LUK clutch out of stock everywhere. Best alternative?

Howdy guys, we have installed two LUK 07-225 clutch conversion kits to replace the dual-mass flywheel that Ford afflicts IDIs with.  Both are working great. We also have a different conversion kit from RockAuto in a 6.9 IDI Bullnose with ZF5 conversion, and it chatters a bit at times. We prefer the LUK.  So I tried to buy one on fleabay, ordered it from this unprofessional seller named UltimateFrictionClutch who took 5 days to finally say they were out of stock. Avoid that seller.

So now I need to source another conversion clutch kit for a 7.3 IDI with the magic "M" in the VIN. No way we're going with another dual mass. CarID wants to sell me a Valeo. They're another huge icky mulitinational corp in my book, not known for high quality, just OEM quality. I had business dealings with them in Europe.

Would any of you have another suggestion?  Below are the links to clutch kits, including the RockAuto one that chatters a little.  RockAuto lists an optimistically-named Perfection Clutch for the 1993 donor F350 we took the motor and tranny from. They also sell the Valeo but CarID beats their price. Take note !

LUK clutch complete kit that's out of stock everywhere I looked
Valeo clutch CarID suggests this one instead
Valeo flywheel
RockAuto clutch alone Has changed names, it was being sold under several names when I looked into it a couple years back, is probably a China item ...

https://www.carolinaclutch.com/luk-solid-flywheel-conversion-kits/ford-solid-flywheel-upgrade-luk-clutch-kit

Don’t know if they have the clutch kit and flywheel in stock.

Good job, Dane!

They are out of stock there too. He carries no alternative.  Woe. Woe is me. So far ...

Have you considered the Sachs SMF? #NFW-1067
They have a clutch kit to go with it: K70244-01

Sachs has always meant good friction to me.
Though like everything else these days it's probably manufactured in China.

There's RhinoPac 167325, and Brute Power 91200-SK SMF's if you want it cheap.
And always South Bend if you're more concerned about buying American than how light your wallet will be.

Done deal !  Thank you gentlemen.  CarID had both Sach parts in stock.  This is not the first time ArdWrknTrk has pulled my bacon out of the fire, as it were.

A quick testimonial for CarID, whose prices (so far) beat RockAuto, and you can talk to an actual carbon-based humanoid life form on the phone, that offers help to find your parts.

Sachs® - Single Mass Flywheel
Qty: 1$139.34

Sachs® - Clutch Kit
Qty: 1$198.08

Glad I could help!  

I hope your swap goes smoothly

RenoHuskerDu wrote

Done deal !  Thank you gentlemen.  CarID had both Sach parts in stock.  This is not the first time ArdWrknTrk has pulled my bacon out of the fire, as it were.

Good job, Jim!

By the way, that Rock Auto clutch kit seems to be for a T-19 because it calls out the input shaft as 1.063"
The Zf is 1 1/4"...

Yes, I was hasty in grabbing that, just wanted too see if they had renamed it yet again ... it was Brute Force when I bought it but a little digging showed it had three names.

Just checking
Not a criticism

Glad you have an SMF and Zf disc on the way.  

RenoHuskerDu wrote

Done deal !  Thank you gentlemen.  CarID had both Sach parts in stock.  This is not the first time ArdWrknTrk has pulled my bacon out of the fire, as it were.

A quick testimonial for CarID, whose prices (so far) beat RockAuto, and you can talk to an actual carbon-based humanoid life form on the phone, that offers help to find your parts.

Sachs® - Single Mass Flywheel
Qty: 1$139.34

Sachs® - Clutch Kit
Qty: 1$198.08

I checked earlier for giggles and that Sachs you got is about $160 less than the Zone.

If you get a chance, please report your experience with the Sachs kit. I may need a clutch for my F-Superduty and I was counting on a Luk SMF which I’ve had a good experience with. I have no idea what is in the donor, but if I need one I would like to know how Sachs compares to the Luk. I’ve heard bad things about the Valeo for IDI.

LuK isn't as good as people think. I've had issues with my LuK slave cylinder and master cylinder in the Ranger. I bought LuK replacements, but when they arrived, I found that they were stamped with another company's branding. Upon research, it was actually FTE Automotive's slave cylinder, with FTE Automotive's parent company being Valeo. So buyer beware when it comes to LuK, there stuff is no better than what you can get at the Zone, which is also branded FTE Automotive. With that being said, my pressure plate and flywheel were all stamped LuK, and have been flawless.

Sachs is a division of Zf.
Not that that means anything in today's world.

My LuK clutch seems okay.
I'm using a Ford master and an Excedy SC 886 metal slave (the one with a bleeder)

I put a Luk clutch in my ‘68 behind the 240 straight six. It was okay, but the throw out bearing started making noise almost right away. It worked but I wasn’t impressed. The SMF kit that Jan and I installed behind his 6.9 for the ZF swap was exceptionally nice. It had very good road manners and I would like to repeat that if I can.