Is April always a bad month for clutches???

[Audi Doodah]

It's my turn to join the club. The very definition of sod's law....spent 4 days with the car off the road to do timing and aux belts with tensioners, water pump, all fluids and filters replaced, rear shocks replaced with the addition of a RS4 ARB and a waxoyl and respray of both front wings. Take it for a test drive after checking everything in VCDS and, slip, there it goes . Car is still drivable but no booting it. (Don't think it helped it me trying to reverse up my ramps with bricks still under the front wheels!)

Now I know it's advisable to do both the clutch and the DMF at the same time but I have no vibration as such, barring a small judder at idle that almost disappears completely when I dip the clutch. I put the remaining wobble down to a leaky engine mount. So do I go for a standard OEM clutch, approx £200, a black diamond organic, approx £280 or go the whole hog and go for the complete kit from darkside Sachs SRE & Luk DMF at £675???

Unfortunately, my limited resources mean that I can't be dropping the gearbox, etc and will have to bite the bullet and pay someone to do the work (the thought pains me!) so labour costs are a factor, too.

I did upload a blacksmoke 162bhp remap 6 weeks ago so it's no big surprise it's let go with 147k on it but I do intend on keeping the car for the long term so I'm leaning towards clutch AND dmf for peace of mind long term.

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

AVF 1.9 Tdi 6 speed 2wd

 

[mattyb6]

Had mine done 2 days but I ended up with single mass flywheel. But it drives like sh*t!
just too much vibration. It's cost me £300 ish for the single conversion but I'd wish if payed the extra £100 for oem equivalent.
Mine was on 165k still on original luk clutch.

if you need to pay for labour aswell I would just go for an oem replacement. It will hold your 160bhp remap.

MY wouldnt go for te dark side clutch as you probably don't need a clutch that good, and you could use the money to pay for reputable labour.

 

[Audi Doodah]

Yeah, I'd read your post. That's a bummer about the SMF. Done some research into SMF vs DMF but based on your comment alone, DMF it is.

Fair point about the uprated clutch. The 162 bhp suits me just fine so I can't see myself ever wanting to push it further. Just been to a garage with a good work ethic (drilled out two seized wheel nuts out for me in his own time to get me home in time for a funeral) and he guesstimates approx £700, which is about right I reckon. Assures me he will only use Sachs or Luk, too. Also, going to visit a local Audi specialist on Monday, Dialynx, and get a quote from them.

 

[mattyb6]

£700 isn't bad in all fairness mate. DMF is about £300 average + £250 for clutch that's only around £150 to fit it.
I got new cv boots fitted too, but was done by family garage and cost me £410 total.

a new standard clutch will hold 180bhp possibly if its new. So still got a few ponies o play with loL

i can live with SMF for now until I have some more funds, but if your spending £700 range defiantly Dmf.

advantge to Smf is I won't need to replace it when I need another clutch, unlike DMF they need replacing with the clutch.


might aswell get gearbox oil done aswell mate, just for piece of mind

 

[Audi Doodah]

Well if this clutch and DMF are original then getting 146k out of the new ones would be very pleasing. Doubt the rest of the car would last that long though!

As for the gearbox oil, did that a couple of weeks ago with 3 litres of castrol multitrans and very nice it feels too.

 

[mattyb6]

My oil needs doing, getting a whining in 4th and 5th at 2000rpm.
plus with having 165k on it'll be good for it

 

[Audi Doodah]

Check out my little guide then. Dead easy

 

[Smillie13]

It's my turn to join the club. The very definition of sod's law....spent 4 days with the car off the road to do timing and aux belts with tensioners, water pump, all fluids and filters replaced, rear shocks replaced with the addition of a RS4 ARB and a waxoyl and respray of both front wings. Take it for a test drive after checking everything in VCDS and, slip, there it goes . Car is still drivable but no booting it. (Don't think it helped it me trying to reverse up my ramps with bricks still under the front wheels!)

Now I know it's advisable to do both the clutch and the DMF at the same time but I have no vibration as such, barring a small judder at idle that almost disappears completely when I dip the clutch. I put the remaining wobble down to a leaky engine mount. So do I go for a standard OEM clutch, approx £200, a black diamond organic, approx £280 or go the whole hog and go for the complete kit from darkside Sachs SRE & Luk DMF at £675???

