My clutch is about out, any recommendations on a replacement? Should I stay with stock or is there a good aftermarket setup out there? Thanks

 

Luk Clutch and single mass flywheel. What came from the factory is a "dual mass" flywheel setup designed to be softer and take up some vibration from the diesel motor.


http://www.lukclutch.com/catalog/det...placement=7.3L

 

i use a south bend clutch con ofe. about the strongest most streetable clutch out there. especially if you wanna do some mods to your truck in the future. well worth the money. a single mass(regular style clutch) is gonna take a little while to get used too. at least that was my experience. good luck on whatever you buy.

 

I just put a LUK w/ solid flywheel, and a new slave, master, and clutch fork in my '96 5-speed. I love it. Just got back from a trip around the U.P. and no problems. Clutch pedal feels like it's not hooked to anything at all, it's so easy to push now. First few times I drove it, I think I dented the floorboard under the clutch pedal! LOL.

 

Check with Carolina Clutch, site sponsor and good poeple. Fast, friendly service, knowledgeable, helpful and good prices. You'll like the LUK upgrade, the clutch feels like your driving a little ricer. Differently replace the clutch fork while your in there and maybe replace the slave & master cylinders.

 

i put a solid flywheel where a dual mass was...it worked but was told it could harm the tranny due to torc of a diesel...and had a small vibration so i went back to dual mass...wow expensive.. 650 for flywheel alone but cheaper than a tranny works great and no more small vibration.

 

I just did mine a couple weeks ago and went with the LUK conversion. The single mass flywheel does fine, it gives me an inch larger clutch and half the pedal effort. It releases a couple inches off the floor instead of pushed into the padding on the floor mat as well. Also saved $$$ aplenty. International (engine builders for Ford on these puppies) does not use a single mass flywheel in theirs, I can see no reason for them except to give the diesel a more gasser-like feel. I get a touch more gear noise than I did but that may also be due in part to changing the transmission when I did the clutch.

Dave / Believer45

 

I have the south bend con o single mass clutch and really like it. The dual mass I had in it REALLY gave your left leg a workout. It performs a lot like a stock clutch but with better holding capabilities. Aftermarket is way cheaper and a lot better.

 

i was told by ford that the reason for the dual mass is to take out the shock of the torque from the diesel engine if not all the shock is sent to the transmission.
resulting in tearing up the tranny.... good luck hope it works out great for you

 

The 99-03 7.3's had a single mass mass clutch from the factory. Then they went back to dual mass for the 6oh.

 

I can understand a dual mass flywheel for vibration, But wouldn't a dampened disc for the clutch take care of some of the torque issue ? I've never seen a dual mass so i'm not sure how it's suppose to work. anybody have a link for a picture?

 

I do not have a lot of confidence in the objectivity of Ford folks (or people who work for any company where their design is being questioned). I have been in the trucking business for 30+ years with 14 of that supervising or managing repair shops for three different trucking companies. The engine torque there is far in excess of what ours do (N-14 is 1340 ft-lbs with 370 hp, the ISX 400 we are now using at my current employer is up from that) and they do not use dampening springs in their flywheels. As I said in my first post International, who builds the PowerStroke for Ford, does not use them with the T444 engine which is their version of the PowerStroke for the International brand. This along with the multitude of posts from long term users of single mass conversions on several Ford related and RV Related boards made me confident of the quality of the conversion. Ford even discontinued the dual mass flywheel for a short time, putting it back for (in my opinion only) the purpose of making the diesel truck more car-like in feel as a marketing tool.

As Johnstoy2 asked, the shock springs in the clutch disc will do as much to dampen torque to the drive line, the only difference the dual mass flywheel makes is to isolate the mass of the flywheel itself from the crankshaft. With the single mass flywheel the rotating mass of the crankshaft assembly includes the 60lbs or so of the flywheel, with the dual mass flywheel it only includes a portion of the flywheel weight.

Dave / Believer45

 

im not arguing the point with someone like yourself with more experience than myself..but i do know i have tried both and single mass gave me a slight vibration(installed by a professional diesel mech.) that went away when i replaced with dual mass even in the clutch paperwork from the company stated so if your not pulling alot or using heavy loads not a problem but thats not me , and i doubt very serious ford put it in just because, and its possible you have never examined a dual massive..then you would never would have compared the dampering in it compared to the small springs in the clutch disc and as far as ford making there (work truck more car like) i highly disagree , but i guess i have been wrong before and probably will again thanks for all the input i have learned alot about the clutch system in theses trucks, thanks dave its nice to hear from people with other opinions..even if sometimes we dont agree,,which i guess we are allowed to love this site and thanks again!