Choosing the Right Clutch Kit for Your Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel Pickup

Common reasons to replace a clutch for your Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel truck include:

• It's worn out
• You may have modified the engine/exhaust or added a chip toincrease horsepower
• You tow a lot of heavy loads and need something that won't slip in the higher gears

We have created the following article with links to the different model years for the Dodge Cummins to help you choose the clutch kit that's right for you.

Dodge Ram Diesel Clutch Options - Find Your Specific Truck Below:

May 2005-2015 with Dual Mass Flywheel

From May 2005 to 2015, Dodge redesigned the Ram Series Cummins Diesel clutch to utilize a Dual Mass Flywheel. This change in clutch design was to make the truck's stickshift "feel" and sound more like a car, with fewer vibrations.

The biggest problem with the Dual Mass Flywheel in Ram trucks (other than the high replacement cost) is the OE engine torque capacity rating. If you've modified your Ram diesel to put out more power than stock, your OEM dual mass flywheel clutch is going to wear out prematurely. Some Ram HD owners report that these OEM clutches last less than 40K miles!

The good news - there's a simple fix for dual mass flywheel reliability problems: A Solid Flywheel Conversion Kit. These conversion kits offer a couple of big advantages:

1. They're considerably more affordable than OEM dual mass flywheel replacements
2. They're available in a range of torque specifications...you can get a standard conversion kit (like this kit for mostly stock Ram diesel trucks) that will cover all trucks with stock engines, or an upgraded kit for trucks with substantial power upgrades (like this FeramAlloy clutch, which is rated up to 1,250lb-ft of torque!)

If converting to a single mass flywheel clutch has a downside, it's that engine vibration that diesels tend to produce no longer gets absorbed by the flywheel. The engine vibration is transferred to the transmission and causes "gear rattle". While this rattle does not cause any gear wear (and can be safely ignored), many Cummins diesel owners choose to minimize the sound by adding an additive to their gear oil.

Click here to learn about solid flywheel clutch kits for Dodge Ram diesel trucks built in May 2005 or later.

1994-April 2005

Here's how to easily understand this era (which had quite a few changes in terms of clutch design):

• From 1994 to April 2005, the OE clutch setup utilized a solid flywheel, which can be replaced or resurfaced.
• From 1994 to 1998, the Ram Series came standard with a New Venture NV4500HD 5-speed transmission which uses a 12¼' clutch.
• From 1999 to April 2005, Dodge introduced the New Venture NV5600 6-speed transmission option.
• The 6-speed option was fitted with a 13" clutch which increased the torque from 450 lb-ft. (for the 5 speed transmission) to 600 lb-ft of torque.

Click here to learn about clutch kit options for the 94-2005 models.

Dodge D-Series 2WD and W-Series 4WD Cummins Turbo Diesel - 1988-1993

For the first run of the Dodge diesel trucks, here's what you need to know about clutches and flywheels:

• The D and W Series pickup came standard with a hefty 13" cast iron clutch.
• LuK took note of the longer shift times of the heavy 13" cast iron clutch and subsequently designed a less expensive 12-¼” stamped steel clutch that bolts to the existing flywheel without modifications and achieves identical torque (450lb-ft.) as the original 13"clutch.
• While the 13" cast iron clutch is still available, the stamped steel version has gained the greater market share for these model years.
• The LuK design also allowed aftermarket manufacturing companies flexibility in engineering clutches for increased torque applications.

Click here to learn about clutch kit options

NOTE: Please do not hesitate to call us if you would like us to make a recommendation based on your truck and its intended use. With so many performance modifications available for Cummins diesel truck engines, it never hurts to get a personalized clutch recommendation.