Hi there,

I brought the said fabia about 1y1/2 ago and it has always had a wierd clutch,

1) it would whine as I pull away,and stall if you didn't get the revs right.

2) when reversing there would be slight clutch judder,which is why I am writing this thread because today I had to park on a grass hill ,which was quite steep and as I reversed out of the space it keep on juddering bad and stalling .

Do you think it's time fir a clutch change or could there be something else wrong?

Cheers

how old is the car? and milage?

 

being a 1.4 TDi likely out of warranty?

 

any other issues?

use much oil?

economy ok?

Hi there,

The car is an 07 plate and it's on about 54k there isn't any other issues with it,I'd say it most probably drink about 1 litre of oil between services and as for economy between 350 to 400 on a full tank.

It's not smokey it rattles but I take that's just the nature of the 3 cylinder Diesel engine .

Cheers

start by checking the dogbone engine mount, bottom of the engine at the rear, fairly common problem on the older cars,

 

if not you could be looking at new clutch as the whine could be release bearing, judder could be the springs in the middle of the clutch plate, contamination of the clutch plate  or problem with the DMF (I think the 1.4 has a DMF)

 

I would suggest a good independent garage have a look and do a proper diagnosis

 

do you get the whine at any other time other than pulling away?

Edited 1 June, 201412 yr by bluecar1

Hi Dubboy, bluecar1 is right about checking the dogbone engine mount. There is no Dual Mass Flywheel on the 1422cc engines so that's not going to be the problem. Using 1 ltr of oil in between services is ok, but most use less than that or don't use any oil at all. Are you using fully synthetic 505.01 spec oil 10/40? That's hugely important on the 1422cc engine, the cams need it. You must use it. If it only judders in reverse it's unlikely the clutch is contaminated with oil causing the judder (you'd get it in first gear too) so it's more likely to be a straight forward clutch problem. Remember the 3 cylinder engine needs a few extra revs when under load during manouvering or when moving off as there are fewer firing strokes than in a 4 cylinder engine, so stalling is a little more easy to do in this car. If the revs are too low, it will judder and shake a little which is normal and then stall if you don't watch out. But it should be smooth as silk if driven properly and if the clutch is in good condition. Mine was. But reverse gear is a lower ratio and it will show up any clutch defects as you will often have to ride the clutch for brief periods exposing any weakness. The whining, as bluecar say is most likely the clutch thrust bearing. But this needs to be investigated, but doesn't sound too serious. Please post back with what you find. Good luck.

start by checking the dogbone engine mount, bottom of the engine at the rear, fairly common problem on the older cars...

...I would suggest a good independent garage have a look and do a proper diagnosis...

+1

The engine only rotates one way and so does the clutch as it is between the engine and gearbox. It doesn't 'know' that the car is in reverse.

Hi

Thanks for all the help much appreciated,the whine only happens when pulling away ,it's not your usual whine associated with the thrust bearing but it's had to explain the sound.

Could be the clutch slipping on the initial take up?

As for oil the bottle I got at the mo is 5w30 to 504/507 standard so I need to get the correct stuff.

Also I don't usually have a problem reversing the car but on this time it was a very steep grassy hill so I was use to it lol.

Anyway I shall have a look into it and see what I can find.

Thanks again

Estate man is right, These 3 cylinder engines are cracking and pulling away on a slope does require a few more revs, but saying that daily driving i find pulling away no problems at low revs now im used to the charictaristics.

 

i would say your economy is a little low, I see 60mpg from daily commute, and nearer 70mpg on a steady motorway run, and if you try real hard ive achieved 77.3mpg on a 50 mile b-road drive! :clap:  

You really have got that high mpg,is that off the onboard read out the highest I seen on mine is about 55mpg.

Cheers

Yes it is off the on-Board read out, once you get a feel for these engines you can get the mpg up, people assume they dont operate at low revs but they do,they have the torque, more than happily, Example: as long as your light on the throttle you can ease along at 25-30mph in 4th, or, 40mph in 5th.

 

the long term memory (no.2) has been running for 42hrs and over 1300 miles and its showing 66.2mpg.

Hi

Thanks for all the help much appreciated,the whine only happens when pulling away ,it's not your usual whine associated with the thrust bearing but it's had to explain the sound.

Could be the clutch slipping on the initial take up?

As for oil the bottle I got at the mo is 5w30 to 504/507 standard so I need to get the correct stuff.

Also I don't usually have a problem reversing the car but on this time it was a very steep grassy hill so I was use to it lol.

Anyway I shall have a look into it and see what I can find.

Thanks again

 

Actually, the 504/507 has now superseded the 505.01 I'm pretty sure but check that. The 505.01 has a high pressure additive to allow the cams to deal with the higher load placed on them by the PD engine 'unitary fuel injectors' which are mechanically driven from the cam lobes. Without that, the cams disintegrate very quickly. I'm pretty sure the 507 is ok though. Overall, I like others, have found the 1422cc engine most economical when you don't use 5th gear too early. It labours a bit at low speed and that knocks the fuel economy. I always used my 5th gear above 55mph, not often under that speed. My personal best was 76mpg in 4TH GEAR, on a cross country run between 45 and 50 mph in a steady flow of traffic on mostly A and B roads. As an experiment I used 5th gear at those speeds on another occasion doing the same trip and the fuel economy was down by 11mpg actual. Very good engines.

Actually, the 504/507 has now superseded the 505.01 I'm pretty sure but check that. The 505.01 has a high pressure additive to allow the cams to deal with the higher load placed on them by the PD engine 'unitary fuel injectors' which are mechanically driven from the cam lobes. Without that, the cams disintegrate very quickly. I'm pretty sure the 507 is ok though. Overall, I like others, have found the 1422cc engine most economical when you don't use 5th gear too early. It labours a bit at low speed and that knocks the fuel economy. I always used my 5th gear above 55mph, not often under that speed. My personal best was 76mpg in 4TH GEAR, on a cross country run between 45 and 50 mph in a steady flow of traffic on mostly A and B roads. As an experiment I used 5th gear at those speeds on another occasion doing the same trip and the fuel economy was down by 11mpg actual. Very good engines.

Cool,the problem is I do tend to have a heavy right foot,but I don't drive it all the time my wife does I ll have to remember about staying in 4th for longer and see what I get.

Also most of the driving is around town and she does a round trip of about 12 miles a day so not good lol.

Cheers

Yep I can!!