I have taken my car off the road for it's 13 year full overhaul and am changing a whole raft of stuff, including clutch/flywheel. PAS pump, cam belt, water pump, alternator, shocks, ARB's etc etc etc so that it lasts me another 12 years

Anyhow what I wanted to say is that you 400% do NOT have to lower the front subframe to remove the transmission as I have seen suggested in other posts. This is just a complete and utter waste of effort. All you need to do is remove the two stud bolts from the transmission bell housing that hold the rear engine mount pull the gearbox back an inch and then rotate 90 degrees anticlockwise. Pull it back and drop it down. Comes out easy as pie. Fitting is the reverse.

This has been one of the easiest clutch changes I have ever done.

Also you don't need any fancy none sense flywheel locking tools to lock the flywheel to undo the flywheel bolts. The generic ones you buy off eBay work perfectly

A crane makes your work SOOOOO much easier

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Note the angle of the gearbox. The diff output shaft is facing near vertical as a result of the 90 degree rotation.

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One further word of advice. When you have the gearbox off, remove the clutch fork arm completely, clean it and the plastic bushes it runs in and then apply copper grease to these before reassembly. It will ensure smooth movement for many years to come.

Got any pictures of the tools you mention? Or a link to ebay

Which alternator did you go for?

I used one of these along with a random nut and bolt that I inserted into the lower right engine block to bell housing bolt hole. NOT all the teeth mesh with the flywheel, they don't need to, only the first or last two depending on whether you are undoing or tightening.

Obviously you need to angle it commensurately with what you are doing so that the flywheel is appropriately locked in relation to the direction of force applied.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Petrol-And-Diesel-Engine-Car-Vehicle-Flywheel-Locking-Tool-VSE2394-/141720853782?hash=item20ff389d16:g:F~MAAOSwyQtVqLOj

I haven't bought the alternator yet, it is on my to do list. Mine still works but has a crack in the housing. To be fair it's been there for the 9 years I have had the car but as it is such a PITA to get out I might as well change it. Had to take it out to get to the Power Steering Pump which was leaking

So all back together now and clutch is SMOOOTHHHH!!!. Takes about 3 inches up which is 2 inches higher than before and no more Judder !!! . I was VERY concerned when I first started the car as it wasn't disengaging, I really thought I had forgotten to put in the release bearing or something. But a bit of pumping later it started to free up and is now super. Done 80 miles since job done and am very pleased. It was NOT air in the system, must have just been interference between the components.

One last bit of advice. Taking the starter motor out is a B%£$ard. I can HIGHLy recommend you removing

1. The middle section of exhaust (you have to anyway so start here)
2. The rear engine mount ( again this has to come off anyway)
3. The alternator
4. The starter motor.

In this sequence your life will be soooo much simpler as you can now reach your arm through where the alternator comes out to get to the very rear bolt of the starter

By the way I did NOT use the standard VALEO DMF/Clutch. I used a LUK system which is 100% incompatible with the Valeo one. You cannot use the LUK clutch and pressure plate with a Valeo DMF or vice versa.

So to update this the LUK system turned out to be a bloody disaster. The flywheel/clutch is lighter by 2KG's than the original VALEO DMF/Clutch setup. This translates to a significant reduction in rotational mass which in turn lessens the harmonic dampening/smoothing effect of the setup. This means the poor crankpulley now has significantly more work to do and as such I had three failures in three months. All of this means I have had to revisit the entire job.

Not only is the LUK system lighter is also has significant play. See video

http://vid207.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/propnut/VID_20160705_105924_zpsn20pf0xu.mp4

compare with the refitted old VALEO DMF with new clutch

http://vid207.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/propnut/VID_20160705_145050_zpsmgxqtacs.mp4

Now previously I mentioned the use of a standard flywheel locking tool, here is a picture of that in use

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Also I stated previously the gearbox comes out EASILY if you simply rotate it 90 degrees anticlockwise. You do NOT need to lower the sub-frame BUT you do need to remove the rear engine mounting studs from the bell housing using the locknut method. See photos





Now I contacted LUK to see if they could test the LUK DMF setup for balance or to see if they were in fact genuine. I was supposed to get a call back with an answer which predictably never came. You would think that if there were copy products out there they would be interested in finding out and distancing their brand from them. However their silence and disinterest tell me they are fully aware that they sell crap products. Funny how after inventing the whole DMF system they are now selling DMF to SMF conversion kits as too are VALEO. Can't be such a great idea then can it. I was tempted at buying one such kit but the only seller I could find one from was in Malta.

Ouch. I see what you mean now. The axial (or more to the point, off axial) movement on the LUK video is terrible. I've got an LUK DMF on mine

Hmm.....look at this

http://www.factorfocus.ie/index.php/schaeffler-automotive-aftermarket-leads-crackdown-on-counterfeiters/6348

Is the phone number in that article the one that you called?

Yep, it is the UK customer service line.

TBH I couldn't care anymore. The VALEO is back on as too is the gearbox. As soon as I recover from my hip surgery that I had on Wed (in a couple of weeks) I will reassemble the rest of the car, then use it for a short while while I do some work on my SEAT Alhambra then sell it. The wife now has her new Zafira so all in all the FIAT is now surplus to requirement.

I have LOADS of spares for her that I will be selling as well such as factory roof bars, so will list my ebay listings under the classifieds on here

Well my hip was feeling pretty good today and the sun was shining so decided to crack on with the car. Got her back on the road and am pleased to say that after a 20 mile run..........fingers crossed........touch wood etc etc all seems good. The nasty metal sounding noise that was coming from the crank pulley has now gone. Multiple stops and starts with the engine hot has resulted in a nice quiet start so it seems at this stage that the LUK flywheel was definitely the culprit.

Despite have sold (and missing greatly) my Multipla I thought I would come back and give some feedback.

So the company I bought the DMF/Clutch plate actually did honour their 4 year warranty, so despite the bashing they have received on the internet.....I am pretty impressed. I sent back the old DMF along with the claim form and hey presto a new one has arrived. A complete transformation over the old one. Only 1 tooth movement radially and a fraction of the rock of the old one.

Alas I have no car to fit it to so will be putting it up on eBay along with the clutch/drive plate to recoup some of my money.

If and when a low mile 2010 model Multi comes up I will buy it.

All the best chaps.