O.T. F350 ZF 6-speed (clutch woes)

Back in 2008, my son & I replaced the factory clutch on our 2001 F350 SRW truck. (7.3 Diesel). I bought the South Bend kit which included the clutch, pressure plate, T/O bearing, clutch fork, pivot & pilot bearing. Everything was done correctly and to spec and the parts have worked perfectly until that last couple of weeks, (maybe a month or so). I started hearing noises while driving down the highway--these resembled a scraping sound of steel-steel, sometimes sounding like a serpentine belt squealing loudly. After a few days and for several weeks, this sound went away and recently has been replaced by scraping noises when I depress the clutch pedal.

The only thing I can think of is that the T/O bearing is going out. Is this the likely culprit? I've sent a message to South Bend almost a week ago and have not received a reply. Just thinking some of you guys have run into this same problem, though I know I'm in the minority with 7.3 owners having a ZF standard transmission.

Considering the cost of the kit (about $1000) and the labor my son & I spent doing the job, I'm pretty disappointed with the situation and not looking forward to doing the same job twice for a bad T/O bearing or whatever else it might be. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this situation? Looking for wisdom and any suggestions. I know South Bend (if they ever reply) will say the warranty has expired on the parts, but I would expect a T/O bearing to last more than 18 months or so....

Hi Kevin,

Not to crawl up on my soap box again, but having worked in both GM and Ford dealerships, I can tell you that since the mid-nineties the failure rate of clutches in mid sized pickups as compaired to an automatic transmission is just about 8 to 1.

18 months just doesn't surprise me at all given it is a working truck; seen it over and over again.

The softier 1/2-ton drive-to-work buggies last a bit longer tho.

Trucks are getting heavier every year and these "automotive type" clutches just cannot handle the task; especially so since clutches are a "wear" item, just like a set of brakes.

Think about it; just to get the truck up to road speed, that darned dry clutch has to be slipped many times. Same thing when ya downshift.

Just my opinion,

Allan

did you ever check the pedal adjustment after you instaled it the throwout bearing may have been riding for some time and thje clutch sliping till it to wore out. you will do better the nex time. i allways checked my work after some milage . oldart

oldart, You must not have put any clutches in anything later model. Most have hydraulic clutches that do not have any adjustment. They started this in the mid 1980s. I had a Chev 3/4 ton diesel and the throw out bearing ran all of the time in it. My 1990 Dodge Diesel is the same way. The semi I drive has a pull to release clutch and the throw out bearing runs all of the time in it too.
In the newer cars and trucks they make the slave cylinder have a lot of stroke. That way you never have to adjust the clutch.

Art,

You and I would check the free pedal, but
the problem today with that idea is that the
return spring is no longer there. Instead a
spring has been installed inside the slave
cylinder to hold the release bearing against
the fingers rather than away from them. It
is a formula for assured failure.My thoughts
are that ford and chevy were not selling
enough clutches etc ,so the cure for that was
to make the release bearing fail sooner and
destroy most of the clutch at the same time.
Their excuse will be that this set up will
be self adjusting ,boy will you pay dearly
for that design.
We call it "new and improved" meaning it
costs twice as much and is only half as good.

george

Allen I differ in my opinion on automatics in pickup trucks. I have a 1990 W300 Dodge diesel. It is a five speed. It has 357,000 miles on it. I pull my 30 foot flat bed trailer with it 25 to 30 thousand miles each year. Truck and trailer weight 14500 lbs. empty, haul ten ton hay loads every week. It still has the original clutch. I have replaced the throw out bearing when I fixed the transmission synchronizers. Had a new clutch and compared it to the old one and it did not show wear, so I left it in. Still will bark the wheels. LOL

Now for the Automatic horror stories I have had. I bought a 2005 w 350 Ford Diesel new. I got the automatic because my wife has health problems and can't push a heavy clutch. I owned that truck two years and put forty thousand miles on it. It had the trans fixed twice and replace completely at 38k. The last six month I owned it the wife took my daughter to school in it. It never hauled or pulled anything after the last repair. When I sold it the transmission was slipping again. Replaced it with a Dodge 2008 W3500 Diesel automatic. I only kept it one year. It had an electronic shift problem that they never could get fixed. You would be driving along and it would down shift two gears and slide the back wheels. Threw the wife hard into the steering wheel and caused her to spend two days in the hospital. I sued Dodge under the lemon laws and got my money back.
So what does she drive now?? A 1998 W250 Dodge diesel five speed. I installed a helper spring in the clutch linkage and she can push the clutch fine. The doctors told her if she was ever in a hard hitting accident that she would more than likely be paralyzed. I want her to be in a bigger vehicle for safety.

I take it your wife was not wearing her seatbelt when it "threw her into the steering wheel"?

what a BS story

Yes Sir,

I understand your point, and I sure can't speak for the Dodges as I haven't worked on them for many years.

But anyway, now take a couple hundred transmissions a year, spread out over the user public and see how they average out.

Allan

It had an electronic shift problem that they never could get fixed. You would be driving along and it would down shift two gears and slide the back wheels. Threw the wife hard into the steering wheel and caused her to spend two days in the hospital. I sued Dodge under the lemon laws and got my money back.

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That's because it wasn't an electronic shift problem. I had the same problem with a Dodge and they kept insisting it was the electronic shift. Eventually they finally tore into the transimission - they replaced the counter shafts and it took care of the problem. We went 6 months with the same issue, if you went to accellerate it would down shift from overdrive to 1st gear - as you stated it was just like slamming on the brakes. After they finally fixed it I sold the car later that week. Until it was fixed I couldn't sell it.

Allan,

No complaints about the clutch whatsoever--it'll still pull anything you care to hook up. There's no issues with shifting in any gear or engagement of the pressure plate.

I'm convinced the T/O bearing or maybe the [plastic] pivot has gone bad. Also, forgot to mention on the last R&R I had to buy a new collar from Ford--the one that goes over the input shaft. Sometimes I think the noise I'm hearing is the T/O bearing scraping on the collar. Also, I didn't mention previously that the scraping noise seems most pronounced with the clutch pedal near the fully engaged position--maybe an inch or so from being all the way "home" or up....

Thanks

My wife is four foot nine inches tall. She has to have the seat up all of the way and then might have to have a pillow behind her. So she is driving right against the steering wheel. You drive down the road at 55-60 mph and have the trans downshift hard enough to slide the rear wheels on a dual wheeled truck. You can bet you will hit the steering wheel.
My wife has a degenerative bone disease. She is losing bone mass just like a an older person would only ten times as fast. She hit the steering wheel hard enough it bruised her chest and cracked two ribs. On you or I that would not be a big deal but on her it is. Her ribs could have completely shattered with a little wrong movement. The bones could then puncture her heart or lungs.

SO I DON"T REALLY CARE IF YOU THINK IT IS B.S. I got my money back from Dodge because a jury believed her DOCTOR on her injury. I did not ask for one cent more than the cost of the truck. I could have gone after the medical expenses but I am not sue happy. I just wanted the truck to be right or my money back.