General To clutch or not to clutch,that is the question?

Currently reading:
General To clutch or not to clutch,that is the question?

Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
327
Points
159
Location
Aylesbury
My roundnose is nearing 110k and the clutch pedal is almost on the floor before it'll change gears. It grinds into 1st and reverse and several bleeds of the system have had no effect.
My local garage reckon the clutch plate springs are worn and weak and this week it's getting more of a struggle to change gear.
My quandary is that although she's a fairly reliable old girl her bodywork is quite poor and I'm not convinced that the cost of a new clutch could be sensibly justified.
To balance it out,she owes me nothing,always starts,has new tyres and various other bits recently.
My other concern would be the dmf,as if that's duff then it really would be a struggle to justify getting it done, especially as I couldn't do the job myself.
So,what would you do and if you've recently had a clutch replaced,what did it cost?
 
Get underneath and have a good look for rust or anything else that needs doing and make s choice
That being said after 110k and however many it more then likely will need a dmf as well but they may not be as expensive as you think depending on the engine anyway
 
I'm in a similar position, Ole Blue has 135k on it and a low down clutch.
I've had this ole shed for a day or two now and in all honesty it owes me nowt. It's never failed to get me where I'm going, be it Munich or the Algarve - and it's done both several times, so a little investment might be in order. I haven't looked into parts n prices yet but if all else fails I'm prepared to go 'old fashioned' - going back to a solid flywheel. (I don't like the concept of DMF's anyway - leave the springs in the clutch plate where they belong).
If I was you Tubs I'd tend to consider both the merits and debits before making a final decision. It don't owe you anything so why not put back into it what it's given you. Like me you could look into going back to non DMF (are you certain yours is DMF?) There were a lot of the bugs built with 'normal clutch units, before they went DMF. I'm a bit surprised you've only got 110k on the clutch, I might have expected another 10k or so.
Keep us posted.
George
 
Just had a quick look on Autodoc. They’re doing the full Valeo kit including the clutch, DMF and flywheel bolts, for £259 including delivery. Kit no is 837039. I think that’s pretty good value. The LuK equivalent is about a tenner more but the description is confusing - not sure if it’s the full monty. Bikedoc didn’t like the LuK kit anyway, from what I can remember.
 
Just had a quick look on Autodoc. They’re doing the full Valeo kit including the clutch, DMF and flywheel bolts, for £259 including delivery. Kit no is 837039. I think that’s pretty good value. The LuK equivalent is about a tenner more but the description is confusing - not sure if it’s the full monty. Bikedoc didn’t like the LuK kit anyway, from what I can remember.

That's definitely food for thought,thank you.
 
strangely enough, was just discussing a clutch/dmf with local garage, when my nosejob one had it's MOT last month, (passed, just 2 advises, nothing serious :)) as it's done 99k and recently had the cambelt/water pump done. (garage doesn't think mine needs a clutch yet, but we were just talking) he reckoned £700 all in, for a Valeo or LuK 3 piece clutch, DMF and the labour and VAT all in.
He said he wouldn't do a clutch without doing the DMF, it was false economy, as doing it at the same time as the clutch cost just the price of the dmf, as the labour was the same for both, (you had everything off for the clutch, it's just a few more bolts for the DMF,) but if the dmf goes after the clutch is done, it's all the labour to do it again...
Reckoned around 5 hours tops, could be 4, but worst case was 5 if things went a bit 'belly up'.
 
he reckoned £700 all in

...and that, sadly, is more than enough to send most 'plas to their grave. Unless you can do the job yourself or have an irrational, emotional attachment to your car (hands up all Multiplas Anonymous attendees) a bill of that size just doesn't make sense.

As for the SMF / DMF debate, personally I wouldn't put a SMF on mine. Anything but the lowest-powered diesel car of the last decade or so has been fitted with a DMF. Bean counters are well known (and often cursed by us users) in the car industry. If their view was that they're not necessary, they would not be fitted. Simple as that. Any diesel with its low end torque boosted by a VGT seems to get a DMF as part of the package. The combination of low-rev oscillations and high torque that the VGT brings to the table must do nasty things to the transmission and ancillaries if they're not tamed by a DMF.
 
Last edited:
WMF, think it all depends on whether you think the car is worth it or not.
Mine is a 55 plate, had 81k on the clock, when I bought it 3 years ago, had one owner, and a full service record.
I have maintained that, (garage wise, for the bigger jobs, as now back injuries, and lack of garage/drive make many jobs too difficult now) so as the car is up to scratch, all the small odds and ends I have done, the big ones (cam belt, etc) garage done, so I know there is no serious problems.
Also, how do you find a replacement that suits my needs like the multi does? 6 seats and still enough room for all the luggage, and, small enough to squeeze into a normal parking space, rather than trying to park a Galaxy or a Touran plus, the ability to remove seats to make a van??
My local garage reckons mine is good for a long while yet, with minimal outlay hopefully.
Paid £1000 for it, and anything near to what I have is being touted at around £1500/2000, so for me personally, that £700 would be acceptable, but, I can see where you are coming from, as have scrapped other cars when the repair price reaches as much as the car is really worth....
Hopefully, this multi has a few more (thousands) miles left in it, having been cared for!!
Always think that prevention is far better (and cheaper) than 'cure' especially when you break down in the middle of nowhere, with all the family on board!!
 
