Its time for a new clutch...

[J7USS]

Ok folks so as it says, its time for a new Clutch I reckon and even though Ive done some searches, im after some Fresh advice on where is best.

Being in leicester I have a few specialists that will do the Job for me ranging from £750 down to £475 Supp/Fitted.

I also have it down cheaper by my local Gearbox/clutch center who will do the job £325 all in and thats for the Valeo 3 piece kit - Im liking the sound of this and have used him before on my precious cars.

Question is though, Im getting alot of warnings about the Dual Mass flywheel which will be an extra £300 on top of what ive been quoted.

As anyone had there clutch replaced along with the Dual mass FW on a 1.8T QS???

I had a price for the clutch of PJM last yr (cheers mate) and might still be an option to get my mechanic to do it himself but if the clutch center can do the same job for £325 all in then maybe that is my best option?

Its just this Dual mass FW issue, my motor is just over 50k on the clock, there is no vibrations whatsoever , still pulls fine but the bite is geting higher and is now right at the top of the pedal and might have slipped a little earlier (or that could be me being para) as I noticed this morning so may aswell get it done rather than wait.

Ive sat in 2nd gear with the handbrake to check the bite, all ok and stalls but like I say may aswell get it sorted now.

So do you think these prices are reasonable?
what do you think to the DM FW dilemma - is it common to have these changed aswell at the same time or just replace the clutch and see from there (only problem there is I dont want to have to get it in again to have a new FW)

Any input guys much appreciated:icon_thumright:

 

[slinegaz]

Hi, I'm in the same situation at the minute but with a 1.9 tdi, however, I did have a Golf 1.8T a few years ago where I had taken to a garage to have the clutch done and it turned out to be the DM fly aswell. The mechanis was trustworthy btw and not just trying to have me over. I looked down the single mass route but read loads about vibratin on idle etc. Don't think I fancy that much personally!! Think I'm going to lump to have the whole lot done, been quoted £750 by Mr Clutch and such like but a local mechanic that has come highly recomended has offered to do the job for £500, For me, it's worth doing as theres a shed load of labour to be piled onto the price alone....

 

[mattyboyc]

Had mine done last year on my 1.9tdi, no obvious signs on slipping ect but that needed a fly wheel aswell, the bet prices i got were from tps luckily my mrs works for a small indipendent garage so i wasn't stung on the labour.

 

[J7USS]

Yeah I was talking to a specialist about the single mass FW. After speaking to a few on here and over the phone Ive decided im going with the BigJohn (ex Mr clutch Leicester) option, ill see what he says about the FW wheel when he's took it apart and take it from there but few have said that by sounds of it, ill get away with just a 3piece clutch kit as ive had no major issues and mileage being just over 50k....I know its hard to say without seeing it but im not ready to expect the worse yet.lol and 'BiGjOhN' seems to think ill get away with it so far after a drive in my motor but again, he'll know when its in bits!!

Ive heard that the flywheel takes more of a beating when you leave it slipping for weeks, aint got a clue when it comes to engine/transmission so I wouldnt know.

..its been a ****** expensive start of the year, Insurance on both my Car and Van, Major busy with working away trying to juggle MOT's/servicing on both mine and the mrs car...then its both my lads Bdays then straight after its the Mrs too...all these hefty bills before April!!! I feel like Ted Bundy has had his wicked way with me and my Money!!

Slinegaz - Is that £500 all in Supp/fitted?? Thats a ****** good price with the Flywheel too! get it done mate...Cheapest Ive been quoted with FW included hits nearly £900 (specialist price), I wont even say what the stealers quoted me - Bastwards!!

 

[Marcos M]

I have a 1.8T QS and had the clutch and flywheel replaced just before Christmas as it had started slipping, a local indy charged me £980 parts and labour for a Sach 3 piece clutch kit and flywheel, the also replaced the gearbox input shaft seal which was leaking oil over the clutch and causing it to slip. This was at 97000 miles and the clutch still had some life in it if it hadn't been covered in oil, so are you sure yours need changing already?

 

[J7USS]

Yeah mine defo needs changing, took a journey to me dads tonight and it is slipping when I boot it. The bite is right at the top now and you only need to press it say 20mm and it starts to slip!
The bite has always been pretty high and some say its common with theirs and has been going strong for years but mine is gradually getting worse and after yesterdays little play with a launch start has made it slightly worse...

 

[Marcos M]

Well mine had a slight judder which has now gone with the new clutch and flywheel so if your planning on keeping the car a long time it might be worth getting the flywheel done while it's in bits, could save money in the long run.

 

[J7USS]

Thats what I think ill have to do. even though I have no judder or anything it makes sense to have a new FW fitted whilst its in bits hey!

 

[Marcos M]

It was a no brainer for me at 97000 I didn't even think twice about changing it but at 50000 if all's well it's a bit harder, these things always happen at the worst time don't they?
but unless your selling the car within the next 20000 miles or so I think I'd change it.

