DD Dual disch clutch

strokin'_tatsch · Jun 28, 2012

sniper_101 said:
I'd have to disagree. After almost exactly one year of average daily driving:

Solution, SB Kevlar Pilot Bushing and Ford throw out bearing.

Huh.. I doubt I'm the only one that hasn't had a throwout bearing or pilot bearing fail that I got from Valair. I have lots of friends that run Valair stuff. You think we get a pilot bearing and throwout bearing with the kit, throw those away and go get new ones? Nope, every clutch I've ever installed used the hardware that came with the kit and never had a problem. We've installed a bunch of these clutches and I see no reason to not use what they provide with the kit. Heck, I've easily got over 120k miles of DD, towing, drag racing, and a couple sled pulls on Valair stuff problem free. I did hurt a throwout bearing and pilot bearing ONCE years ago, but that was caused by a massive fuel leak that drained back into the bellhousing and washed the grease out of the bearings.

SDstroker · Aug 28, 2012

Well just a little update. Finally got South Bends FDD32506 installed. My pilot bearing went out on my Valair clutch(forsale with 15k on it, good condition). Very happy. Quiet and pedal is way softer. I would say about 1/2 the input is needed compared to the Valair. I have never ran stock so I cant compare it to that. I probably would have went with Valair if it wasn't for the deal I got with my South Bend. I am going to break it in for 500 miles and then see what it can hold. Couple things I did notice is this clutch is way heavier. It was a beotch for one man. Starter seems to turn over slower now. I should of taken a picture but the pilot bearing is more way beefier then stock. Overall impressed.

sniper_101 · Aug 28, 2012

strokin'_tatsch said:
Huh.. I doubt I'm the only one that hasn't had a throwout bearing or pilot bearing fail that I got from Valair. I have lots of friends that run Valair stuff. You think we get a pilot bearing and throwout bearing with the kit, throw those away and go get new ones? Nope, every clutch I've ever installed used the hardware that came with the kit and never had a problem. We've installed a bunch of these clutches and I see no reason to not use what they provide with the kit. Heck, I've easily got over 120k miles of DD, towing, drag racing, and a couple sled pulls on Valair stuff problem free. I did hurt a throwout bearing and pilot bearing ONCE years ago, but that was caused by a massive fuel leak that drained back into the bellhousing and washed the grease out of the bearings.

Sounds good. You keep using the cheap crap they supply and I'll keep recommending a proven Kevlar bushing and Ford throw-out. :thumbsup:

stylepointzz · Sep 2, 2012

Love my street DD Southbend clutch in my 7.3 Like said above its not nearly as grabby as you would think and does very well with anything I put up to it, 10k loads and less as well as just ripping around town.

Did slow the shifts a little but not a huge deal

036speed · Sep 8, 2012

I had the Valair 650 in my 03 7.3. My truck did not have the mods yours has, but I LOVED IT. Great clutch. It replaced the southbend I had in it. It had 50k miles on it when I sold the truck and it still felt like day 1.
Now many of my Cummins friends are running Valairs.
I also had a Southbend in my LB7 Duramax. I had issues with that one too.

Pics of the southbend I pulled out of my 7.3. I bought the truck with this clutch in it. So it may have been installed wrong. I dont know. I know many people swear by SB. They are well known. I just had bad luck I guess. Although, from the previous posts, I am not the only one that has had this issue. This also happened in my Duramax.