Hi,

I wonder if any of you guys on here can help or share any similar experiences of replacing your clutch..

I have a late 2005 Skoda Octavia II 1.9 Tdi PD Elegance Estate, engine code is BKC.

The other week the clutch started slipping & I decided to replace it with an LUK clutch along with a new LUK DMF. I normally buy genuine parts from TPS, but as these parts are expensive & there doesn't seem to be any difference (other than the box it comes in), I decided to buy it direct from an LUK supplier.

When I got the LUK Clutch, it came with a warning sticker on the box stating that it was a self adjusting clutch & that it should not be fitted without a special LUK tool (basically a 3 legged compressor). A genuine VAG Clutch does not come with this sticker on the box, despite it looking like the same clutch. Since I haven't got this tool or know anyone who has (it's a couple of hundred quid to purchase), I decided to do what I've always done & fit it without it.

Now I've fitted loads of these LUK self adjusting clutches on various different makes & models over the years & I've never used the special tool LUK say you must use & I have never experienced a problem. The only time I've only ever experienced problems is when someone else has fitted it & has not bolted the clutch up evenly. With this in mind I always bolt them up half a turn at a time in a crossways pattern & I've had 100% success so far.

A friend has access to VAG workshop information system. But bizarrely, under LUK clutch replacement there is no mention of this special tool, despite it showing the same clutch. It just says "clutch should be bolted up evenly"

Now the clutch I've just fitted in my Octavia does not drag or slip but the biting point is low, about a third of the pedal's travel from the bottom, & I'm just concerned I'm going to have to do the job again in the near future.

Has anyone else experienced this after fitting an LUK clutch?

Can't say i have ever had a problem either. You say it's a self-adjusting clutch, so i take it your pedal is cable operated?

No, it's not a cable clutch, it's a hydraulic clutch.

The slave cylinder is external to the gearbox (not the type where the slave cylinder is part of the clutch release bearing.)

It's called a self adjusting clutch because the clutch pressure plate adjusts as the clutch wears. It has three small coloured springs on it, usually yellow or blue, that are part of the adjuster mechanism.