1.4TDI clutch failure at 277,772 miles

depronman

A2OC Donor
A2 Clutch arm.jpgA2 front removed.jpg

I have just removed the clutch from a rather well travelled A2 1.4TDI, somewhat disappointed that it failed after 15 years and a mere 277,772 miles :rolleyes:

The release bearing had totally failed, but I believe this was actually cause by the clutch release lever wearing the ball headed pivot bolt away, the bolt then broke through the release lever resulting in the lever pivoting on the bell housing casing (not the end of the bolt), this caused the lever to be at an angle to the cover plate and therefore when opening the clutch the release bearing was being pushed to the cover on an angle. The gearbox mounted release bearing sleeve would try to prevent this, but eventually this extra force on the release bearing caused a total release bearing failure.

The really interesting fact is that even with the 280K miles, the clutch spinner place is not worn down to the rivets, there is at least 0.6mm left before the rivets are touched and the cover plate as lots of spring left in it. Compared to the new LUK clutch kit I estimate that had the bearing not failed the original clutch would have seen at least another 80k to 100K miles.

So. we all know what to expect from an original Audi TDI clutch ;), but I strongly suggest that the style of driving will have a big impact on the life of the clutch. This A2 only had 2 previous owners, 90K miles put on it in 2 years by the first owner with full VAG service history, then the second owner added the other 190K miles, I suspect that both have been motorway drivers as against town drivers. Second owner confirmed that he had never changed the clutch.

Is there anything else that I should pay particular attention too on this mileage TDI ? Belt/water pump and tensioner was replaced 3 years ago, so getting ready for changing again, other than that ???

There was a little oil in the pipe from the turbo to the intercooler - about a thimble full, is this anything to worry about or is it the norm for the TDI ?


Cheers,
Paul
 
Thats impresive milage for a clutch paul, For the turbo youl need to remove the plastic tube off the end and just check theres no damage to the fins and no sideways play in the bearings or end float, but someone with more knowledge of the 3cylinder TDI may have better idea of things to check for..

-Gary
 
Thats impresive milage for a clutch paul, For the turbo youl need to remove the plastic tube off the end and just check theres no damage to the fins and no sideways play in the bearings or end float, but someone with more knowledge of the 3cylinder TDI may have better idea of things to check for..

-Gary

by 'plastic tube' are you referring to the large diameter pipe which the compressed air is forced through i.e. the tube attached to the end of the turbo
 
Oil in the charge pipes is normal. It mostly comes from the crankcase breather, which feeds the crankcase fumes back into the air inlet of the turbo. A small amount is fine, it's not unusual to find even a cup of oil in the charge pipes / intercooler.

As for checking the turbo, do what JIGSAW suggested and remove the air inlet pipe from the compressor side and check the compressor wheel / shaft for play. Some radial play is normal, but axial play is not.
 
So, as we are approaching 220,000 miles on the same clutch... I still have some life left in it!:D

That's a great result.

Was there any judder when getting biting point, before it failed?
Ours is a bit juddery, but it's been like that a while.
 
View attachment 24654View attachment 24655



Is there anything else that I should pay particular attention too on this mileage TDI ? Belt/water pump and tensioner was replaced 3 years ago, so getting ready for changing again, other than that ???

There was a little oil in the pipe from the turbo to the intercooler - about a thimble full, is this anything to worry about or is it the norm for the TDI ?


Cheers,
Paul

It would be nice to have a 'Preventative Maintenance' thread but in general there seems to be very few recurring faults in this category, even on super high milers.

My only suggestions would be -

1) Ratchet type alternator pulley
2) Turbo oil feed pipe as it's likely to carbon up over time and reduce oil flow

Cheers Spike
 
Thanks for the turbo checking advise, by 'Radial Play' I assume this to be side to side movement, what amount is considered normal 0.5mm, 1mm ?
By 'Axial play' this is pulling the shaft in/out of the turbo ?

thanks, Paul
 
unfortunately I never drove the A2 with the original clutch so I can't answer that question, the previous owner stated it was fine until a days or so before the clutch failed when it started to make a nasty noise when pressing the clutch peddle down, this was obviously the start of the final stage of the release bearing failing.
Looking at the fingers on the old clutch cover plate, they have had about 8 to 10mm worn off the inner tips, this appears to be 'new wear' as it is all still shiny, so I can only assume that as the release bearing as failed continuing to operate the clutch caused the finger wear.
As I stated in the original post I believe that the clutch bearing failure was actually caused by the clutch fork wearing against the pivot bolt, this caused the bearing to be pushed against the cover plate fingers on an angle, the result is the bearing failure.
What is unfortunate is there is no way to see the clutch fork pivot bolt without removing the gearbox, I may have simply been unlucky in that the bolt may not have been lubricated on original assembly, or this type of clutch fork/bolt failure may be typical on this sort of mileage.
What is for sure is that the spinner plate was well away from the rivets, I estimate another 80 to 100K miles left in the spinner plate / cover assy, obviously it is now in the scrap bin as I have no intentions of removing the gearbox again in the new future :)

Cheers,
Paul
 
Thanks for the turbo checking advise, by 'Radial Play' I assume this to be side to side movement, what amount is considered normal 0.5mm, 1mm ?
By 'Axial play' this is pulling the shaft in/out of the turbo ?

thanks, Paul

This is correct. There are manufacturer recommended limits for radial play, but I'd say off hand that 1mm is excessive. I'd say max 0,5mm radial play and about 0,1mm axial play is normal. The bearings in the turbo are pressure lubricated, so when the engine is running, the oil pressure centers the shaft in the slide bearings. This results in there being a little bit play between the shaft and the bearings. You can check the actual values with a dial gauge, but if you don't have one, a quick-n-dirty check by hand will also give you an idea of the amount of play. While you're there I'd also suggest you check the compressor wings for damage / wear.
 
Gearbox is now back in the A2 and all rebuilt. Took it for a drive and all is well except the speedo is not working. Will check from the gearbox speedo sensor connector backwards.
Then it is interior cleaning time, seat and carpet out tomorrow :p
 
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