New A3 8L TDI Quattro owner - already has slipping clutch

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jack_davey

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Hi all,
New to the forum and also a new TDI Quattro owner here in the UK, this is the first VAG car I've owned.
Worked on many VAG cars in the past doing servicing and general repairs, however compared to everything else I worked on, these cars were few and far between.

I picked up my 2002 A3 at the weekend and I must say I absolutely love it, but the clutch has already started to slip.
I suspect the car may have been remapped, as I've driven a Golf TDI 150 a few years ago and this feels much faster and is only supposed to be 130bhp, and yet has 126,000 miles on it!

I'm also new to dual mass flywheels, what's the score when replacing the clutch? Is it generally advisable to replace the flywheel at the same time as doing the clutch, even if it shows no signs of imminent failure? Would it be wise to change to a solid flywheel? I've heard many mixed opinions on this in various articles I've read, but I normally find long term owners are normally the best people to speak to to find out, what is the general opinion on here? Also is it worth upgrading to an uprated clutch to handle the extra power? If it hasn't been remapped then I would plan on doing it in the future anyway.

I do alot of miles and have purchased the car to use for work and it does involve driving in heavy traffic with stop/start patterns, so if upgrading the clutch or fitting a solid flywheel will make the driving experience less comfortable then it's not ideal.

Forum looks great so far, thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide.
 
Hello dude, welcome to ASN, where abouts are you in the UK?

now sorry to hear your clutch is slipping, never a good thing esp when you have only just bought the car :(

now using standard or uprated parts is up to you IMHO, BUT depending on the condition of the DMF if in doubt replace it, reason is it may well be the one it left the factory with, if so it will start knocking before the new clutch is half worn, normally you should replace the DMF at the same time as the clutch, but if the DMF is ok then the choice is yours dude :)
 
Thanks for the reply mate, I'm in Surrey, but I actually bought the car in Tiverton!

My other car is a Renault Sport Clio 182, which has been incredibly reliable, owned it for 5 and a half years, bought it with 32k and its now done 82k!

Based on what you have said, I think I may aswell replace the DMF as the service history doesn't show it having a clutch in the past, what's the typical lifespan? The other thing is, with the car being a quattro model, I'd hate to have to strip it all apart a second time because the DMF failed weeks (or even worse..days) after fitting a new clutch kit.
 
jack_davey said:
Thanks for the reply mate, I'm in Surrey, but I actually bought the car in Tiverton!

My other car is a Renault Sport Clio 182, which has been incredibly reliable, owned it for 5 and a half years, bought it with 32k and its now done 82k!

Based on what you have said, I think I may aswell replace the DMF as the service history doesn't show it having a clutch in the past, what's the typical lifespan? The other thing is, with the car being a quattro model, I'd hate to have to strip it all apart a second time because the DMF failed weeks (or even worse..days) after fitting a new clutch kit.
Click to expand...

Ahh you got the car from near me (ish lol) ok, im a VAG indy mechanic and own a quattro A3 (i should really know better lol) the life span of a DMF is a bit of string tbh, ive seen them last as much as 200k (my mk5 golf one is still ok at 157k) but ive also had to replace them at 20k (not vag but still dmf)

Now although the transfer box does add work to the clutch change its not a massive amount, so the extra work is 3 10mm bolts on the prop, 4 16mm bolts (or 4 x M12 spline bolts) 4 bracket bolts and thats it, the transfer box is off, also the worst part of getting the box out is the O/S drive flange on a quattro it isnt there so the box comes off easy

If your car came into our place i would recommend the DMF is changed aswell, its piece of mind and a good work practice, some garages will be 'scared' of it being quattro but tbh its a breeze to do

and as for owning a renault all im gonna say is you have been lucky to not have any problems :), ive had the 172s snap belts at 68k (not the 72k replacement they recommend) key fobs lose code if you blink at them, sunroofs rattle, CV boots split and throw grease over the discs, calipers sieze up, and driveshafts knock

But atleast you own a VAG now dude :)
 
Yeah I was thinking it was near you when I saw your location.
Fair enough, it doesn't sound too bad in that case.
I've been out of the trade for about a year now so no longer have access to a 2 post lift, would you say the job is do-able with axle stands and a couple trolley jacks? Obviously still have my snap on roll cab packed with tools and an engine/transmission support beam.
Is there a workshop manual you'd recommend for torque settings etc?

Yeah as Renault's go I'd say the 172/182 range seem to be the best where reliability is concerned, but with their low market values nowadays they fall into the hands of people who try and run them on an unrealistic budget and they develop problems. Changed many the timing belt on these cars and I have to say it is probably the most complicated (if you do it correctly) out there as the pulleys have no key ways.

The replacement interval is 5 years or 72k whichever comes first, and many people ignore the 5 years part hence early failures, although I've never known one to snap, it's normally the idler pulley that fails and causes the belt to go slack, or the aux belt/tensioner have been dis-regarded and the aux belt comes off and wraps itself around the crankshaft pulley, either causing the timing belt to jump or for the crankshaft pulley to work loose and lose timing.
Admittedly the CV boot clips they left the factory with are pretty crap and do break easily, but then again this is easily sorted.
I suppose most cars I own are pretty reliable as I've always maintained them regardless of cost, even an MG ZS I owned for about 6 months! LOL!
 
jack_davey said:
Yeah I was thinking it was near you when I saw your location.
Fair enough, it doesn't sound too bad in that case.
I've been out of the trade for about a year now so no longer have access to a 2 post lift, would you say the job is do-able with axle stands and a couple trolley jacks? Obviously still have my snap on roll cab packed with tools and an engine/transmission support beam.
Is there a workshop manual you'd recommend for torque settings etc?

