New Flywheel Question

So, dealer tells me I need a new flywheel and that job is going to total about $1350. This seems high to me, but I have never had a reason to not trust this dealer...they've been great to me. Just thought I'd post here to see what others thought...other options to consider, upgrades to do at the same time, etc.

thanks so much!

 

Why do they say you need a new flywheel?

 

It shudders on start, so I had them take it apart and inspect and they say the flywheel is damaged.

 

"shudders on start" is this happening when you start the truck or when you let the clutch out in gear?

 

flywheel or flexplate ? flexplate is what starts the motor on an automatic and these are known to sometimes bust from too much flexin

 

Are all of you components factory? Did you get to inspect the flywheel? Does it have any heat saturated heat spots that cannot be machined out?

Or are they being vague simply to pull one over on you?

 

When I let the clutch out in first gear.

 

I would call around to other shops and get over the phone estimates. Sounds like the problem has been diagnosed so it should be pretty easy to get a bunch of quotes. Dealers are notorious for over charging.

 

This is usually do to a bad friction disc or pressure plate not clamping evenly, flywheel can be resurfaced.

 

Is the truck torn apart? If so, get pictures.

 

I agree that more info is needed. While the flywheel may have an issue, usually the culprit is a bad clutch disc, pressure plate, or spring issues. The correct repair in those cases would be to replace the clutch and pressure plate as a kit, and have the flywheel resurfaced. VERY rarely have I ever seen a flywheel "go bad".

 

I have never seen one that couldn't be resurfaced...

 

I have. Plenty of times.

 

Those heat spots saturated through the bottom. Couldn't be machined out. As multiple passes proved it worse.

 

Clutch disk was still good. Pressure plate looked the same. OEM clutch. Springs didn't have enough clamping force.

 

Maybe I should rephrase that: I have never seen one that could not be resurfaced that was driven by someone that knows how to drive a standard shift transmission under non racing conditions.