Clutch life on an FG

[kerry]

I bought my FG without service records. It has 180k miles on it. What's the likelihood that the clutch is original?

 

[engineer]

Private use i'd say original, Commercial i'd say 2nd clutch.

 

[Tom_D]

biggest trouble

The big trouble with the FG is their Transmission Syncros. Mine came with no 2nd gear syncro and I have heard some losing 4th.

Tom

 

[kerry]

Yep, 2nd and 4th syncros are badly worn in mine. I double clutch into 4th and since I typically start out in 2nd, I put it into third gear before putting it into second to avoid grinding. Biggest pain is downshifting from 5th to 4th on a steep downhill with my right foot on the brake. Have to heel/toe it while double clutching. Not a huge deal, and a hell of a lot smoother than the transmission in the 1934 International Dump Truck I drove in a quarry back in the 70's, but I figured I'd get new syncros when I get the clutch replaced. Since mine was used commercially, that might be a while if it's on the second clutch.

 

[engineer]

Yep, 2nd and 4th syncros are badly worn in mine. I double clutch into 4th and since I typically start out in 2nd, I put it into third gear before putting it into second to avoid grinding. Biggest pain is downshifting from 5th to 4th on a steep downhill with my right foot on the brake. Have to heel/toe it while double clutching. Not a huge deal, and a hell of a lot smoother than the transmission in the 1934 International Dump Truck I drove in a quarry back in the 70's, but I figured I'd get new syncros when I get the clutch replaced. Since mine was used commercially, that might be a while if it's on the second clutch.

I generally find mine getting done at 200k-250k, depends on who's been driving.

 

[kerry]

the first gear to me is like a granny gear that you only use going down a steep hill or starting slow with a heavy load, I never use it for daily driving, and I was told my first had no syncros. The 2nd-5th is like a 1st-4th four speed to me.

I

I agree except I don't know if first has a syncro or not. I owned a couple of MB diesel vans with the same kind of gearing.
Off topic: I have a 14 yr old daughter and I recently realized that the low 1st gear is a good feature for teaching people how to drive manual transmissions.

 

[Tom_D]

2004's

In the 2004 models first gear is a non synchro'ed crawler gear. 2nd thru 5th are the road gears.

Tom