T/O bearing started making noise, and started getting next to impossible to get in and out of 2nd/3rd/4th/5th gear. 211K miles on OE stuff, so I think it's time. Looking for brand recommendations. Truck is stone stock, not modded in any way. Mostly highway miles not towing anything. Also wondering if I should spring for a kit, with a flywheel included. No good local shops to turn the OE one, so I may bite the bullet and just get the flywheel, too. Any tips for doing one on your back, on the slab, out back of the garage? 2WD, extended cab, 8 ft box...never humped anything bigger than an 833 into place with a floor jack...and while I have it down, any seals on the trans to change, like driveshaft output, or input shaft seal? I usually would do those on an 833, just because....

You got good service out of the O.E.M. clutch, that's tough to beat. I put a South Bend ConOFE in mine and regret it, shudders in reverse. My flywheel was shot, got a new one from Cummins, about $300 IIRC.

I think the crossmember has to come out, you'll need to spread the frame to get it out.
Trans is about 400 lbs, you're going to need help. 2¢

Robert

Spread...the...frame... haven't heard those words before when R&R'ing a trans...lol...thinking about either making or buying a trans jack attachment to go in place of insert on the end of my 3 ton floor jack.. on Rock Auto I've seen prices all over the place for combo kits with the flwheel, from anywhere around $300 all in (LUK) to near $600 (AMS) and everything in between. Is there a mechanical fork in the bellhousing to move the T/O bearing? Some the Clutch PP kits w/o flywheel are darn near cheap, $150 or in that ballpark. Don't mind spending a little more for something that will last. I only want to do this once... oh, and how high off the ground does this thing have to be just to get the trans out from under it? 2wd, stock 16.5" rims and Michelins...

Frame spreading, yuck. I think LUK is the OEM supplier.

Robert

I hated the South Bend clutch in my 07 6.7 dually, of course I had to get a new flywheel when I went with SB because of the dual-mass original one, you don't have that issue.

you are that far into the process, id do the rear main seal at that point.

I had a LUK in my 02 HO truck and it was Ok, not great but not bad

I just put a South Bend clutch in my '01 6 speed last week! I haven't driven it yet as I am doing a bunch of other work to the truck too. I got their kit with the flywheel, but my original looked great, and could have been resurfaced. My truck has 300000km.

As for the crossmember. It will come out and go back in no problem without spreading the frame. It does take a BFH though! I also did the rear main seal while I was in there, which was a pain in the butt! The manual says to use a slide hammer to pull the old one out. Well, that didn't work for me. It kept pulling the screws out and the seal didn't move. I ended up taking the seal retainer out of the block. So make sure to get that gasket too when buying parts.

Make sure you have a good trans jack. I have a 2000lb Ranger jack, and the trans was a little wobbly on it. I pulled it myself, but I would highly recommend a friend help just for safety sake.

Any questions about the swap, just let me know.

Dave

DO NOT SPREAD THE FRAME----the cross brace is made like a lentil---for strength-----jack up the tranny enough to get the transmision mount out--2 pieces-----push or pound the brace up and the tension releases----you will notice the frame has a bevel that the tranny brace mates into----slide or tap with a hammer to move the brace to the rear----you will notice the frame bevel is gone when the brace falls out----yeah--the first cummins i messed with i thought the brace had to pried out-----i bent the brace with my ignorant move-------

If you have a porta power handy by all means spread the frame a bit. Makes life much easier. If not..... hammer hammer hammer time!

Well, my clutch had 211K on it, and the disc measured .308", the p plate had more wear on the fingers than the friction side, same as the flywheel. Barely any hot spots and no cracks or checking. The t/o bearing was a little grumbly, but the real culprit and the cause of all my issues was....the lousy pilot bearing. There has to be a better solution than letting the input shaft of the trans ride directly on the needle bearings of the pilot bearing. Mine ran dry and ground themselves into chunks, which near as I can tell were getting jammed against the input shaft and causing it to spin even with the clutch pressed in. All I really needed was a new pilot bearing and a t/o bearing and that stock Luk clutch setup would probably have gone another 200K. But I had all new stuff so it went it.

And as far as spreading the frame, totally not necessary. The key is to get the top edge of the crossmember higher than the top edge of the frame rail. Definitely need to pull the trans mount and the plate it bolts to in order to do it, but once I got the crossmember high enough it practically fell into place. No doubt they are assembled at the factory that way, with the crossmember going in from the top, not the bottom.