Our Cummins-powered ’96 Dodge Ram 3500 dualie has over 274,000 miles on the ticker. A couple of years ago we hastily purchased it from a private owner in Iowa when our Power Stroke-equipped Super Duty left us stranded on the side of the highway near Des Moines, so we know little about the 3500’s history except that it was used on a farm. The truck is equipped with the NV4500 five-speed manual transmission, which has performed flawlessly so far. However, recently the clutch began to show signs that it was nearing the end of its service life. Its demise was hastened by some engine mods that increased the Cummins’ horsepower and torque, thus resulting in clutch slippage even during normal driving.
Work began inside the truck...
Work began inside the truck first. The shifter boot was pulled up to provide access to the bolts holding the boot plate to the floor of the truck. An internal clip holds the shifter to the shaft on top of the transmission and a strong two-handed tug allowed the shifter to be removed.
Our first call was to Centerforce. Centerforce has been in the clutch business for about 30 years and the company offers a wide range of options. Centerforce provided us with a Dual-Friction clutch set that is designed to offer exceptional street characteristics while offering outstanding holding capacity and durability. This is a perfect combination for our farm-based diesel Ram.
The second call was to Larry’s Automotive in Davis, Illinois. This 15-year-old shop does everything from general passenger-car maintenance and repair to heavy-truck maintenance and repair. We like that the shop has the space and a hoist capable of lifting our big Ram so we don’t have to lie on our bellies to shoot photos.
The transfer case skidplate...
The transfer case skidplate and both driveshafts were removed. The T-case was then drained of fluid and all vacuum and electrical connections were disconnected. The six bolts holding the T-case to the transmission were removed and the unit was taken out of the vehicle.
Installing our new Centerforce clutch was surprise-free and Rust Belt corrosion didn’t haunt us at all, which is surprising. Here are the highlights, as well a few clutch install tips that will work on any vehicle.
Here you can see the parts we received from Centerforce. Shown here are the new Dual-Friction clutch and pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bushing, and clutch alignment tool. Centerforce also offers new flywheels, but we took a chance and gambled that ours was resurfaceable, which it was.
A Few Tips
Here are few general tips that may be helpful when you replace your vehicles clutch.
Be patient. The transmission may remove easily from the truck with gravity on your side, but it can take some finesse and time to reinstall properly. Bulldozing it back into position isn’t acceptable and can cause damage to the transmission or vehicle.
Don’t pinch wires. Be careful when bolting everything back together to ensure that you haven’t pinched wires between components like the bellhousing/engine, transmission/bellhousing, or transfer case/transmission.
Install the clutch disc correctly. Most clutch discs are marked with a flywheel-facing and/or pressure plate-facing notation. Some clutch discs won’t install backwards, but some will.
Keep it clean. Don’t get oil or grease on any of the clutch components as this can cause them to fail quickly. And when you grease items like the pilot bearing, don’t overdo it because the grease could fling onto the clutch contact surfaces.
Bottom Line
Since the install of the Centerforce clutch components we’ve piled thousands of miles on our Illinois-based Ram 3500. The truck just returned from a trip to Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas, during which time it pulled a heavy livestock trailer. Throughout the entire trip the clutch performed flawlessly. It provided the grip needed to transfer power to the wheels, even under heavy load on soft sand roads on a ranch in northern Nebraska.
This rubber transmission mount...
This rubber transmission mount came out next. It was held in place with two bolts that travel through the mount and into the transmission housing. The mount was inspected for wear. Ours was in good shape and didn’t need to be replaced.
With the eight transmission...
With the eight transmission crossmember bolts removed, the crossmember can be taken out. From the factory, our mount was pinched in the framerails, which necessitated a fair amount of elbow grease (and a hammer) to coerce out. Also removed at this time were the clutch slave cylinder and a mount for the exhaust system.
Four bolts held the transmission...
Four bolts held the transmission to the bellhousing. Once those bolts were removed the transmission was carefully taken out of the vehicle.
Eight bolts held the bellhousing...
Eight bolts held the bellhousing in place. Once the unit was removed we had access to the clutch components.
The pressure plate was held...
The pressure plate was held in place by eight bolts. With these removed the pressure plate and clutch could be taken out.
The last piece to come out...
The last piece to come out was the flywheel. It was held in place with eight bolts.
The needle pilot bearing in...
The needle pilot bearing in our flywheel was disintegrated and the race was fused to the flywheel, which necessitated some work to remove. When a pilot bearing has failed the result is usually clutch chatter. Larry’s Automotive says about half the time a failed pilot bearing will damage the transmission input shaft, necessitating replacement. Amazingly, our transmission’s input shaft was only marked up slightly, and was reusable.
Here you can see the new pilot...
Here you can see the new pilot bearing compared to what was left of our old one that we had to finesse out of the flywheel with a hammer and punch.
Our flywheel was in fairly...
Our flywheel was in fairly good shape and it didn’t need to be replaced. We took it to Pfeiffer’s Engine Specialties in Freeport, Illinois, for resurfacing. The bulk of Pfeiffer’s business is performance-engine-oriented (both diesel and gas engines), and the company also has the equipment and experience to resurface flywheels. The technician began the resurfacing procedure by placing our flywheel in a hot tank for cleaning. Here, he rinses the flywheel after cleaning.
The flywheel resurfacing machine...
The flywheel resurfacing machine uses a grinding wheel to resurface the face of the flywheel. This process ensures that the face is perfectly smooth and there is no wear grooves, heat spots, or heat checking.
With the flywheel resurfaced,...
With the flywheel resurfaced, we returned to Larry’s Automotive to begin the reassembly process. The first item installed was the new pilot bearing in the flywheel. After installation the bearing was greased.
On the right you can see our...
On the right you can see our old factory-type clutch disc. It was just about worn down to the rivets. Notice the design of the Centerforce Dual-Friction disc, which has a segmented carbon composite facing. Centerforce says this design offers positive engagement and up to 45-percent increased holding capacity compared to the stock clutch.
Our old pressure plate (on...
Our old pressure plate (on left) had been slipping quite a bit judging by the hot spots on the disc. The new Dual-Friction pressure plate is much beefier than the stock-style unit and it uses Centerforce’s patented centrifugal weight system and specialized machining processes to offer exceptional street characteristics while offering outstanding holding capacity and durability.
Reassembly of the truck began...
Reassembly of the truck began with the flywheel. Thread locking compound was used on all eight mounting bolts and they were torqued to spec.
Next, the clutch and pressure...
Next, the clutch and pressure plate were installed and the clutch and flywheel were aligned with the clutch alignment tool. The pressure plate bolts also received thread locking compound and each bolt was torqued to spec.
Before installing the bellhousing,...
Before installing the bellhousing, the old throwout bearing was removed from the clutch fork and the new one was installed. The throwout bearing simply clips onto the fork.
Our bellhousing was kind of...
Our bellhousing was kind of tricky to install because there was no provision for a retainer to hold the clutch fork in place, so it wanted to move around as we positioned the bellhousing. As an experiment, we installed the clutch slave to hold the fork in place, which worked, but the slave got in the way of transmission installation. We removed the slave and with a number of hands we finally got everything aligned perfectly as you can see here.
After installing the bellhousing...
After installing the bellhousing all of the other components were reinstalled including the transmission, crossmember, transfer case, and driveshafts. The job was finished.