 

[Nutkin]

it can go downhill very quick if its slipping, the slipping ***** the dmf. replace with a single mass

 

[BILKO1]

I changed the clutch and dmf on my old 1.9 tdi total cost of parts was £300 about 18 months ago. I used an LUK kit which is what Audi fitted at the factory, the car had done 160,000 miles and the flywheel was shot. At 50,000 miles and petrol engine i would expect your flywheel to be ok but you won't know for sure until you can see it and test it. What did the previous owner drive like? what do you drive like? if you/ he/she liked traffic light grand prix's and lighting the front tyres up then you will probably need a new DMF Here's some boring info http://www.luk.de/content.luk.de/en/products/dampers/zms_sv/zms_lv/zms_lv.jsp

 

[J7USS]

Took it for a drive this morning and amazingly it didnt slip once but with the bite being high and it slipped a couple times yesterday then Im going to get it done still.
Hopefully without the FW. I probable so no more than 4K a year in mileage because my Van gets the rest with work and what not so if I can get away without the FW then ill stick with just the clutch kit.
I'll have got rid of the car by Summer 2011 so hopefully all will be ok!

Bilko - the previous owner was a middle aged couple, I couldnt really say how they would drive to be honest but he did have a SL55 AMG aswell as this and his mrs used to drive it more than he did. The owner before him was a Older fella he reckons so chances are it hasnt really been Thrashed but who knows....until I got it.lol! Naa, Im not that bad really, just the odd play...

Its booked in for thursday so ill know when he gets to look at the FW - Ill see what he says and take it from there!
Thanks guys for your input though, appreciate it :icon_thumright:

 

[Quackers]

My clutch wants doing too (TDI). When you give it some stick going through first, change into second vaguely fast it slips. Don't worry too much about the flywheel. Its going to be very expensive if it does need to be changed, but the chances are it won't need it unless you let it get really bad. I.e. the friction material on the clutch plate have warn away as far as the steel fastenings on the FW side... Clamping surface side tends to wear away faster anyway. Phoned my local dealer out of interest a couple of hours ago and was quoted £766.30 all in. Will be doing it myself for £180 lol.

 

[Nutkin]

http://www.ecstuning.com/

enjoy shopping

 

[docurley]

Are you not planning on any engine mods if so I would upgrade the clutch but if not the standard it is.

JCB was getting Southbend Clutches or Clutchmaster FX3000 are meant to be the daddies right now but I know JCB was due to put in his rebuilt engine in to his car with a new performance clutch which will mean he will have a used Sounthbend Stage III for DM fly up for grabs which would make a good upgrade with stock feel (used to be mine).

 

[J7USS]

Doc - I was thinking about it but in reality I dont think Ill have the car long enough to enjoy the benefits.Think I spoke to your mate a while back about a clutch he'd be selling.
Im thinking of selling up this summer and getting my teeth into something a little different. Ive gave up with getting a cheap salvage car now, been a bad experience the past month so someone above is telling me not to bother.
Been looking for a Nice Avant for the mrs on a salvage but the ones ive come across just aint worth the sweat.

Clutch is being sorted tomorrow, its a LUK brand and hopefully the Fw will be ok.

 

[slinegaz]

Yeah the price was for a single mass conversion kit inc. labour £500, however, he started to back pedal a little when I mentioned that I was thinking of getting the proper DMF, as opposed to the SMF conversion kit. The price for the clutch and DMF itself is no different to the SMF conversion on ECP and I can't really see there being much difference in the installation, but he didn't seem as keen for some reason. Gonna get it booked in just as soon as my mrs gets her TT back from him which had a clutch problem as well!! Slave cylinder went so our Audi's have hemoraged a grand this month!!! doh!!!

If it helps though, her's is a TT 225 with 70k miles, and the DMF was fine, he is just replacing the clutch so there is a good chance yours will be ok at 50k.

 

[J7USS]

Cheers Gaz, Yeah im hoping it'll be ok too! ill update tomorrow....hopefully!!

 

[Nutkin]

The dmf doesnt wear with time at all though or milage, it means nothing the DMF will only where if the clutch slips, it puts a huge strain on the internal dampening springs and eventually the whole thing just snaps, cracks and pops.

 

[J7USS]

Hopefully then it'll be ok as it hasnt been slipping that bad, soon as it started that day I parked it up on the drive and been using my BangBus

 

[aragorn]

Just a bit of a comparison here.

Our 1.8T had 150k on the clock when we baught it two years ago, on the original clutch, and the bite was at the VERY top of the pedal.

Its just rolled over 194k, and we changed the engine a few weeks ago, still biting right at the top of the pedal, and no slip whatsoever (although its done most of that mileage with a standard 150hp engine)

Its clearly the original clutch, with all the Audi logos etc on there, and the DMF had about 3-4" of slack in it, so clearly it does wear with time/mileage.

It didnt judder at all, however approx 2-3 months ago it started juddering really badly when reversing, felt like you were driving over boulders or something. A few weeks later, the juddering vanished, and it was fine until we changed the engine.

I replaced it using a solid flywheel from a 1.9TDi Audi 80, and a clutch from an early A4 TDi, mainly because the TDi flywheel cost me £30, instead of paying £££ for a new DMF or a SMF conversion. Its a bit of a gamble as i've no idea just how much this TDi clutch will take, but its the same size as the OE 1.8T clutch, and i baught an "oe" sachs clutch so i'm hoping it will be fine.

 

[docurley]

In the US they just get the DMF skimmed.

 

[J7USS]

*Update*

Clutch is all sorted now, Nice low biting point, no more kneeing myself in the face!
Stuck a new Clutch switch on aswell so eliminated the hanging revs problem that was creeping up. FW was sound too so thank god for that.

....now its service time!

 

[Quackers]

Lucky people! Car went in for clutch this morning. Was keeping my fingers crossed about the fly... Just had a phone call. Thought by the feel of it that it was a clamping pressure issue, but it wasn't. Friction plate burnt out, scored the fly slightly, but its also out of tolerance, quite badly.

-£800