Chat Clutch / DMF issues

Birchall

Birchall

Dick Chown Award 2016
The clutch on my wife's TDI 90 has never been great but it was not too bad, just a little stiff and felt a few vibrations when the pedal is slightly depressed.

Now it is starting to get slightly worse, so I am going to have to "bite the bullet" and sort it out.

So it will be having a new clutch and release bearing, a new slave and master cylinder and probably an new Dual Mass Flywheel.

Not a cheap job but it will be worth it and I expect that the car will have many more miles left in it then.


The clutch on a 90 is slightly heavier than on a 75 tdi anyway, but it is starting to get heavier now.

If you press the clutch down just far enough to make the release bearing make contact with the clutch cover plate properly, the vibrations through the pedal are pretty significant. Press the pedal further and it goes smooth again.

The reason for replacing the slave ad master cylinder is because the pedal does not return smoothly when you take your foot off it. Also the clutch bites very close to the floor.

As for the DMF, I will see what condition it is in, but the car has done 70,000 now so it is not a bad time to replace it anyway.

This will be the first big repair bill we have ever had in all of the years of owning many A2s, so no complaints from me.

It is booked in with Gary, the mechanic I have used for years now and he knows his A2s and charges a very low hourly rate.

I will let you know what we find when we get it done, just in case any of you are suffering from any of the above symptoms on your 90.

Steve B
 
Hi Murdo

yes, a reasonably expensive job but as i said these great little cars have cost me nothing in repairs to date. A fortune on mods and retrofits, but nothing in repairs. So i am happy enough and the peace of mind will be worth it.

Steve B
 
changed mine at 84K mainly because it was in being investigated for 3rd gear selection problems (selector tower goosed) it did have the symptoms you describe though. Cost 1k with a new tower and been lovely for 18m now, I hope to get to 200k before its due again (91k at min).
 
My friendly mechanic has quoted me in the region of £600 but that includes a new slave and master cylinder.

He always sorts out a good price for me.

Steve B
 
That's a seriously good quote. I'm impressed. Sourcing the parts at trade prices and mates rates labour I was dearer than that. Well done.
 
murdo said:
That's a seriously good quote. I'm impressed. Sourcing the parts at trade prices and mates rates labour I was dearer than that. Well done.
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I will confirm everything when the final bill comes in, as with anything like this it is only when you get the final bill that you can be sure, but he is a "good un".

He is only quoting £150 for labour, which is a pleasant surprise.

Steve B
 
murdo said:
That's a seriously good quote. I'm impressed. Sourcing the parts at trade prices and mates rates labour I was dearer than that. Well done.
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I'd second that, it's a great price and hopefully you'll get sorted soon Steve!
Best of luck
Jeff
 
At that price its not worth doing it yourself!

Please could you update an up to date source of parts suppliers Steve as I have hopefully just secured a 90 that needs this doing and need to keep price sensible while targeting quality parts. Cheers
 
Interesting, my 90 is now on 105k on original DMF and clutch,but I can feel the car shaking on tick over,so won't be long until I have do this job .Perfect time for 6 speed upgrade
 
Hello Steve,

Did you get this done? I trust all went well if it was changed over and has made a recognisable difference.
 
PaulA2 said:
Hello Steve,

Did you get this done? I trust all went well if it was changed over and has made a recognisable difference.
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Hi
yes, we got the car back on Monday.

I haven't driven it since, but my wife has said that there is a big difference. That is quite impressive because she is not mechanically minded in the least. So if she noticed it then it must be a big improvement.
I am looking forward to driving it tonight just to see how big the difference is.

Steve B
 
This is good news. Did your mechanic source the parts or did you? Struggling with eurocarparts at the moment as they are saying they can't get one.
 
PaulA2 said:
This is good news. Did your mechanic source the parts or did you? Struggling with eurocarparts at the moment as they are saying they can't get one.
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He sourced them for me.

I am not an "OEM only" person. I tend to look at the difference in price, if it is small then I choose OEM, if it is huge then I would tend to go for value parts (OEM parts do not necessarily guarantee quality).

I am waiting on the final bill and will let you know what the cost of the parts and labour were.
He certainly got me a bargain with the cost of the parts. It meant I could afford the job, I certainly couldn't afford the OEM parts cost.

Watch this space !!

Steve B
 
I drove the car tonight and what a transformation!

The clutch is super light, no vibrations anywhere on the pedal travel and no noises on start up.

I had thought that the stiffer clutch pedal was a feature of the '90 but now it has been done it is every as light and on my '75.

So I am very happy.

Just hoping that the bill is as I expected (although there are very rarely any nasty surprises with Gary).

I will post the full costs with a breakdown as soon as I get it.

Cheers
Steve B
 
Fantastic news that the car is sorted and it certainly seems to be a worthwhile maintenance event. As you state while a pricey job if it's done every 10 plus years on average it's hardly bad.

Hopefully getting somewhere with suppliers and look forward to your information, thanks Steve
 
Birchall said:
I drove the car tonight and what a transformation!

The clutch is super light, no vibrations anywhere on the pedal travel and no noises on start up.

I had thought that the stiffer clutch pedal was a feature of the '90 but now it has been done it is every as light and on my '75.

So I am very happy.

Just hoping that the bill is as I expected (although there are very rarely any nasty surprises with Gary).

I will post the full costs with a breakdown as soon as I get it.

Cheers
Steve B
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Glad you got the clutch sorted Steve, sounds like the missus will be leaving you for dust at the traffic lights now lol
 
Hi
Gary has indicated a price of approx £750 all in, parts and labour.
New DMF and full clutch kit (plate, cover, release bearing and sleeve) with good equality parts.
Me did me aspecial price because I am a regular customer.

He also stated that his service prices are roughly £90 to £110 for a "small service" and around £160 to £180 for a "major service".
just in case anyone in the West London area doesn't want to travel far.

I don't have any connection to Gary financially, he has just carried out a lot of work on my A2s.

So i am not promoting his business for any reason other than to help members with a local option.

Steve B
 
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Thats a very good price Steve. If ever i have clutch problems it would be worth a journey from Yorkshire.
Ta
Dave
:)
 
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