Afternoon all

 

My DMF is showing signs of failing (metallic knocking with throttle on when in a high gear from a low rev, e.g. 1100 to 1600 rpm, stops as soon as accelerator is taken off, worse on hills.)

 

Also, starter motor is sticking on at cold starts - is this a symptom of the DMF failing?

 

I was thinking of taking my starter motor off to give it a bit of a clean and at least try to shut that up, and I've heard that you can check for excessive play in the DMF with the starter removed - can anyone tell me how much play is "excessive"? Or how much play I should expect from a good DMF?

 

I'm fairly certain the DMF is on the way out based on what I've read, but am planning a solid flywheel conversion and want to make sure before I start ordering parts (on that note, anyone tried this? http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Octavia_1.8_2002/p/car-parts/car-transmission/clutch-and-associated-parts/solid-flywheel-conversion-kit/?633780010&1&1a5b7dbded43aafb8424162ca328b758d21aafb9&000299 )

 

Also, any thoughts on how long a DMF is likely to last once is starts to go bad?

 

Cheers

Any thoughts anyone?

Sticking starter will not be related to the DMF failing, the starter is most likely an electrical issue rather than mechanical. The solenoid starts to act up and you can end up with a starter that will not turn, or one that does not disengage the ring gear correctly. Starters are cheap, so its probably cheaper to buy a new/refurbed one.