Yeah as Renault's go I'd say the 172/182 range seem to be the best where reliability is concerned, but with their low market values nowadays they fall into the hands of people who try and run them on an unrealistic budget and they develop problems. Changed many the timing belt on these cars and I have to say it is probably the most complicated (if you do it correctly) out there as the pulleys have no key ways.

The replacement interval is 5 years or 72k whichever comes first, and many people ignore the 5 years part hence early failures, although I've never known one to snap, it's normally the idler pulley that fails and causes the belt to go slack, or the aux belt/tensioner have been dis-regarded and the aux belt comes off and wraps itself around the crankshaft pulley, either causing the timing belt to jump or for the crankshaft pulley to work loose and lose timing.
Admittedly the CV boot clips they left the factory with are pretty crap and do break easily, but then again this is easily sorted.
I suppose most cars I own are pretty reliable as I've always maintained them regardless of cost, even an MG ZS I owned for about 6 months! LOL!
Click to expand...

ahh even better, as an ex mechanic doing this on the floor wouldnt be to bad, the prop bolts are easy to get at from on top with a 10mm ring spanner, i Changed Jardos fwd clutch on my back in 3hrs so with yours being quattro will prob add about an hour to that time on the floor

a few words of warning replace the flywheel to crank bolts, and to get the transfer box off there is a 5mm (or it could be a 6mm) allen key bolt in the middle of the o/s drive flange, now dont be tempted to use a long reach allen key, what you need is a stubby 1/4 snap on allen key socket then a 4in 1/4 extension, there is no chance of snapping the socket off (i have seen that many times) i dont have Elsawin open atm but i can post up the torque settings tomorrow if that helps dude?
 
Yeah sure that woud help mate, but a workshop manual just to get a general idea of what I'm getting myself into (ie:whether subframe needs removing etc) would be helpful. The other thing is when doing this kind of job on axle stands, technique is what probably makes it a 3hr job rather than an all day job!

I take it with splitting the transfer box you also have to replace a gasket or seal between that and the gearbox? Do you also change the crankshaft rear main oil seal when you have the flywheel off? Do you loctite the flywheel to crank bolts?
 
the transfer box gasket is 2 rubber O rings so yes you can replace them but its not the end of the world if you dont :)

you dont have to remove or drop the subframe the box comes out just by removing the driveshafts, i think if i was doing it i would start by removing the airbox, battery and battery box, then the gear selector cables, that will give you a bucket load more space to work in then iirc there are 4 18mm bolts on the bell housing, on the underside you will have to remove the dog bone mount, this is 2x 16mm bolts in to the gearbox and 2x 13mm bolts in to the subframe, sometimes the 13mm bolts sieze in the alloy of the mount, so you may have to use a little force, ive never had one thats siezed in the subframe, only the mount

the new flywheel bolts have threadlock on them and the torque setting is 65nm + 90 degrees, the only reason to change the crank rear main is if its leaking, ive never had to change one so i would of thought you will be ok :)
 
I have a tdi quatty. My clutch slipped the first day I bought it (92k miles), and has done ever since if I give it full beans in a high gear. Driven it for over 40k miles over two years with it (now 135k miles), I reckon it has got another 20k left in it.

The DMF is around £300 for a standard part, but the job is such a ball ache in labour, you would be a fool not to do everything you can in there while the gearbox is off.

So your looking at clutch, dmf, pressure plate and release bearing, should be about £600 in parts. I personally would get rid of the DMF and swap it in for a SMF, but then im not a ponce who cares about my car sounding a bit chattery at idle. See Darkside Developments - Home for the best tdi tuning gear!

Good choice of car btw :)
 
^^Cheers!

Strangely the clutch has now stopped slipping! Maybe the dealer had it sitting for some time and there was some surface corrosion on the flywheel?
I was planning on just doing everything while it was apart, got a quote from euros for a SACHS DMF, pressure plate, friction plate, release bearing and slave for £380 odd. Not too bad :)

Gotta say I love the car, it's ridiculously good value! Although the stealers were pricey for a new set of mats and a cup holder at £117! :wtf:
 
jack_davey said:
^^Cheers!

Strangely the clutch has now stopped slipping! Maybe the dealer had it sitting for some time and there was some surface corrosion on the flywheel?
I was planning on just doing everything while it was apart, got a quote from euros for a SACHS DMF, pressure plate, friction plate, release bearing and slave for £380 odd. Not too bad :)

Gotta say I love the car, it's ridiculously good value! Although the stealers were pricey for a new set of mats and a cup holder at £117! :wtf:
Click to expand...

While your maintaining your new pride and joy, do the haldex oil and filter, rear diff oil, gearbox oil, and stick to Motul VW Specific 505.01 spec engine oil every 10k miles and enjoy some quality german motoring.
 
Yeah had planned on doing these..

Haldex oil and filter I understand this to be a dealer only product, and is quite a fiddly job that involves filling from the drain hole?

I'm assuming the gearbox and transfer box share the same oil? What grade/brand is recommended?

And rear diff, what grade and brand do most recommend?
 
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