Member Since: 18 Mar 2015
Location: Zurich
Posts: 468
Clutch...When someone else drives your car
Hi,
Hope you can all offer me some advice with this. Is my clutch toast?
I have an MY '05 economy spec manual D3. After 3 years of ownership I had just got it mechanically 100% and I was thinking about the repainted bumpers and arches in my basement. Not any more. I'm now eyeing up the possible next major job. Which in Switzerland is DIY or it doesn't happen and the car goes to Africa.
1 week ago two friends X and Y came over from the UK and we drove to a few different ski resorts. As you might expect these are in mountains. Because I insure the car for all drivers I was keen to share some of the driving. X spent a day driving into the curb and tracking needs doing again - FINE.
The next day Y did the driving. She was able to keep the car in the middle of the lanes and I was pretty relaxed when we began the 30 minute/8km climb to Flumseberg. However after 10 minutes the car stank of clutch, and there are 20 minutes still to go. We are climbing a mountain road with a stream of traffic behind and we want one of the handful of convenient parking spots at the top - and X and Y are friends. So I decide to react with some driving instruction instead of saying "stop my car immediately". In addition to having never learned to do a hill start / anticipate traffic ahead and negate the need for this, we did the whole climb in 2nd gear only.
No 1st gear, no 3rd or 4th gear, 2nd gear only all the way. The procedure Y used for a hairpin bend was dip clutch and hammer the throttle on the other side. Even after being told not to do this. A few further "make it stop!!" events occur and we eventually make it to the top. The car reeked of clutch and to be honest still smells of it. I resolved never to ever let X and Y drive my car again.
I drove on the way back and the parking brake light came on immediately. Some of the hill starts were so unbelievably terrible so maybe that explains that. Maybe I finally need to do the parking shoes. The EPB still seems to hold on a hill. However The car judders in first gear now and my thinking (is this right?) is that this feels like clutch slip from polished friction plates. In addition the car now makes like the engine is going to stall when it is put in neutral e.g traffic lights. But it doesn't stall. I never had these issues before.
I think I have read that this same amber parking brake light can describe an XY sensor issue so when I demonstrated my IID to X I read the codes at the same time. Error code U0101-87 (A8), screen grab attached is what I found.
How do I move forwards from here? Some questions which spring to mind
* How can I deduce precisely what happened to the car / what need to be done?
* Can you wear through polished friction surfaces to good stuff just by using the car?
* Could some kind of reset process help me here? I.e. is there an easy fix?
* If it is the clutch how much of an early warning is this? I have done about 600km since this event.
Thanks very much! I've left it a week so much less rant than there would have been at the time!!
If the clutch has got really hot it can damage the dual mass flywheel. Only fix is too replace it and the clutch. You can do it yourself but it is not easy.D1 300TDI ES. just kept going, sold at 170k miles, body beginning to rust
D2 TD5 GS. sold at 140k, chassis beginning to rust
D3 TDV6 SE. 194k Still going.
10th Mar 2018 4:48 pm
mek
Member Since: 18 Mar 2015
Location: Zurich
Posts: 468
Update: I tried driving to Ikea this afternoon and traffic lights have become the enemy. Dip clutch and car stalls. I had to turn back and resort to a heel toe arrangement on brake and throttle and clutch to keep the revs up and prevent a stall.
Good news - I feel that if I pick the right time of day I can limp it to a garage.
Bad news - I think the clutch is finished - does this sound right? No one replied to my original post - perhaps because it's an obvious clutch failure? The parking brake light is still on so I might strip one side down and look at it. Maybe that has gone at the same time.
When I did the lower arms I fitted the Meyle "armour" parts so I think if I can find a heavy duty clutch kit that can be sent to Switzerland I will go down that route. AF have a Luk complete clutch kit but I imagine that is essentially stock. Can anyone with a manual who has fitted the updated clutch comment on their experience? I don't tow but periodically do drive up mountains
10th Mar 2018 4:58 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 13936
I had a new LUK clutch etc and DMF fitted this week. £1100.New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
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