Help! - faulty dual mass flywheel at 90,000 mls!

[Irlanski]

Hi All,

Have 4 year old 1.6 TDI Octavia with 90,000 miles. I thought I had a problem with the clutch release bearing as I could feel a vibration coming up through the clutch pedal and associated noise when using the clutch. So I took the car to the main dealer and lo and behold they want €1,000 - €1,100 to replace the dual mass flywheel. They said that its life depends on the driving style but I am a sympathetic driver and can normally get over 400,000 miles from a clutch so at only 90,000 miles I was shocked and my fear is if I get this work done am I going to be back 90,000 miles later for another one?

 

From looking through the forum some people seem to be changing back to single flywheel as there seems to be some issues with the dual mass. I have changed clutches and gearboxes etc before albeit when cars were simpler and due to the cost of repair I am considering getting stuck in myself on this one and maybe changing to a single flywheel.

 

So my questions as follows:

 

1. Is the dual mass known to be troublesome?
2. Is the advise to change to single?
3. What is the cost of Dual flywheel? What is the cost of single flywheel?
4. Where can I buy the parts for reasonable money? (I'm happy to source from UK or Ireland)
5. Are there any on-line guides on how to carry out this repair.

 

Thanks!

[slimbo1978]

Hi im about to do my Vrs mk2 it has no problems except the clutch is near the end of its life iv looked around and my main concern is if i just fit a clutch my duel mass might fail 10,20000 miles up the road and then it needs to come out again it all comes again. I was going to change to a single mass and found a valeo kit for £380 but thought about the lack of damping ect iv now found a Sach kit with a new duel mass fly wheel for £380 so im ging to order that instead, hope this helps a bit

[Ultrasonic]

They said that its life depends on the driving style but I am a sympathetic driver and can normally get over 400,000 miles from a clutch so at only 90,000 miles I was shocked and my fear is if I get this work done am I going to be back 90,000 miles later for another one?

 

Do you start and more importantly stop the engine with the clutch depressed? There was a study that showed particularly engine switch-off was a major contributor to DMF wear if the clutch is not depressed.

[Doofy]

Do you start and more importantly stop the engine with the clutch depressed? There was a study that showed particularly engine switch-off was a major contributor to DMF wear if the clutch is not depressed.

So we should be pressing the clutch pedal down when switching engine off ??

[Ultrasonic]

So we should be pressing the clutch pedal down when switching engine off ??

 

That is advice that I have read, but I'll be 100% honest and say I've just tried to find a primary reference to back this up and have failed. (I find references to a particular white paper that I then can't track down.)

 

It does seem reasonable to me though (as a non-specialist in this area). A DMF acts to filter out low frequency vibration, and has the greatest forces exerted on its damping parts when such vibration is present. There is significant amplitude low frequency vibration at engine start and stop, so disengaging the clutch at these times must help protect the DMF.

 

(Anybody really keen may want to have a read of this:

 

http://www.schaeffler.com/remotemedien/media/_shared_media/08_media_library/01_publications/schaeffler_2/symposia_1/downloads_11/04_dmf_simulation_techniques.pdf'>http://www.schaeffler.com/remotemedien/media/_shared_media/08_media_library/01_publications/schaeffler_2/symposia_1/downloads_11/04_dmf_simulation_techniques.pdf)

Edited 18 January, 2014 by Ultrasonic

[Doofy]

Interesting read if a little technical... Not ever having a car that was fitted with a DMF until now, I will try pressing the clutch pedal down before starting and stopping the engine, Mines on 91,000 miles now so anything to help prolong the clutch life is a bonus..

[patrolman]

I was in a garage the other day having taken a vehicle there with a DMF fault and the reception said that warranty company's were not paying out on DMF claims as they were seen as a wear an tear items   

[Ultrasonic]

Interesting read if a little technical... Not ever having a car that was fitted with a DMF until now, I will try pressing the clutch pedal down before starting and stopping the engine, Mines on 91,000 miles now so anything to help prolong the clutch life is a bonus..

 

Starting the engine with the clutch depressed is recommended in the manual by the way, as it puts less strain on the starter motor due to it having less mass to turn. Which is true for all cars of course.

[k.young]

For the Irish members :-

 

www.clutchkits.ie

 

It's a friend of mine, I am not connected with the company.

[cookster1975]

Im looking for a clutch kit for my mk2 octavia vrs, ive been told that the single mass flywheel conversion makes it very noisey, is this correct? Symptoms are after having Revo remap 270bhp in 6th gear and 3krpm when accelerating hard im told the clutch is slipping, rev counter shoots up to 4k rpm then goes back to 3.5k rpm and there's a slight lag in accelerating, can anyone help or share knowledge, thanks

[avensisd4d786]

"I am a sympathetic driver and can normally get over 400,000 miles from a clutch" that's impressive what car was that?

[alberg]

As an owner of a 1.6tdi, I can tell you that it is common for clutch not to do many kms.

Actually it´s very common especially for those who will only do city driving.

It´s very commom to see smoke and smell from clutch if used hard in first or reverse.

(Seems like the batteries aren´t lasting long either.

A mate just changed his with 4 years, mine had to be charged once.)

But again every make has issues with clutches,

My Renault got changed at 40000km, my dads Toyota 2.0D4D got changed at 120000km. (as yes his car is from 2009 and has 167000km and the battery just got changed)

sorry for the offtopic

[k.young]

My car is on it's original battery (621,000kms)

[VRSrhino89]

On 18/01/2014 at 12:15, slimbo1978 said:

Hi im about to do my Vrs mk2 it has no problems except the clutch is near the end of its life iv looked around and my main concern is if i just fit a clutch my duel mass might fail 10,20000 miles up the road and then it needs to come out again it all comes again. I was going to change to a single mass and found a valeo kit for £380 but thought about the lack of damping ect iv now found a Sach kit with a new duel mass fly wheel for £380 so im ging to order that instead, hope this helps a bit

This is the kit I am thinking of ordering for my mk2 VRS. Did you go ahead and get this ordered and fitted? How was/is it? 

[phillip]

According to his profile, slimbo1978 hasn't been on here for 3 and a half years, so you might be waiting a while for an answer !!