Any good cheap clutch horror stories?

[therabbithole]

Hi all - I’m hoping someone can get me off the fence [i really don’t care on which side I land] about buying a cheap clutch. Does anyone have any compelling horror stories of what can go wrong, and any sense of how reliably things will go wrong with a cheapie?

I’ve got 2.9 and an FM145 with 180,000 miles that’s not gonna do much and won’t ever be asked to go too far at once. The original friction plate still has about 3/16” of lining on both faces and the springs in both it and the pressure plate are all looking pretty right, all of which I’m taking as an indication of how much/little of a toll my driving takes (it’s apart because of a dead slave cylinder).

Does anyone have any reason not to just go buy the cheapest thing I can get? Specifically, Rock Auto has an AMS/RhinoPac kit that’s really tempting, but I could also probably be talked into being more responsible so... I’m all ears.

Thanks I’m advance.

 

[sheep herder]

How many times do you want to pull the trans? Cheap clutch might be fine for several thousand miles or it might not.

 

[Dirtman]

What he said. Buy a Luk and it'll last. Buy cheap and it won't. If you wanna sell it I'd buy cheap, if I was gonna keep it I'd buy good. I understand more than anyone being poor but in the long run cheap costs more.

 

[Shran]

I usually buy LUK but I don't know if it really matters. I've run the cheap ones too with good results. Are you gonna put another 100k on it in the near future and maybe wear it out? Or just something to drive occasionally?

Some of my vehicles only see maybe a couple hundred miles of road a year...be tempted to save a little money and run the cheap one in those.

 

[racsan]

I bought a cheap autozone clutch for my ‘88 (over 15 years ago) Didnt really need one but motor was out for a overhaul and felt it was a good idea. A month or two later (not sure exactly, its been awhile- wasnt very long after it was on the road) Anyways, when I would come to a stop the engine wanted to stall, and if I put it in nuetral it wouldnt go back into gear unless I shut off the engine. Well I pulled the motor again (2.3- not too bad , hardest part was taking hood off by myself) , took apart the pressure plate and found a broken spring peice between lining and flywheel. ( those hub compression springs to absorb shock ) one had somehow broke (had to be defective ) and part of it stayed in the disc and the other part fell into the friction area on the flywheel side. Flywheel was badly scored.
Thats my “ cheap clutch horror story”. This aint a place to be cheap, granted Ive never heard of a disc spring failure before or since.

 

[Ramcharger90]

My Luk clutch is just fine from the M5ODR2, The new slave cylinder on the other hand..... I have a T5 now and I just had to replace my Centric master and slave so now im gonna try Wagner master and slave....

 

[therabbithole]

Thanks, everybody. I appreciate it. This truck is so rough I wasn't even surprised when after I dropped the transmission and cut off what was left of the exhaust flange at the y-pipe I found *more* fun welding opportunities in the frame and cab mounts. If I were in it for saving money, I'd probably not've tried to get there from here.

Thoughts on Valeo's comparability with Luk, in your collective wisdom? I turned up NOS Valeo friction and pressure plates, and will get a new pilot bearing from NAPA. Then it's new master and slave.

Better plan? Thanks again.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Hi all - I’m hoping someone can get me off the fence [i really don’t care on which side I land] about buying a cheap clutch. Does anyone have any compelling horror stories of what can go wrong, and any sense of how reliably things will go wrong with a cheapie?

I’ve got 2.9 and an FM145 with 180,000 miles that’s not gonna do much and won’t ever be asked to go too far at once. The original friction plate still has about 3/16” of lining on both faces and the springs in both it and the pressure plate are all looking pretty right, all of which I’m taking as an indication of how much/little of a toll my driving takes (it’s apart because of a dead slave cylinder).

Does anyone have any reason not to just go buy the cheapest thing I can get? Specifically, Rock Auto has an AMS/RhinoPac kit that’s really tempting, but I could also probably be talked into being more responsible so... I’m all ears.

Thanks I’m advance.

Go Luk or Sachs. They are pretty cheap and work great.

I have an expensive clutch horror story. Installed a centerforce and it slipped since day one. I think because during break in I got stuck creeping through L.A. traffic jams, so it never broke in right. I have used Luk or sachs since and never had a problem. Just make sure you get the flywheel resurfaced.

 

[therabbithole]

Thank you all, again, for the advice. Time constraints and the need to vacate the previous parking spot have dictated a quick cobble-together reassembly; there's about a 1/3 chance I'll have the transmission back on my chest sometime in the next few months but/and I'll be ready with parts when the time comes.

Again, I appreciate the help.