We have a 05 JTD which so far has been great for 16,000 miles. However, I have an other half who is a bit brutal with the clutch, and we tow a caravan (maybe not a good combination). The Doblo manages this no problem, now however the clutch has started to judder when pulling away. Have we shortened the life of our clutch prematurely, or is something else amiss.
Normally the Doblo copes Ok with the brutal driving techninique. It wasn't worth the earache for pointing this out. I'm sure you can picture the scene.
Will the clutch plate 'wear' smooth after a while or is there a deeper problem. It drives Ok apart from when pulling away. Any help appreciated.

My clutch judderd a little before it was serviced try adjusting the clutch cable

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the JTD have a hydraulic clutch? Does this self-adjust?

Hydraullic.

Take to dealer if concerned,its under warranty!

I had not noticed a clutch reservoir on my 04 doblo jtd so I had assumed it had a cable, just had another look can't see one, so where is it located T14086

Does this problem occur all the time or just in the mornings for example?

Mine bites quite a bit on cold mornings when changing gear no matter how smoothly you release the clutch, but after half a mile or sometimes a little bit more it settles down and works like a dream. It's as if the plate warms up and expands a little. Will probably get garage to look at this when I take it in before the warranty runs out

Towing a caravan is no trouble for a Doblo, I think the plated weight is up to 1.4ton braked, so you should have no problem!

olbod said:

I had not noticed a clutch reservoir on my 04 doblo jtd so I had assumed it had a cable, just had another look can't see one, so where is it located T14086

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Shared with brake resevoir(1.2 has cable)look for clutch slave cylinder.

It pretty much does it all the time. I've become extra aware and delicate with the clutch, and just as you think it seems ok, the next time it judders nicely.

The good thing is that my other half's clutch technique is improving.

Hopefully it will bed it'self out if it has got something to do with the clutch shoe it'self... the only other thing I can think of it being is something to do with the bearing or the pressure plate (hope I got that right)... Do you hear any really quiet screeching noises when it happens by any chance as this is a signal the bearing has gone/is on it's way out? Although after such little mileage I doubt it.

Best thing is to take it back to dealer and then you can blame the other half for the damage if you dare!

Thanks for clearing that up T14086 I had an Audi with a central hydraulic system but it didnt occur to me the reservoir on my doblo was shared

I'm a little puzzled as to what my fiat dealer did on 24,000 mile service to cure my clutch shudder but it's gone :idea: could it be the foot peddle has some adjustment for free play?

Had similar symptoms on our JTD sx Cargo from about 40,000 miles right up until the clutch thrust bearing fell apart at about 193,000 miles.

My mechanic showed me a sleeve that I think the thrust bearing slides along (T14.. will tell us for sure, he da man!). Our sleeve had some corrosion that I think made it difficult for the bearing to slide smoothly and gave a poor feel to the clutch.

The sleeve was replace at the same time as the clutch and we now have a silky smooth clutch in operation and 'feel'.

Of course I may be mistaken in which case ignore everything I've said................. apart from fiat unlimted mileage warranties being 5h1t ! :devil: :devil:

You mean the 'duct'? did they renew casing aswell as thrust bearing? Sliding housing worn.

There is a service bulletin available to dealers to correctly rectify a juddering clutch on doblos.