So... my clutch fell apart on Wednesday and left me in the middle of an intersection. I know it has to be the clutch because the petal didnt invert itself. So now I'm lost on which after market clutch I want.. these both are similar but there are limited reviews about them and I was hoping my Brothers (and sisters) here could point me in the right direction.

VALAIR 13" x 1.375" Premium Stock Organic Replacement Clutch HD Spring Hub 99-03 7.3L Ford Powerstroke 400HP

or...

Riffraff Diesel: South Bend Clutch ZF6 Clutch Kits (1944-6OK)


I wont be buying it from either of those stores because my local diesel shop has my business (gives me better prices for referring business), so don't let the name of the website influence anything.

Thanks!

 

DISLVR turned me on to the VALAIR clutch assy and so far, have no complaints. I would however, and not sure if its the trans itself, but an oem m/s assy. i installed an a/m master-slave assy and seems to "give" pressure up when traveling for awhile or towing anything. Hoping its due to the trans fluid get'n warm, but i doubt it. Also, nows a good time to upgrade the clutch fork too.

 

Thanks! Ill have to concider the trans fork upgrade as well.

 

Im running the southbend from RiffRaff. I have had it for about two years now and LOVE it. Absolutly no complaints and no problems with it. Ive 4 horses behind my truck over a grade and never had a worry about it. Just my .02c

 

By "didn't invert itself" you mean the clutch pedal stuck to the floor? That's a hydraulic failure, not the clutch.

Generally when the clutch itself fails there will be a loud bang followed by coasting to a stop, but the pedal still cycles normally.

 

Sorry for the late reply, but I meant that it didn't stick to the floor. It feels strong like normal, it just doesn't do anything. Im in the trusty 1990 F150 until I get the $$$ for a southbend. The truck actually made a bang but it didnt coast it just stalled out with the clutch in and when I put it in 1st and restarted with the clutch in, it took off like the clutch was out. So I think I just have a clutch in chunks jammed up against the flywheel. We'll see in a week or two. Ill post pics if there is major destruction.

 

Not fun..... been there too. Before you pull it have a plan for shoring up the input shaft. It will probably be trashed too.

I didn't have time or money to rebuild the tranny, so I put a bronze bushing in place of the pilot bearing. It's a bit noisy, but works.

 

If your not get'n the trans redone, and just removing it to replace clutch assy, i installed one of these and worked well. Somewhat extends the life of input shaft assy....

Ford ZF 5 & 6 Speed Input Shaft Repair Kit 6.9 7.3 | eBay

 

Be sure and get the updated fork if you can afford to, mine snapped at the weak spot and left me stranded a few months ago.

 

Currently running SB Con OFE in the dually. Very nice clutch. I chewed through a LUK in 100k miles - and I do not beat up my clutch.

I'm running a 6003RS for a pilot bearing. Stock pilot is JUNK and I don't recommend kevlar either. The bronze bushing is prolly the closest thing to 'bullet proof'.



FWIW, SB will 'reface' a Con OFE for like $40 plus shipping.

I also fixed the whole 'everything that drains out of the valley contaminates my clutch' thing too. That short-bus riding engineer needs a serious neck-slap!!!




Oh, I have almost 360k miles on stock hydraulics. However, posting that will prolly cause it to fail today............

 

Jason, what type fluid you running in your trans?

 

Thanks for the pics SkySkiJason, very informative. I like the valley oil fix you did. I tried to search for something like that on the forums when I did my clutch a little over a month ago but I didn't come up with anything.

How does the SB compare to the LUK in terms of pedal feel, engagement, around town driveability, and holding power? I went with the LUK on my last install, I know it doesn't have the holding power of some of the other clutches but it sure is smooth and the pedal pressure is great. Honestly, If I could get 100k miles out of my LUK as you did I would be happy. My stock clutch fork failed on my factory clutch at just under 40k miles. What kind of mileage are you getting out of your SB clutches?

How long have you been running that 6003rs bearing? I looked into running it but passed on it, I ended up running a stock style bearing although I wasn't real confident doing it. My bearing dealer was against the 6003rs for this application stating it was designed to be pressed on a shaft and not to have something fit loosely inside it.

I ran the Dorman brass pilot for a short time as well, it was pretty loud, sitting still at idle in a place with lots of people I got a lot of "whats wrong with your truck looks." The noise was bearable for me but not an ideal fix for the problem.

Hopefully I am not being off topic, all of these items posted are things that should be given some serious consideration when changing a clutch in our particular vehicles.

 

I got a rebuilt Midwest Trans about 25k miles ago and put ATF in it, 'cause they told me to. Its time for the 'break-in' fluid change and I was gonna do some research before refilling it. Seems like I read there was a TSB or something about using gear oil.... My original trans had 330k on it and other than chewing thru pilot bearings it worked fine - I ran Mobil 1 ATF in it after the first fluid change at 100k miles.

The pedal is slightly stiffer with the SB - but I didn't really notice. A friend with a LUK drove my truck on Monday and commented his was easier to push in... I never felt the LUK slip, but there were significant hot spots on the PP and FW when I changed it. I actually dropped the trans to inspect/change the pilot bearing and was horrified that the LUK was SHOT. I ended up throwing an autozone clutch in it because I was using a friends shop with a lift and BIG trans jack - and had to put the truck back together right then... (the AZ clutch has about 10k babied miles on it and is FOR SALE - ) Driveability is actually better with the SB. The LUK had more 'stutter' at low RPM's. The SB will 'stutter', but after a short learning curve - I can completely avoid it now.

My OE clutch went like 180k miles and I only changed it after contaminating it with oil a couple of times. The last time I was leaving to go cross-country with the 5ver a couple days later and it was still slipping - I didn't have time to wait for the oil to 'burn off'.

The 6003RS has a little over 25k on it - I put it in with the rebuilt trans. It is a roller-bearing design and fit TIGHT in the FW. I put the bearing on dry ice before install and it went right in. Seemed like a tight enough fit on the input shaft, but even if it was 'loose' this design is waaaay more resilient than the POS OE offering. (BTS) Brian recommended it to me - if it had been anyone else I might not have tried it! I'm not planning to pull the trans for a loooong time, but will definitely post what I find in there when I do!!!

I think the more worn the input shaft and mid-shaft bearings are in the trans - the less forgiving it will be to the pilot bearing/bushing. I put the kevlar bushing in with the LUK and it was FUBAR in 100k. I put another one in with the AZ clutch and it was still 'ok' after 10k miles. The 3rd bushing was pretty chewed up after 30k when I swapped trannies... I think SB only charged me for the first one though. The difference between the kevlar piece and stocker is there was less play with a FUBAR bushing than there was with a FUBAR OE bearing and the kevlar doesn't hurt the input shaft.

 

Thanks for the replies, lots of useful info! Hopefully I can get some life out of the LUK, I also hope I don't have to pull the tranny for a long time!

 

I had 187,000 on my LUK before it exploded. If your engine is anywhere close to stock it could last forever.