSlowHorse]

What year is the truck?

Southbend IS a good clutch, but they do have a fair bit of pedal pressure.. if you do city driving at all, you may not like it much for that.

Look for a Luk Gold clutch, they are a strong clutch with modest pedal pressure.. they are a little grabby though.. Much cheaper than a Southbend though.

On a 2wd truck it's pretty easy to do the clutch.. the G56 manual isn't too heavy, the NV5600 is a behemoth, NV4500 isn't too bad either.. The G56's dual mass flywheel is troublesome, they've been known to come apart and break bell housings


I'd pursue warranty as well.. if the clutch, as well as the hydraulics are wear items, then the engine, tranny, and everything else is a wear item too.. The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

"The G56's dual mass flywheel is troublesome,"

Really?! I have 94 1/2 powerstroke with about 245,000 on it, hydrabed, pretty decent shape. Clutch went out and that was first time I heard of 'dual mass'---cost me about 600 bucks to eliminate that cluster of crap---I had no idea anybody was still using it--is it common?

I gotta question if this clutch is shot---can't get it into gear/clutch slips are two different problems. Some vehicles master/plumbing/slave are one unit and no adjustment on clutch possible. Can give you fits---esp if you got any air in system.

I think about '97 ford had a circular plastic slave on clutch that surrounded input shaft on trans---you had to drop trans to change slave cylinder. Might as well do the clutch while you got it tore to hell. who comes up with these brain farts?

 

[cfpinz]

I think about '97 ford had a circular plastic slave on clutch that surrounded input shaft on trans---you had to drop trans to change slave cylinder. Might as well do the clutch while you got it tore to be nice. who comes up with these brain farts?

Those were only used on gas engines to my knowledge, every diesel with a ZF-5 that I've worked on had an external slave cylinder.

 

[Nesikep]

the internal slave was only used on smaller vehicles... probably thought up by the same arse who put a starter in the lifter valley of a V6! :banghead:

as far as I know only later model dodges had the dual mass flywheels... I don't think the V8's really needed them as much as that shaky 6cyl cummins

 

[cfpinz]

the internal slave was only used on smaller vehicles... probably thought up by the same arse who put a starter in the lifter valley of a V6! :banghead:

What a Genius! Had never heard of the starter deal! I had an '88 F250 with the 351 in it that had the internal slave cylinder, and have seen a few other similar trucks with them.

as far as I know only later model dodges had the dual mass flywheels... I don't think the V8's really needed them as much as that shaky 6cyl cummins

I've removed the DMF from my 7.3 Fords and replaced them with standard clutch setups from NAPA and some of the performance places depending on application, no ill effects.

I've got a '07 Dodge 6.7 that with 80k on it, bought it with 60k and it had just had the 3rd clutch put in it. It'll slip the clutch like it's greased if you get bog it down far enough. You ever messed with the Southbend clutches in a Dodge?

 

[SmokinM]

Ouch 3 in 60k mi.! I had a f350 with 243k on the original clutch when a kid pulled out in front of it and totaled it for me. One I drive now has 170k on the clutch. Both of those trucks stay hooked to a 24' gooseneck trailer loaded to the hilt and/or in the farm mud.

I would have to find something that did better than that if I was gonna keep that truck.

 

[cfpinz]

Ouch 3 in 60k mi.! I had a f350 with 243k on the original clutch when a kid pulled out in front of it and totaled it for me. One I drive now has 170k on the clutch. Both of those trucks stay hooked to a 24' gooseneck trailer loaded to the hilt and/or in the farm mud.

I would have to find something that did better than that if I was gonna keep that truck.

The Dodge is pretty comical, nice engine but the rest of the package is a POS. Original owner turned it up pretty tight, it pulls as good as my road tractor with an M11 in it - just doesn't stop quite as well.

I usually get 100-150k out of Ford clutch actually working them, but the reverse gear in the Dodge is so fast that it puts hot spots on the disk in no time. Compound that with the fact it doesn't have locking hubs so there's no 2Low, and clutches don't last very long.

 

[Nesikep]

I have a southbend 13125 in my truck... they claim it's conservatively rated for 475hp, and I don't quite agree with that unless it's just an occasional number. One thing I noticed is they grab less as they get hot, so you slip it hard once going into 4th (a big step on a 5 speed) on a hill and loaded and it'll start slipping, but recover when it cools down. They used to be noisy clutches with a design they had a while back, it was also problematic, and I was shocked with their warranty.. I was under my truck fixing my starter this spring and there was a piece of shim from the clutch hub hanging out of the little gap between the bell housing and adapter plate, I told them about it, fully expecting to be told to go pound sand, the clutch had been in the truck for 5 years.. The sent me a new clutch including the shipping for free!.. New clutch is much quieter.

I put a NV5600 in it now and reverse is so bloody low it's not funny.. I suggest sticking it in 4L when backing up if your reverse is too high in high range... If the current clutch doesn't last I'd also suggest a street type dual disk clutch.. they don't like speed shifting with the extra rotating mass, but they engage much nicer and with less pedal pressure than an equivalent single. If the previous owner turned the wick up on the truck, do you know if he put it on a dyno and got some numbers? I just had my truck on the dyno, 1000 ft lb @ 2250, 440 hp from 2200 to 2800 RPM totally flat