Clutch question

Mr_Rich · Sep 10, 2011

For those of you with a manual trans; how many miles did you get on a clutch? I've got just shy of 48K on my truck and the clutch grabs just about at the end of the travel. It doesn't slip, but the question is being raised in my mind at this point. I recently did an engine swap in my '98 Firebird and I'm running the LS7 clutch. The characteristics of the clutch action on my vehicles is like night and day. The LS7 clutch grabs about two inches off the floor. I like the positive engagement of the LS7 clutch. When I drive my truck I'm revving the engine because the clutch doesn't engage until almost the end of clutch travel. I'm wondering about possible clutch improvement options...

MaxPF · Sep 10, 2011

For off-the-shelf clutches I like the Luk Pro Gold. If you want better than that, call up South Bend Clutch and talk to Peter. I am running a clutch with their organic facings and it is amazingly smooth while holding all the torque my Cummins can muster. I'm sure these same facings on a clutch for your H3 would work equally as well:

cbetts · Sep 10, 2011

I did my fist clutch at 70K. I ran 33" tires the whole time. I would slip occasionally on jack-rabbit starts but held up fine when wheeling. I don't recall which clutch brand was put back in it. According to Aamco, it was a lot better than the OEM clutch.

H3slate · Sep 10, 2011

I an at 76,000 on my clutch, no issues so far.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

cbetts · Sep 10, 2011

DISCLAIMER- My truck was my daily driver for four years of LA freeway driving. I am also a "hurry up and get to the stop sign" kind of driver.

MUTAINT · Sep 10, 2011

45K on the factory clutch (09 H3T on 315s), still grabs and gets it even when power shifting from 1st to second!

delta88 · Sep 11, 2011

100k/mi on my 06, clutch still strong (knock on wood!)

Mr_Rich · Sep 12, 2011

This is good to know. It's a little tricky changing my habits from my Firebird to my 3T. Totally different characteristics of both vehicles. The clutch on my Firebird grabs right now, and I rev my 3T until I feel the clutch grab.

delta88 · Sep 12, 2011

Mr_Rich said:
I rev my 3T until I feel the clutch grab.

It's all about technique as with any other clutch driven vehicle. I learned how to drive with a standard ('84 Mustang 4cyl Turbo!) and had some 5-speed sedans over the years. I would say it's better lighten-up on the gas between gears when shifting (on road) w/ the H3. The H3 is a heavy truck so I would rather not put the extra friction in between shifts by gassing it. When I slow down I try not to engine break either.. let the break pads take the wear or coast until the tcase winds your speed down while in gear. Take in mind I have the I5 so there's not much bang to do speed shifts anyway.

MUTAINT · Sep 12, 2011

delta88 said:
Take in mind I have the I5 so there's not much bang to do speed shifts anyway.

We have an I5 also, all manual trans H3/H3Ts are I5s just a difference between the 3.5l and the 3.7l.

Anyway, our 09 H3T with a PCM4less tune/AirDoc on 315s can keep up with our 08 Alpha on 315s until about 30 MPH then the Alpha just walks away. Plenty of "bang" on the 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd shift here. After 30 MPH the larger gap between the gear ratios takes it's toll on acceleration. I've only "raced" against our Alpha 3 or 4 times just to see what kind of a difference there is between the 2.

I totally agree with delta88 on there being no need to engine break with our "T". We use the brakes pretty much every time to save wear and tear on the clutch AND I5. It's a lot cheaper to replace brake pads and rotors than a premature clutch replacement and/or I5 3.7l motor in the long run!

Mr_Rich · Sep 13, 2011

MaxPF posted a pic of a clutch disk in the frames up above. See the metal band between the hub and the clutch facing? On an LS7 clutch that whole area is clutch facing and that clutch grabs RIGHT now! I probably didn't make that clear. And when I jump in one vehicle and then the other when I'm moving them around from the street to the driveway and vice versa that's when the difference is apparent. It's no problem to shift smoothly in either vehicle driving down the road. The characteristics of each are VASTLY different when going from one vehicle to the other such as I described during parking maneuvers.

Steve #1 · Sep 14, 2011

Just shy of 60K and my clutch is fine. Clutches feel diferent. My Sport Trac is also a manual. Slightly larger motor, slightly shorter tires, and a lot lighter but the clutch feels a lot diferent (more like a truck). In a Firebird, a clutch likeyou say yours is is good. Off road in a truck, it's nice to be able to feather it a little.

cbetts · Sep 14, 2011

MUTAINT said:
We have an I5 also, all manual trans H3/H3Ts are I5s just a difference between the 3.5l and the 3.7l.

Anyway, our 09 H3T with a PCM4less tune/AirDoc on 315s can keep up with our 08 Alpha on 315s until about 30 MPH then the Alpha just walks away. Plenty of "bang" on the 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd shift here. After 30 MPH the larger gap between the gear ratios takes it's toll on acceleration. I've only "raced" against our Alpha 3 or 4 times just to see what kind of a difference there is between the 2.

I totally agree with delta88 on there being no need to engine break with our "T". We use the brakes pretty much every time to save wear and tear on the clutch AND I5. It's a lot cheaper to replace brake pads and rotors than a premature clutch replacement and/or I5 3.7l motor in the long run!

Yeah, that third gear get me too. Every now and then, the wife allows me to drive her Solstice which has the same tranny but third gear trips me out since they changed the ratio of only that gear between the two cars. :link:

MUTAINT · Sep 14, 2011

cbetts said:
Yeah, that third gear get me too. Every now and then, the wife allows me to drive her Solstice which has the same tranny but third gear trips me out since they changed the ratio of only that gear between the two cars. :link:

cbetts, I would love to drive an H3/H3T with the 1.51 third gear and actually feel the difference! I don't have a Solstice to compare it to either. Guess I could find one at a local dealer and take it for a "test drive":shifty:

Mr_Rich · Sep 14, 2011

Interesting. I think it's helpful to shift from 3rd to 4th with the Rs above 3 grand closer to 3500 rpms. It doesn't feel quite like a bog when you jump in to 4th such as climbing a grade of some type.

tbswiffer · Oct 21, 2011

My H3T had about 20K miles on it when the clutch was at the end of travel. It's stayed there for now (I'm at 35K now) but its definitely not where it was when i bought it brand new. I'm not a "pedal to the metal" person either, I've babied the clutch the entire time i've had it. Occasionally I've tried to start the truck with the clutch in neutral and it has jumped forward as if its in 1st. I'd turn it off, wait a couple minutes, turn it back on and it would be OK again. I probably should get it looked at...

Clutch question

Mr_Rich

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MaxPF

AGNTSA

cbetts

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H3slate

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cbetts

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MUTAINT

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delta88

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Mr_Rich

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delta88

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MUTAINT

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Mr_Rich

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Steve #1

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cbetts

NERD!!!

MUTAINT

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Mr_Rich

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tbswiffer

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