Unfortunately, my limited resources mean that I can't be dropping the gearbox, etc and will have to bite the bullet and pay someone to do the work (the thought pains me!) so labour costs are a factor, too.

I did upload a blacksmoke 162bhp remap 6 weeks ago so it's no big surprise it's let go with 147k on it but I do intend on keeping the car for the long term so I'm leaning towards clutch AND dmf for peace of mind long term.

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

AVF 1.9 Tdi 6 speed 2wd

OMG I feel ur pain

I have also been looking for a clutch for mines and came across a site on Ebay, they also have an online shop. Worth a look i'll PM you the details.

Susan

 

[mattyb6]

Check out my little guide then. Dead easy

il look now

 

[deano1978]

Bad luck pal.
Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Audi Doodah]

Bad luck pal.
Hope you get it sorted.

Thanks Deano! It WILL be sorted! I will not be beaten by a bag of bolts and usually I would just kick mechanical objects till I feel better but in this case I am quite fond of my bag of bolts so therefore, I will throw money at it instead!

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Mine is getting done on the 2.5TDi next week aswell!
Its not slipping as such but the DMF is pretty much dead - its shaking the car to bits.

Bite point is a little higher than usual- still think there is abit of life left in the clutch but the DMF lets the whole car down.

Luckily managed to source a kit off a member on here - otherwise id have had to sell a leg. Its booked into Unit 20 next Monday.

Im anticipating keeping the car for a good few more years yet - so I can justify it. The original clutch has seen 145,000 miles, the DMF started showing issues around 127,000 miles and has gradually become worse.

I need a propshaft too - as the centre bearing has failed, that will have to wait a few months yet!

 

[Audi Doodah]

Just taken it out for a thrash today and can't get it to slip but noticeable vibration through the accelerator when planted. Still going to get it done because it'll just ruin my driving experience with expecting a complete failure at any time. I wonder if the small judder at idle was the reason the previous owner decided to get rid. Clutch bite point is right at the top of the pedal too.

My local garage has come back with a quote for £740 all in with Luk parts. I have found the parts cheaper online but he offers no guarantees on the work if I supply my own. Will also charge by the hour if the gearbox is off and the parts are wrong (positive they're not) until correct parts turn up. My parts and his labour come in at £620 so I'm looking at £120 for a guarantee which, the more I think about it, makes sense. Still waiting for the specialist to come back with a quote but they have a fixed price of £499 all in for the clutch alone so it's going to be very similar price. They say they do like for like but I may insist on Luk because apparently they're a bit stronger.

Hmm....

 

[Audi Doodah]

Well, the specialist came back with a price of £805 but as it's the other side of town I'd have to spend on taxis too. Booked in with the local on Wednesday with the £740 quote. £20 quid of that is to replace my brand new gearbox oil...grr!

I just hope now that there's no extra costs but I suppose that's why we're born with arms and legs

 

[Audi Doodah]

Ended up costing £787 because the slave cylinder looked past it's best so chucked a new one in.

What a difference it makes though...feels like I'm driving a new car! No more juddering at idle, stalled it when I went to pull away from the garage as the clutch bite is so much lower and the gear changes are so smoooooth! I'm sure it sound quieter in the cabin too.

A big up to the guys from LUK UK as I sent a question regarding the differences between the two clutches available for the AVF and I had two techies reply with explanations as to the differences and possible reasons why Audi would have instigated a change. :thumbsup:

Now I'm just two front shocks and a few cosmetic corrections away from a near perfect motor

 

[mattyb6]

Ended up costing £787 because the slave cylinder looked past it's best so chucked a new one in.

What a difference it makes though...feels like I'm driving a new car! No more juddering at idle, stalled it when I went to pull away from the garage as the clutch bite is so much lower and the gear changes are so smoooooth! I'm sure it sound quieter in the cabin too.

A big up to the guys from LUK UK as I sent a question regarding the differences between the two clutches available for the AVF and I had two techies reply with explanations as to the differences and possible reasons why Audi would have instigated a change. :thumbsup:

Now I'm just two front shocks and a few cosmetic corrections away from a near perfect motor

Mate, did you go for a oem luk replacement? Mines back in next week.
what gearbox oil did you use too?

cheers please to hear its sorted, £787 is a fair price inc new slave

 

[Audi Doodah]

Mate, did you go for a oem luk replacement? Mines back in next week.
what gearbox oil did you use too?

cheers please to hear its sorted, £787 is a fair price inc new slave

Yep, OE LUK clutch and DMF. Don't know about the gearbox oil as the garage have a bulk container they fill from. As mine has had two oil changes in the last few weeks the improvement in gear changes has to be down to the clutch.

