Clutch slip after remap with nearly new Sachs clutch

[leeumh]

Hi all,

 

I had my Fabia vRS remapped last week - car made 165bhp/ 280lbft due to suspected worn camshaft. It is currently on 94k miles and had a Sachs DMF and clutch kit fitted approx 1 year and 8k gentle miles ago.

 

The clutch and DMF were replaced due to shuddering and the car creeping forward in gear but the mechanic said the original items were fine - the issue was the slave cylinder sticking which he somehow managed to free up? I'm 99% sure the slave wasn't replaced as it wasn't included in the clutch kit.

 

Obviously the mapper was slightly surprised with the clutch slip as it was well under the 300lbft they usually cap at.

 

The limited time I've spent under the car I have noticed the N/S area of the gearbox covered in oil - it doesn't appear to be engine oil and it's quite clean looking. I originally thought this was probably the N/S driveshaft seal but I've since heard these aren't a common failure so could be leaking from somewhere else.

 

Just looking for some thoughts/ opinions before I bite the bullet and have the gearbox removed. Should I look to replace the slave cylinder this time around or is this a red herring?

 

Could oil contamination be causing the clutch slip as I would've expected it to slip at standard power if that's the case?

 

Cheers

Edited 19 September, 2016 by leeumh

[octyal]

I would definitely change the slave first, it's going to be the cheapest option. As for the oil, get some brake cleaner or degreaser and clean it off, then that should give an indication of where it may be coming from, possible driveshaft seal as it is that side of the box, even though they aren't common, it is highly possible it was damaged when the clutch was done, hence the leak. If it's not engine oil ,then that is also indicative of a transmission leak - gear oil smells very strongly too.

[theezenutz]

Your mechanic should have replaced the slave cylinder especially as it was what was causing the issue in the first place and it's only a cheap part, much cheaper than it will now cost to have the box removed to inspect and replace the faulty slave cylinder.

That's bad workmanship and he should have advised you on the best course of action.

[andsoutham]

just a hunch but if your slave cylinder has started leaking then that would explain the leak under the car and this may also be getting fluid on the clutch and flywheel causing it to slip. probably a gearbox out job

 

take it to a better garage this time

[leeumh]

just a hunch but if your slave cylinder has started leaking then that would explain the leak under the car and this may also be getting fluid on the clutch and flywheel causing it to slip. probably a gearbox out job

 

take it to a better garage this time

 

There's no drop in brake/ clutch fluid but agree that something is amiss for the clutch to be slipping so soon. I'm going to take the plunge and have a different garage do the clutch and slave cylinder this time. Will be interesting to see what the issue is when the box is off.

 

The garage have already had an initial look at the car - they cleaned all the oil off the gearbox last week and it is still bone dry. They also diagnosed the poor remap result and excessive smoke as a boost leak from the bottom of the intercooler. Sure enough, I took the bumper off at the weekend and there's a hole in one of the tubes where it's been rubbing against the rubber/ plastic air feed. 

 

Will get a replacement intercooler and clutch sorted out then hopefully get the car re-tuned.

[theezenutz]

So just to confirm. Have you had the clutch changed already by said garage who told you the slave cylinder was faulty then he bodged it and re-fitted the gearbox? And this new post you say you are going to get the clutch changed AGAIN?

 

You also had the car re-mapped with a boost leak? Yet your mapper didn't pick that up so you'll now going to get it re-mapped again?

 

Sorry if I've miss read your post's but seriously dude do you just not like money or something?

Edited 26 September, 2016 by theezenutz

[leeumh]

So just to confirm. Have you had the clutch changed already by said garage who told you the slave cylinder was faulty then he bodged it and re-fitted the gearbox? And this new post you say you are going to get the clutch changed AGAIN?

 

You also had the car re-mapped with a boost leak? Yet your mapper didn't pick that up so you'll now going to get it re-mapped again?

 

Sorry if I've miss read your post's but seriously dude do you just not like money or something?

 

The car belonged to a family member who has had it since 1 year old. He had a friend of his fit a Sachs flywheel and 2 piece clutch kit 1 year/ 8k miles ago under his ownership. I agree the slave should've been changed, but we didn't realise at the time the slave and release bearing act as a single unit. Said friend merely fitted what we supplied and claimed he'd "unseized" the slave cylinder. The car seemed to drive fine afterwards and the juddering was no longer there - there's been no clutch slip till I had the car remapped in my ownership.

 

I have found a reputable garage to investigate the clutch issue for me - not the person who did it last time. From driving the car they believe the clutch is going to need replaced either way - it doesn't seem like you can buy a Sachs friction plate on its own, so it'll need a 2 piece clutch kit and slave cylinder. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong but could a faulty slave cylinder cause clutch slip?

 

And yes, it appears the car was mapped with a boost leak - it left their place smoking horrendously. I don't want to name them on here yet as they are well known and I know these things happen with cars. I am obviously looking for a free re-tune from them to resolve this - waiting for a response from them as far as that goes.

 

Hopefully that clears things up.

Edited 26 September, 2016 by leeumh

[theezenutz]

Sorry dude wasn't having a go it just got a bit confusing. Sounds like you've had a bit of bad luck so I hope it all gets sorted for you.

[leeumh]

Just as a follow up to this, the garage advised the car had a boost leak from the intercooler. The plastic air feed that clips on the front had been rubbing against the tubes and seemingly one of them popped mid mapping - figures as my mpg has been horrendous since the map. Got a replacement side mount intercooler off a mate who upgraded to a front mount, so nice score there. I fitted that at the weekend and the mpg has been back where it should be.

Onto the slipping clutch side of things, the garage stripped everything down today. DMF, clutch, and slave (seems we did supply one after all!) all very new looking Sachs items, but covered in oil - culprit was a leaking gearbox input shaft seal. Cost in the end was £300 for a 3 piece LUK clutch kit (Sachs DMF was reused but it's obviously nigh on new and was thoroughly brake cleanered off) and gearbox seal including labour. The work and clutch is warranted too which is great.

Given the car was mapped with an undiagnosed boost leak, I am getting a free retune done next week too. Here's to some (hopefully) trouble free motoring.

[stevobeavo]

It's very common for the air duct to rub through the intercooler. Glad yove got it all sorted now