I currently have my engine out. I am doing a little cleaning and throwing some new parts on.

Tonight as I was doing some cleaning I pulled the clutch off of the flywheel to keep it from getting dirty. When I got to the actual plate, or plates of the clutch(I am not sure what you would consider the clutch) I noticed some etching into my clutch plate and am wondering if I should replace it while it is out.

I was hoping some of you guys on here with knowledge of the six speeds could tell me what to look for in a worn clutch. To me the clutch looks like it has plenty of miles on it. I would consider it(With my small amount of knowledge on the subject) to be well used. However I have not had an issue with it in the 13000 miles I have had the truck so I am not certain if I should replace it or not.
Any info you could give me would be well appreciated.

Also if I do need to replace it, what clutch should I be looking at? I am looking to be at about the 350-400 horse range eventually, but the truck is mostly used as a DD and around the farm when I am home.



Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - Baatzy's Album: Engine Pull, Break 2013 - Picture

My clutch plate looks like this on both sides, what do you guys think?

 

If you have upwards of 70K miles on the truck replace the clutch. Replace the rear main seal while you're at it. Go w/ a stock clutch, they work fine.

 

Those grooves that you see is normal for organic clutch materials. Stock clutches fall into that category. From that picture, it looks like it has some miles on it and you're looking to be in the 350-400hp range eventually anyways, so if the funds are there... Replace it.. Also, I want to address the comment about the rear main seal above... Don't touch the rear main unless it is definitely leaking or you just feel you have to because the engine is out. They are NOT known to fail often, so there is no reason to mess with it. Many people think the rear main seal is a fail point on the 7.3 when it is not. Most leaks that people think are coming from the rear main are actually coming from the valley of the engine.

How will you be using the truck? I would either put a Valair kevlar/ceramic single disc or a Valair organic dual disc in it depending on how it will be used. The dual disc will engage smoother than the single disc and they will hold similar amounts of power. The downside of going to a dual disc is that they are more expensive and with the added weight on the input shaft, they can cause it to take a little bit longer to shift gears. In a towing application, I would spring for the dual disc every time though since they are a little bit nicer when it comes to slipping the clutch to maneuver a trailer.