cost of replacement clutch?

[yelverton]

I have a LHD 1.6td - I think the clutch is going

I had a new engine put in last September and on the 200 mile drive home it was fine - I used the van 5 or 6 times between sept and now as I've been away. Since the replacement engine the gear box has felt quite sloppy and at one point i absolutely could not get it into reverse and had to push it out of a parking space! there was a few other things like the reverse lights were on pretty much all the time as I guess they didnt wire things up properly when they fitted the new engine..... I did try to talk to them about this but they were not helpful and as the garage is 200 miles away going back was not really an option.

Anyhow the lights have been sorted as I had it MOT'd last Monday, I dont know what they had to do but they sorted it (i think he said the switch on the gearbox had gone or something) I asked them about the sloppy gearbox and he said not too worry and that it was normal! it seems to be going into reverse ok now.

I've used the van daily since I got it MOT'd and kept thinking it feels a little underpowered but yesterday I realised it seems to be the clutch slipping..... I had to drive around 35 miles home last night and it got worse and worse so when Im pressing the accelorator the engine was revving but the van was going so slow. I just asked my neighbour (he's an ex mechanic) about it and we took it out for a few miles and it seems to be fine today!! He said its possible that it slips when it gets hotter but he doesnt really know about old VW's......

Does this sound like its the clutch or could it be that they havnt bolted it back together properly since the engine replacement but Im only just noticing as its only the last week I've done quite a few miles?

I can't find a VW specialist any where local and am at a loss as to what it can be..... can anyone reccommend a place that might be able to take a look and tell me what it is in the West Wiltshire area?

Sorry for the long post...... thank you in advance for any help or ideas

Ange

[pionte]

Hi Ange, sorry to hear that you are having issues...

The symtem that you describe IE engine increasing in speed but van not, is typical of the clutch slipping. Did you also smell a horrible burning smell ??
This can be caused by a couple of things... firstly a worn out clutch friction plate, basically the clutch plate is made up with a certain thickness of friction material , over time the friction material is worn down untill eventually you reach the level of the metal rivets that hold it together, at this stage there is not enough friction and the clutch plate starts to slip when you dont want it too. This if left unchecked will start to wear a grove into your flywheel ... not good.

The next cause of a slipping clutch can be caused by contamination from oil... if the input shaft seal is leaking, engine ( or sometimes gearbox ) oil can get onto the friction plate. If this is the case then the clutch will also need to be replaced and the source of the leak found and fixed.

The third and less likely cause could be the clutch slave or master cylinder sticking and not releasing fully... to be fair I cant ever remember this happening to me but it is a possibility.. does the clutch pedal operation feel smooth ??

A forth problem could be a broken release arm ...rare but I have heard of them failing, again a gearbox out job unfortunately.

My money would be on a oil leak or worn out clutch, have a look underneath the van, where the engine and gearbox are bolted together, is there any signs of leaking oil... maybe on the metal or dripping onto the ground? if so the have a smell... does it smell really strong ? if so then its probably gearbox oil, if its just very black and not too pongy then its probably engine oil. Either way the gearbox will have to come out...

Its not really a problem specific to an old VW , so any half decent garage should be able to advise after a test drive.

Good luck and please post what you find so that others reading this at a later date may be helped.

Martin.

[yelverton]

Hi Martin, thank you so much for the detailed reply.

Yesterday I had my neighbour look at it as he is an ex mechanic - we took it for a little drive inc up a hill & it seemed to be fine??? He said its possible that it would slip more when its been running a while i.e hot.... I have no idea if this is possible but it was really quite bad when I drove home on Sunday eve....I really thought I was going to have to stop and the only reason I decided to keep limping her home was because my phone battery was dead & the roads are quite isolated - i wouldnt have been able to call breakdown etc.

The clutch pedal feels fine & it seems to be going in & out of gear ok (apart from its quite sloppy since the engine replacement)

I just had a look under her and there doesn't seem to be any oil leaking from around the gear box, it looks quite dry.

I think I will take her out for a drive today to get her hot and see if it happens again and then take her to a garage so they can see. I feel a little like Im going crazy now lol!

I will report back for sure

Thank you again

[faggie]

I would say around £100 plus the clutch to do the job

[California Dreamin]

2.5 - 3 hours at £45 - £55 per hour plus VAT
Plus 3 part SACH or LUK clutch at £115

Martin

[sciroccotune]

I would also factor in a few pounds for a new spigot bearing in the crank. Good time to change and even better time to make sure that one is in place in the first place!

If the clutch is contaminated and not just worn you need to find the cause as the new one won't last long. Good LUK (get it?)

[yelverton]

Hi everyone - an update.

I drove her around for 20 min today to get her hot (sounds dodgy lol) and took her to the garage after.

It was interesting as as soon as I got her on the A road and tried to get up a bit of speed she seemed to be reluctant to pick up speed and it seemed like the clutch was slipping again.... anyhow I took her to the garage and they took her out for a drive and basically said he didn't think it was the clutch as he couldnt get it to slip but he could see why I would think it was as she is quite underpowered esp when you try to build up speed a bit. He said he wasn't used to working on these old vans and because they were so old and didn't have engine diagnostic systems he really didnt know why it was underpowered but very possibly its the turbo

He said I would have to book it in for the whole day so they could run some tests (god knows what) and try to work out exactly what it is.

This is the only garage around that deals with older cars and although very nice he wasn't really sure what to do & said I'd be better taking it to a VW garage but didnt know of any!

Sooooo..... Im praying its not the turbo as he said it would be 500 for the turbo alone not inc fitting VAT etc!!!

A couple of questions..... if it is the turbo can I still drive it or will it cause more damage? Im not going to drive it around for fun...Im thinking if I can find a VW garage somewhere further away would it be ok to drive her there?

also if anyone knows of a mechanic in the west wiltshire areas or withing reasonable driving distance that knows about these engines/vans I would be very happy.

Thank you so much for the help

Ange

[yelverton]

Also I forgot to ask....

if it is the turbo is it possible to just take the turbo off and run it as a 1.6 non turbo? sorry if this is a really stupid question.... its just that I've spent almost 2000 on having new engine and bit + new MOT and really don't have the money to spend on a turbo if its really that expensive

[LeeME3]

Not used them myself but brother in law had work done on his Bay here http://www.vwcamperandclassicrepairs.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and spoke highly of them

[LeeME3]

Have also heard these guys are good: http://www.vwendangeredspecies.co.uk/specials/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[yelverton]

ah thank you thats not too far at all so I'll give them a shout now.

[yelverton]

For anyone who may be interested - I spoke to the guy at the garage in Hilperton but he is retiring and not taking on any more work. He was really very helpful though. the other place south of Warminster was closed but I'll call them tomorrow - the guy from Hilperton recommended them also and said they do loads of work on T25's

I'll keep you posted