The truck I have now is the one in my sig. (the 96). I used to have a 97 but it got wrecked. The question is, the 97 has 230k mi on it. (and it was an auto if it matters) and when it started, it started and ran really smooth, with no vibration of the truck when I shut it off. My 96 almost makes me cringe when I start it because it just seems rough. Runs just a little rougher too. Also the same when I turn it off, lots of vibration and it is just not as smooth. Is this normal because I know they upgraded for the 97 year? Just wondering.

 

the 5 speed explains it all... its most likely a dual mass flywheel on the outs.. it will only get worse..

pull inspection plate...if you have more than 3/4" rotational play between the 2 halves you need to replace it..

sbc con ofe is what im putting in about 2 weeks in my truck... $900 smfw conversion good to 450 rwhp....i suggest you do the same.. good luck.

 

well I don't know a whole lot about the 5 spd's yet so how do I know when it goes out? Could this be contributing to the truck being hard to get into 1st and reverse? Oh, and any other things if this isn't the problem?

 

This is from Dieselmanns site to support what 1997F-350 said:

Rough idle, manual transmission trucks; "Bearings-in-a-can" rattle noise:
Dual mass flywheel.
Ford uses a two-pieces flywheel to dampen out the engine vibrations to prevent damage to the ZF 5-speed trans--99 trucks equiped with the new 6-speed trans have a standard flywheel. Occasionally either the bearing that supports the rear half of the flywheel fails, or the dampening springs loose their tension. The result is a rougher idle, sometimes described as a miss at idle, often accompanied by a rattling noise. Increasing the RPM usually negates these symptoms. Running the KOER and Cylinder Contribution tests makes the noise worse. Replacing the dual mass flywheel is the only fix for this situation.

 

Or you can get the LUK single mass kit that does away with the dual mass and it's problems.

 

yeah but isn't the single mass very expensive? How much of a job is it going to be to replace this flywheel becuase I do think it is the problem. when I shut off the truck, I get that "bearings in a can" rattling. Sound like the flywheel? Like I said, how much of a job is it to replace? A 1 day job? Also, are there any other symtoms at all to know this is going bad? My truck is hard to get into gear but I think that is the bushing on the clutch. 1 1/2 of pedal play).

 

hey guys, I just found this link here, what all would you guys reccomend getting from this page to do a good job?
http://www.dialaclutch.com/powercont.htm

 

Have you priced a dual mass flywheel?
No matter what you do you have to replace the flywheel to correct the problem.

 

I would not go back in with another dual mass flywheel. I just priced a LUK flywheel from Black Cloud Diesel, a site sponsor. $545 plus $60 shipping.

edit: just found this site with some dual mass flywheels. Looks like $800+.

http://www.drivetrain.com/dualmassflywheel.html

 

the best clutch on the market .

 

Problem there is I don't have 900 to spend. the 500 is very doable. Any drawbacks to going with the single mass rather than the dual? Also why, if is better, is it less expensive?

 

They were trying to smooth out the engine during normal operation. They abandoned the idea in '99. From then on all stick shifts have the single mass. As far as I know.
Only good can come from a dual mass to a single mass conversion. You'll do away with that pesky wobbly feeling and get a real flywheel. If at some point in the future you still have the truck and the clutch has worn out again, you only have to buy the plate, disc, and throwout bearing.

 

Ford went back to a Dual mass behind the 6 u-oh's Go figure.................A new DMF will run you around 1200 bucks from ford. I got my SMF and clutch for about 600 bucks from Dial-a-clutch.

 

guys, english please. lol. I don't understand all of these terms.

 

DMF or SMF
Dual or Single Mass Flywheel