[MrNiceGuy]

well I got a call from the shop this morning and they had the tranny out of my truck and did an inspection of the clutch and told my it is shot... almost worn down to the rivets. The reason this surprises me is that it is a valair ceramic clutch that is supposed to hold 600HP and my truck is making less than 500HP and the clutch only has apprx. 12,000 miles on it.
I called valair and they guy told me that if i slip it alot it could possibly be worn out already... obviously, but i dont so whats the deal?
And then he proceeded to tell me it is out of warranty(by like a month) so there is nothing he can do

How long should i expect an aftermarket clutch to last? i mean replacing it once a year is gunna be too expensive

 

[BRH]

Under normal driving you should get way more milage then that. I have seen
60,000 miles on stock clutches in other trucks. I dont think there woulld be
much difference between a cummins and other engines.

 

[dodge24]

What clutch is it exactly? You may want to go with a dual disc, like a 3250dd ( I think that's the number) From SouthBend. It has a higher torque rating, but the pedal isn't much harder to push than stock. I have heard of several people's single discs not holding up for much more than a year, regardless of the company. I think a dual would be a better route anyway since you are planning on towing more. Hopefully more people will chime in with what's working for them.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

i would love to go with a DD clutch but $$$ is the problem right now. I wasnt expecting this so i already spent my extra cash on cosmetic stuff and HD track bar. So if i just do another single disk, next time i will be prepared to upgrade to a DD. Plus (knock on wood) i think valair is going to give me some sort of deal on a replacement because I just dug up the paper work and this clutch was installed Jan 8 '09 so it is 1 year and 4 days old, and the warrenty is 1 year. Or 12,000 miles and i only put about 10,000 on it

 

[pepsi71ocean]

I believe Horsepower ratings mean just about nothing with clutches and diesel's, its more about the torque it can handle. These trucks are torque monsters, if your dropping about 500hp, then your looking at nearly 1,220lbs of torque, now 600 hp on a gasser maybe be 280lbs of torque.

your clutch could have worn out just from the torque your motor is running. Thus why a dual disk clutch will last longer, PLUS if you shift by taking your foot off the gas pedal and shifting at the right rpm you can avoid slippage on the clutch.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

Ya, im not sure what kind of torque my truck is making now... it was 945 but since then ive added a ex.manifold, 62mm turbo and 5" exhaust so im sure its right at the limits of the clutch which is rated at 1100lb torque. But all is well, i sent some pics to valair and they said it was surely worn, but not garbage yet. In fact he said it looked like i drove it like a granny... And since it was so close to being under warranty, and the fact that it had more wear than would be expected, they are sending me new everything but the pressure plate for $199.