I think I know the common consensus, but being as the choice involves saving $400-$500, but potentially paying for it down the road, I thought i'd put it to a vote for those kind enough to weigh in.

the background - i'm about the pull the trigger on buying the clutch for my E4OD to ZF5 swap, but am faced with two options:

Option 1 - buy a brand new Single Mass Flywheel kit from one of the reputable places (Valair or South Bend) at the tune of $600-700 shipped to my door.

Option 2 - buy a stock dual mass setup from a guy on craigslist that claims his a near brand-new complete setup for $200.

assuming the parts do appear to be in near new condition upon inspection, i'm leaning toward option 2 just because of how tight money is at present. i'm figuring i'll pay for it down the road, but as long as its 2 years or more in the future, it may be a risk i'm willing to take.

feel free to vote using one of the three options ins the title of the post

a few more points/questions:
- to me, the intermediate grounds of the made-in-china single-mass kits for ~$400-500 is not an option i'd consider.
- how is valeo? seems their kit is the best of the parts-store options, but i'm still a little leary
- I don't haul extremely heavy loads and am very near stock HP

 

After replacing a failed dual mass on my IDI I'm now a fan of single mass. But for the cost savings I'd personally cheap out now in your case. There's so much room to work on these trucks that a clutch is an easy enough job that I'd take the risk.

 

Single-mass FTW. Even a "nearly new" (whatever that means) dumb-mass... er... dual-mass flywheel is still a ticking timebomb, it just has more time on the clock. Just not worth the risk; a difference of $500 over the years amounts to pennies a day. DMF on our '95 ECLB started making that "oh $#!+" clatter at about 70,000 miles on the clock.

 

i will second the ill advised.
the dumb-mass in my 88 started slipping at 20k miles. by 50 it was gone. replaced with another dumb-mass, that one lasted less than 15k before slipping, and was shot at 45k.
both clutch discs looked like new,but flywheels fell apart.
i put a C-6 in it and now have close to 400,000 miles on the C-6.

 

pm sent on a SMF

 

I under stand about the money being tight, and honestly, I would consider the DMF myself. But, knowing what we all know about them and the damage they can cause, (sometimes without warning), I would hold out for the SMF if there was any way possible. If you just can't do it financially, or hold off on the swap until you can, then it would be understandable (to me any way) if you went with the DMF set up. If you do go that route though, please keep an eye on that thing and check it regularly. It can take the trans out when it goes. All in all, I can't say if it is ill advised or dumb. You gotta do what you gotta do.

 

If money is tight, as it always is, You can get the complete set with SMF from NAPA for 479.00.
I just got the set from Valair with the flywheel and the HD clutch for 700.00. I spent the extra with the hope to never have to do it again.

 

Brian, does Napa sell Valeo or Luk? Tyler has a Valeo in his truck. It was in the donor truck when we got it. Unknown miles on it, but it's still going.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. that was kind of the feedback I expected, but it was nice to hear it loud and clear.

sounds like even the cheap Chinese SMF's are a better option than a DMF, especially considering a DMF could take the whole trans with it when it goes.

and yes, I don't know what 'nearly new' means either - other than 'used.'

I offered this craigslist guy $100 against his original offer of $400 and he said $200 was the best he could do. it was enough to get me thinking (and asking for expert opinions :-) ), but not enough for me to buy it in the end, I think...

thanks again gents!

 

I understand money being tight, but I would not go with that dual mass setup period! The NAPA kits Dually listed seams to be a good kit. Between my son and me, I have installed 5 of those kits. 2 turboed IDIs and 3 strokes, and they all have pulled heavy loads, with no issues.The NAPA kit is a better option than the dual mass IMO.

 

Bill, They have been selling LUK brand, but on the NAPA website, it says "Product Line....NAPA Clutches"

 

I was thinking Napa sold Luk, but I wasn't sure. I don't guess those are bad clutches for the price.

 

good to know - I was thinking that Luk and Valeo might be better than ACDelco and the other obviously-overseas brands (not that these are not overseas as well), but its nice to hear some actual usage of the Luk ones.

I think i'll go that route if I can't scrape the funds together for the top-of-the-line brands - or buy an SMF setup used somewhere.

thanks again guys.

 

All depends on which "seas"......

 

I had the exact same dilemma getting parts for my swap. When I bought my trans it came with an ebay "low-mles" DMF and south bend clutch. I drove the truck before it came out and it felt great.

But, for peace of mind I bought the valair. I figured I didn't want to have to the pull the trans again for as long as possible so I took out a $700 loan from the bank of grandparents to do it right the first time.

Now hopefully I can unload this DMF on craigslist and make some money back...