SMF swap done

[saltbranch]

First impression was when went to push the clutch pedal down, my leg just about went through the floor board!! Love the light weaght pedal. Did hear some growling noise from the tranny, like the old Granny 4 spds made. Time tell, but she is back on the road smokin!! Driving the Yota was fun but gettin the f350 back is much better.

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

+1 on the easy pedal after the SMF swap. I can't believe I drove my truck around with the hideous pedal pressure required previously.

Couple things to quiet down your rollover noise: overfill your transmission with ATF. You can pull the shifter and overfill it, however, I'd just suggest looking at the fill plug, parking it on the most hideous angle you can find (I used ramps on a really steep driveway) and fill it while the plug is severely "uphill".

The other thing you can think about is bumping your idle up a little bit. Mel (Agnem) posted this suggestion and it made a huge difference for me.

Good luck

 

[bike-maker]

I put 5 quarts of synthetic ATF in mine (removed shifter), and raised the idle to about 800. Now it only growls at me when I first start it cold. One little blip of the throttle and it goes away. Raising the idle 200 rpm netted the best results of the two.
Before this I ran Dino ATF to the fill plug on level ground, and it made some HIDEOUS rollover noise. My left leg was getting buff from always holding the clutch in at stop lights. Let the clutch out and the guy parked next to me looked over scared cause it sounded like my truck was about to spontaneously explode.
BTW, this is with a lucky modded flywheel; only four springs in the cheap ass Auto Zone clutch disc. But it works great.

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

Before this I ran Dino ATF to the fill plug on level ground, and it made some HIDEOUS rollover noise. My left leg was getting buff from always holding the clutch in at stop lights. Let the clutch out and the guy parked next to me looked over scared cause it sounded like my truck was about to spontaneously explode.

Only one of my buddies heard my truck with the stock idle rollover noise, and he always likes to say "you even warned me about the noise before you started it, and it still scared me"

I don't think I could have lived with the noise in the stock form, but now it's totally bearable, like you said only a little at cold idle.

 

[RLDSL]

If you want to quiet down the gear rollover noise, you can go to a heavier lube like a 30 or 50 wt synthetic ATF

 

[saltbranch]

After putting some miles on it, I really dont notice much noise. Some when you 1st start off in 1st or 2nd. I am lovin this new clutch pedal though

 

[Sycostang67]

Although I haven't gotten to drive mine much due to the wrong flywheel, I too was blown away at how light the clutch pedal is now. The pedal in my 86 was super light compared to the 93, now the 93 makes the 86 pedal feel like pushing a brick through the floor. I should have mine on the road in the next week or two.

 

[franklin2]

After putting some miles on it, I really dont notice much noise. Some when you 1st start off in 1st or 2nd.

That and slowly crawling/lugging around a parking lot in first or second. I don't think anything is going to get rid of the noise when lugging the engine except a new DMF.

You have to figure a lot of people a lot smarter than us probably tried to get rid of this noise the cheapest way possible, and I am guessing nothing performed well enough other than the DMF. I read somewhere that DMF's are nothing new, and were used on some cars also, with gasoline engines.

 

[pennsylvaniabo]

Is there a way to tell if you have a smf or dmf flywheel?

 

[franklin2]

Take the bottom cover off the flywheel area, and with the tranny in neutral, see if you can wiggle the pressure plate back and forth without the main part of the flywheel with the teeth moving. If it wiggles back and forth a little bit, you probably have a dmf. If it wiggles back and forth a lot, you probably have a worn out dmf.

 

[RLDSL]

That and slowly crawling/lugging around a parking lot in first or second. I don't think anything is going to get rid of the noise when lugging the engine except a new DMF.

You have to figure a lot of people a lot smarter than us probably tried to get rid of this noise the cheapest way possible, and I am guessing nothing performed well enough other than the DMF. I read somewhere that DMF's are nothing new, and were used on some cars also, with gasoline engines.

Yes, the DMF is not a ford thing. ZF had DMFs matched up on BMWs before they had them on the IDIs, with the big difference being that they worked real well on the BMWs , making already smooth shifters into silky smooth shifters, but those things weren't built to tow heavy loads. THey almost never have problems with the springs or internals giving out ( in fact ive never personally heard of a case, but I'm sure it's happened ), The normal failure mode on them is simple abraisive clutch disk wear eating the surface down and nobody will resurface them, so even used DMFs for the things that are in usable shape carry a premium price.

 

[vern0n]

After I put my SMF in and started it the first time, scared me. Sounded like an air chisel at work in there. If I let it run a minute or two, and push the pedal in and let it out, the noise goes away. Took forever for the clutch to beed out. I hope the 8 grade bolts hold up. Flywheel didn't come with any bolts.

 

[pennsylvaniabo]

Mine does have a heck of alot of rollover noise...so maybe that means a smf?

 

[franklin2]

Mine does have a heck of alot of rollover noise...so maybe that means a smf?

Probably. These trucks are old enough where clutch work has probably been done, and the most popular clutch kit is the SMF style.

 

[riotwarrior]

hmm...anyone know if the 351 ZF have single or dual mass? Just curious...