Hi....

I have a Fab II 1.9TDI. Took delivery at Easter last year, all seemed fine, but since the cold weather decended at the beginning of December last year, clutch / engine vibration has reared its head. When starting up first thing and driving off in the morning after a heavy frost, there is what seems like clutch judder and engine vibration when moving off in first gear until the engine warms up. After the engine gets warm the problem goes away. Has anyone else noticed this on their Fab II 1.9TDI ??

Paul MR

No, my wife has same model, similar age. It runs rough for the first 10 seconds after starting in frosty weather, but thereafter runs fine and is smooth. Clutch take up is always smooth and vibration free. Sounds like you could have a DMF problem?

Paul, don't worry. This is not very common, but it is not serious. There are a couple of things it could be. You may have at least one failed glow plug on your engine. Of course there are some other things I can think of that could cause it, but glow plug failure often produces this vibration effect during warm up and from your discription about it happening during cold weather especially, fits the bill. In effect it is only running properly on three cylinders until warm. Being a low revving diesel it's then very lumpy and can be felt through the clutch, and the engine vibrates considerably. Once warm the fuel ignites easily and the engine reverts to running ok. Funnily enough it often doesn't affect starting up in cold weather...just the actual running smoothness. On these TDI engines the plugs glow before startup and during the first brief driving period to aid fuel combustion. Easy to fix...go to your dealer and they often can do it while you wait...we used to.

Of course I may have misunderstood the exact symptom you descibe...in which case if it occurs just during the moving off in first gear...then you may have moisture entering the clutch bell housing after an overnight stand. If it is engine coolant it will have anit-freeze in it and this makes the clutch judder. This moisture could come from a weeping core plug on the end of the cylinder head or block, or a pipe etc, and is not too uncommon on any make of car. Had this on a Ford not too long ago. Once the moisture has been 'burned off' the clutch and flywheel everything goes back to normal. Check to see if the engine water level has declined from the full mark, but even if it hasn't check the side of the engine above the clutch bell housing for traces of engine coolant leakage. Core plugs, if not quite snug when originally fitted can leak slightly and is especially noticeable in very cold weather. If it's a core plug on the cylinder head or block take it to your dealer for a fix...it's an easy fix but you will need to leave it for a couple of hours or so whilst it's sorted.

Oh...let us all know what the remedy turns out to be and the costs etc....Ta! Good luck.

Edited 5 January, 201016 yr by Estate Man

Paul, don't worry. This is not very common, but it is not serious. There are a couple of things it could be. You may have at least one failed glow plug on your engine. Of course there are some other things I can think of that could cause it, but glow plug failure often produces this vibration effect during warm up and from your discription about it happening during cold weather especially, fits the bill. In effect it is only running properly on three cylinders until warm. Being a low revving diesel it's then very lumpy and can be felt through the clutch, and the engine vibrates considerably. Once warm the fuel ignites easily and the engine reverts to running ok. Funnily enough it often doesn't affect starting up in cold weather...just the actual running smoothness. On these TDI engines the plugs glow before startup and during the first brief driving period to aid fuel combustion. Easy to fix...go to your dealer and they often can do it while you wait...we used to.

Of course I may have misunderstood the exact symptom you descibe...in which case if it occurs just during the moving off in first gear...then you may have moisture entering the clutch bell housing after an overnight stand. If it is engine coolant it will have anit-freeze in it and this makes the clutch judder. This moisture could come from a weeping core plug on the end of the cylinder head or block, or a pipe etc, and is not too uncommon on any make of car. Had this on a Ford not too long ago. Once the moisture has been 'burned off' the clutch and flywheel everything goes back to normal. Check to see if the engine water level has declined from the full mark, but even if it hasn't check the side of the engine above the clutch bell housing for traces of engine coolant leakage. Core plugs, if not quite snug when originally fitted can leak slightly and is especially noticeable in very cold weather. If it's a core plug on the cylinder head or block take it to your dealer for a fix...it's an easy fix but you will need to leave it for a couple of hours or so whilst it's sorted.

Oh...let us all know what the remedy turns out to be and the costs etc....Ta! Good luck.

O.k. This clutch judder has now been sorted. Dealer replaced the clutch release bearing and the clutch cover. This seems to have done the trick, but we'll see as time goes on. Thanks for your replies. I'll let you know how things progress.