This is exactly why my dilemma is to do or not to do. My multi cost me £500 and I have spent the same again to get it reliable, so £700 odd for a clutch isn't an expenditure taken lightly. My local has quoted me £850 all in but reckon I'd be mad to have it done!
I genuinely love my round nose,but if one cropped up in better condition than mine I would happily buy that instead of dropping more into ours.
 
This is exactly why my dilemma is to do or not to do. My multi cost me £500 and I have spent the same again to get it reliable, so £700 odd for a clutch isn't an expenditure taken lightly. My local has quoted me £850 all in but reckon I'd be mad to have it done!
I genuinely love my round nose,but if one cropped up in better condition than mine I would happily buy that instead of dropping more into ours.
I understand your dilemma, and appreciate that the situation is different for you, than for me.
My multi cost me £1000 3 years ago, and, has gone through 3 MOT's with no problems apart from a couple of advises which were cheap and easy to sort. So it owes me nothing, as all I have spent, is for 'consumables' (tyres, battery, Wipers, etc) plus the cambelt was due, and the only other item was a track rod end, so, for 4 years motoring, it's cost very little, and as such, with the mileage, and the fact it has been serviced and kept in great shape by both myself, and the previous owner (there is a massive stack of receipts with it, and appears the car wanted for nothing!!)
On the other hand, as you said, you have already spent as much as the car cost, just to get it up to scratch, without the extra cost of the clutch. In your case, possibly too much, but in my case, spending £700, on the car I have, will probably, (baring major disaster) last me for another few years, hopefully trouble free.
If, on the other hand, I had had to spend big amounts getting it up together, I would probably bite the bullet and scrap it, if the cost of repair is more than the car is really worth.
Your scenario is somewhat different to mine, and I fully understand your reasoning. (If I were 10-15 years younger and had a driveway, I'd do the job myself just buy the parts, having done so many times before) and thus saved the labour costs...but sadly, time cathes up with us all...
 
Hi,
I have a brand new valeo dual mass flywheel including new bolts you can have for £150 (plus postage if you can't collect in person from Cheltenham)

Cheers Jack

Many thanks again Jack,but having discussed it with my chancellor last night we're going to carry on using ours as is until we find one in better shape.
 
I've followed this thread with interest because I, too, don't 'bend' as easily as I once did. I have a lot of trouble throwing myself under the shed these days. Only when the job simply can't be put off any longer do I 'get out and get under'
So I can understand your feelings Tubs and I share them.

Whatever you do, I wish you well. Keep us nosey neighbours informed.

Cheers
George
 
Last edited:
WMF, I could never understand the argument for DMF's.

Both DMF & SMF have control springs to take out the shock of drive take up, so why should the DMF be superior?

As far as I can see the DMF has move cons than pro's, judging by the mess I've seen on several of them - the wear those internal springs make inside the flywheel are terrible, it's not a good design at all. Why wasn't the springs given some sort of wear protection? I've seen the springs actually worn thru, something I rarely saw on a SMF - yeah, I'll agree, the springs can fall out or rattle themselves to death, but that wasn't the norm.
Anyway, I'm getting bloody lazy these days and that Citroen I just got rid of was a dream to drive - and no clutch pedal!
Throw the clutch pedal away and drive easy haha.
George
 
WMF, I could never understand the argument for DMF's.

Both DMF & SMF have control springs to take out the shock of drive take up, so why should the DMF be superior?

As far as I can see the DMF has move cons than pro's, judging by the mess I've seen on several of them - the wear those internal springs make inside the flywheel are terrible, it's not a good design at all. Why wasn't the springs given some sort of wear protection? I've seen the springs actually worn thru, something I rarely saw on a SMF - yeah, I'll agree, the springs can fall out or rattle themselves to death, but that wasn't the norm.
Anyway, I'm getting bloody lazy these days and that Citroen I just got rid of was a dream to drive - and no clutch pedal!
Throw the clutch pedal away and drive easy haha.
George
Dmf has two parts that can move a small amount
They are a lot better at absorbing vibration and torque spikes
Lots of people have damaged the gearbox fitning a single pass in place of the dual mass
That should tell you all you need to know about why they are fitted
 
Thanks Chris, what I don't understand is how did they damage their g/box with a smf when we've been using them since Noah.
George
Because modern engines produce far more power and torque especially commonrail type diesels and produce it in big lumps low down they make a hard life for the box during gear changes
 
Back
Top