LUK DMF 415 0244 10 (for AVF models with manual transmission)

LUK Clutch 624 3329 00 (For VIN higher than (8E5)5#040001) 624 3037 00 (For VIN lower than (8E5)5#040000)

LUK Clutch & DMF kit 600 0039 00 (For VIN up to (8E5)3#500000)

I stress, these numbers are for the AVF 6 speed 1.9 tdi only and are sourced from here. I can't comment on the clutch/dmf kit but the two separate clutches ARE DIFFERENT. The earlier model has 6 springs where the later (mine) has only 4. The LUK guys suggested Audi probably made the change due to higher than expected failure rates and it would "better match the torque characteristics of the engine". Strange how the whole model range doesn't get the newer one. Perhaps Audi were keeping a potential recall issue under their hats?

Found the kit cheapest here

 

[mattyb6]

Mine is an awx 5speed non Quattro, did you Order from luk direct?

il be getting the luk one from euro cr parts, with the dmf.

The garage will have gearbox for me so il just use that

 

[Audi Doodah]

Mine is an awx 5speed non Quattro, did you Order from luk direct?

Ha, a load of useless info for you then. You're lucky too because the 5 speed stuff is cheaper! If you use the LUK catalogue link I posted then the AWX info is all there too. Can't link direct to the page because it runs in an applet but start vehicle search, select Great Britain, the select model and bob's your uncle.

Then search for the relevant part numbers on the second link. ECP is good but not always the cheapest!

 

[Audi Doodah]

Still had the page up. 600 0040 00 clutch & dmf kit for all AWX models

 

[mattyb6]

Yeah I know but I get trade price there, through the garage. It's a lot easier.

With luk il have to buy the dmf and clutch seperate but with Sachs you can get a kit.
I can't wait to get it done, this smf is awful.
il have a look later on the luk link you posted. If it all goes well it will be in for a remap next month.
I'm pleased to hear my stuff I cheaper too, as I'm running low on the old sterling this month lol

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Mines being done on Monday - im actually looking forward to finding out how different it feels.

 

[Audi Doodah]

Keep us posted!

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Well - Mine was done on Monday by Unit20 - Its transformed the car.
I didnt actually realise how bad it was, on the way back I had to check a few times if the car had stalled as there were no vibrations whatsoever.

As it turns out, the centre bearing on the flywheel had dropped slightly, causing the inner part of the flywheel to drop and effectifley wedge itself there - it had pretty much turned into a solid flywheel because of this.

I have attached a photo, you can just about tell that the clearance between the inner part and outer part of the flywheel differs on the opposite (right and left) sides.

 

[Audi Doodah]

Well - Mine was done on Monday by Unit20 - Its transformed the car.
I didnt actually realise how bad it was, on the way back I had to check a few times if the car had stalled as there were no vibrations whatsoever.

As it turns out, the centre bearing on the flywheel had dropped slightly, causing the inner part of the flywheel to drop and effectifley wedge itself there - it had pretty much turned into a solid flywheel because of this.

Blimey! Surprised you couldn't park sideways as you must have had some serious judder!? Glad it feels good now. Not sure if it's all in my head but my rev pickup feels "tighter" now, like more responsive. Not giving it full beans yet though as I want it to bed in properly.

 

[glenandem]

Hi guys mines been juddering really bad since I bought it and I'm going to replace it now where getting warmer Weather as I hate working outside in cold, this week alone I've done a transit flywheel, anouther transit fwd gearbox a 206 cambelt and a vectra full service so now I'm turning my head to my motor and as I'm about to start going on camping trips and take the avant to silverstone for the f1 I don't want to drive all that way with this vibration in case it lets go totally!
mines a 5 speed awx and for anyone interested I found a full Sachs kit from dark side developments for £320 and that seemed to be the cheapest I've found up to now, if anyone else knows anywhere cheaper for these engines I'd appreciatte a link?