How long did it take you to wear out your brand new clutch?

[AussieK5]

Whats the most miles youve got out of a 465 clutch plate? And how much skinny pedal did you give it!

Trying to guesstimate how many miles I can get out of mine (its got about 10% of usable meat left).

Thanks

 

[tarussell]

It all depends intirely on how it is used . Many folks have totally different driving styles and although two drivers might be considered "good drivers" one might wear out a clutch in a third of the time the other one does.
If the clutch has slipped and caused burn spots on the pressure plate and flywheel than life expectancy goes down hill real fast no matter how much disc material is left.
If someone tells you a time estimate for your clutch life they are just guessing at best. Try this - start out driving normal and skip third gear and go straight to fourth and release the clutch and floor the throttle. If the motor falls on its face and lugs and struggles and just plain does not like it than the clutch might hold out for a while longer but if it slips and the motor rev's due to lack of holding power,burnt spots, or in need of adjustment ( if it is mechanical linkage ) than attention will be needed fairly soon.
HTH's Tom

 

[AussieK5]

Hey Tom...Just to clarify, I'm not looking for a specific answer as to how long MY clutch will last, as you say there are to many variables with me being the biggest......Ive done car size copper clutch's in the space of 400 miles (competition) and had stockers last years.

I suppose that post comes across as a bit simple to those with good mechanical knowledge.

I was hoping for a dozen or more replies so I could average out the responses and see what falls out. Do hard drivers see 10,000 miles (lots of skinny pedal) and does the guy who babies his truck get 100,000? Enough responses and a fairly accurate picture of clutch life for a truck can be built.

In a very rough way I'm trying to do what GM did when they designed and built these trucks. Though instead of running exhaustive vehicle testing I'm hitting up CK5 board members for real world input.

I'll rephrase the post 'How long did it take you to wear out your brand new clutch'?

cheers
Jason

 

[tRustyK5]

I've never worn one out. I put about 60,000 miles on one, but it went with the motor when I sold it. It didn't slip then...

The 6.2 I swapped in had a clutch with it, not new...prolly gonna guess half worn if that. I have put 20,000 or so on that clutch without any trouble yet.

A friend of mine has an 89 C1500, 4.3 V-6 and a 5 speed. All stock, but it is a work truck and it still has the original clutch. ~265,000 miles on it now.

Rene

 

[tarussell]

I see what you are asking now !

I will give a few examples just for comparison.
I bought a 1977 K-10 from a friend of mine that had 160,000 plus miles on the original clutch. It was a diaphram style 11-7/8" diameter and was driven very sainly most all of its life. The truck had 3.08 gears with 31" tall tires.

I had a 1969 C-10 with a 11-7/8" three finger pressure plate that had well over a 100,000 on the odometer with the original clutch . The truck had 3.73 gears with 28" tall tires.

I drove a wrecker ( tow truck ) that was ABUSED on a daily basis and it would go through diaphram clutches about once a year and Borg and Beck style about every two to three years. The truck had 4.56 gears with around a 32" diameter tall tire.

On my 83 K-3500 I had a 11-7/8" diaphram clutch and it did not last long at all with heavy skinny pedal usage . I replaced it with a cheap name brand three finger style and it lasted for a fairly long while ( can't really give a mileage on that truck since it was a play toy ) and it was abused every single time it was run.
That same clutch went into my buddy John's ( NVRENUF ) truck behind a STRONG roller BBC and it lasted a long while but we replaced the disc with a ceramic unit . It ended up slipping towards the end but I do not blame the clutch - John would let some crazy guy drive his truck from time to time and I believe it was abused each and every time....

We have also had absolute reliabilty out of an after market dual disc three finger set up by McLoed even though the abuse was very high.

NVERENUF had a nice BBC and a ceramic disc three finger clutch in his K-10 for years and years nad years with 38" tall tires with 4.10 gears . He used a whole lot of skinny pedal on a regular basis. The clutch came out of his truck ( he decided to turn gay and put a TH400 in his truck ) and went into another BBC equiped K-10 with 3.73 gears and 39.5" tall tires . That truck ran that clutch for years until it finally started to slip under load . That guy replace it with a cheap diaphram clucth and it did not hold up what so ever under any kind of abuse.

Sorry I can not give you better mileage figures but the play toy applications were not driven everyday and most trucks with 40" and 44" tall tires speedo's are not correct anyway......

These are the best examples I can remember that might help you out .
HTH's Tom

 

[AussieK5]

Thanks Tom and Rene for the detailed input, the info and advice has really helped plan out a clutch replacement/upgrade.

Its good to know its possible to get 100,000+ out of a good clutch (in a K truck) with the right driving habits. As a recent auto to 465 convert I wasnt looking forward to the the cost and PITA factor of replacing the clutch periodically.....as it stands a ceramic disc & aftermarket pressure plate would probably have a similiar service life as most autos behind a mild SBC.

Much appreciated

Jason

 

[mtnman]

clutches

I run a centerforce - dual friction in my 383 powered 3/4 ton that I frequently abuse- towing, wheeling, brake stands and other hard abuses, and have about 50,000 miles with zero performance loss. I had a centerforce II before that and did not wear it out, just wanted more clutch.