Good luck and let us know what the problem is. At least you won't have to worry about the hydraulics later on!

 

I went ahead and ordered a dual friction clutch from Carolina clutch. I plan on tearing into it on Monday when the parts get here. If the pilot bearing is frozen how hard is it going to be to break the tranny free from the crank and how difficult and expensive is the input shaft to replace?

 

The siezed pilot bearing sounds reasonable but really doesn't fit the senerio of what happend. Wouldn't I have to be idling with the clutch depressed for an extended period (crank turning and input shaft stationary) for the input bearing to sieze? I had been driving (input turning the same speed as the crank) and the instant I depressed the clutch there was a slight "pop" and the clutch pedal went spongy. It's as if the hydraulics are working, just not moving anything to disengage the clutch. Does that still sound like a siezed pilot bearing?

 

Pressure plate or throwout bearing/fork issue, maybe it did break through the fingers. Let us know what you find out.

 

Got everything torn apart. The clutch was shot. The lining on the flywheel side came out in pieces. I guess something got caught in the pressure plate and wouldn't let it disengage. The clutch fork and throw-out bearing seamed to be fine. A couple of the fingers on the pressure plate were bent but I assume that was a by product of the clutch grenading. I started the truck in gear and drove it into the shop, it never made a sound that would have made me think the clutch was coming apart. The clutch never slipped even one time before it let go, it simply just came apart suddenly. It was pretty warn and there were some faint hot spots on the flywheel though. I hate I replaced the hydraulics for nothing but at least I won't have anything clutch related to worry about for a while now.

 

Wes, be sure to install a new pilot bearing, they are a problem on these trucks. I have lost one twice. The best one as recommended by Peter at South Bend is the over the counter bearing from Dodge. It is not very expensive.

 

I'm supposed to be getting everything I need from Carolina clutch, new pilot bearing, throw-out bearing, alignment tool, and hardware along with the clutch and pressure plate. If the pilot bearing from Dodge is really that much better I'll pick one up tommorow. Will making sure it's packed full of high temp grease help prolong its longevity?

 

How many miles on that clutch wes?

 

69k, stock truck except for gauges.

 

Wes, Peter said not to over grease it. It will come packed and it should be enough. In taking his advise, I ended my pilot bearing problem.

 

If you want to fix the pilot bearing forever, have the flywheel machined for one of the sealed bearings that Quad4X4 sells.Well worth the hassle/money. Honda has been doing it that way forever, and I have never seen one go bad. If you pop in in neutral at every stoplight, the stock bearing will last a lot longer also.

Tom

 

I wish I had known about the pilot bearing problem last week. This truck has to go back together tonight and the best I can do at this point is the pilot bearing from Dodge. If it ever goes bad I'll definitely go with one of the offerings from Quad4x4 now that I know.

 

I was affraid I would run into this seeing as I had to have this truck back on the road by tonight. I got the wrong clutch for my truck. The pilot bearing went in fine, the throw-out bearing went in fine. Bolted the flywheel up and went to bolt up the clutch and pressure plate and it was about 1/2" larger in diameter. I don't know if they sent the wrong clutch or I have an oddball truck but the parts they sent won't fix my truck. Needless to say I'm not happy. I guess I'l give Carolina Clutch a call tommorow and see what they can do.

 

Hey fellas, just a dumb redneck from arkansas, but it has been my past experience to go ahead and the flywheel resurfaced. My local machine shop only charges like 30 bucks to surface and it's a real life saver on the clutch and pressure plate, make sure to have the min. cut depth so you don't have it machined to thin. Everytime I replace my clutches in my trucks, I have this done and it's never let me down yet. Its just a suggestion. If you need any parts from cummins let me know I got a buddy that works there and gets me real good deals goes for most dodge dealerships too.

 

for the less experienced repair, this is real good insurance. For the more experienced with machine work, you must break the glaze, like 400 wet block sand. If it has grooves you will see them right away and then the resurface is needed. With my own truck, I am real easy on the clutch and it is generally 50/50 weather I need it or not.