Clutch and Dual Mass Flywheel Conundrum.

[Slime]

Hi guys
I have an Altea 1.9 tdi that needs a clutch.
It's not slipping, but it has a very nasty and noisy release bearing.
My mechanic says the car has a dual mass flywheel and he very strongly suggests replacing that whilst fitting a clutch.
Is this correct?
If so it'll push the price towards £800 as the flywheel is very expensive.
Thanks for your time,

Slime.

 

[Mottie]

How many miles has it done?

 

[Slime]

How many miles has it done?

About 74,000.

 

[Stivino]

I’ve just had one of them fitted to a SEAT Leon 1.9d. The part was Sachs 2290 601 050. Which is available for £250 to £300. But, your man will stick a good bit onto whatever he gets it for.
I think I paid about 800€ (EUROS) for the whole job as they did some other wee things.
I posted mention of it on the site somewhere about three weeks ago.
It’s here.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

My mechanic says the car has a dual mass flywheel and he very strongly suggests replacing that whilst fitting a clutch.
Is this correct?

They can be tested for whether wear is within acceptable spec. - could perhaps delay the change or not decision until it is stripped down and measured, then fit or not fit. The mechanic if he's a regular customer of the supplier, should be able to get the DMF on sale or return. In the meantime, check the manufacturers spec. on maximum free play of the DMF.

 

[Keithmac]

I suppose you have to weigh up how much it would cost to have job done again if DMF failed within say a year and if it was worth the risk not to replace it?.

Personally if I had to pay someone else to do the work I would have a new one fitted and draw a line under it, your mechanic isn't trying to sell you bits you don't need imho.

 

[Stivino]

I’m with Keithmac. The gearbox comes out of that car in jig time and if I was doing it myself on my car, I would only fit what was required. But if I was paying to have it done, I would fit the whole shooting match.
Our Leon had 214,00 km (130,000 ish) when it was changed. The clutch wasn’t slipping but it sounded like a bag of nails.

 

[Mr Chibs]

I may be wrong but I think you can swap a dodgy dmf for a solid one. Apparently cheap and more reliable.

I’m in the same boat as mine as started to become a bit noisy when depressing the clutch.

 

[Stivino]

I may be wrong but I think you can swap a dodgy dmf for a solid one. Apparently cheap and more reliable.

I’m in the same boat as mine as started to become a bit noisy when depressing the clutch.

You can but they are not much cheaper and it's the same amount of work.
We've just changed one after 130,000 miles. How "reliable" do you want it to be?
Change it like for like is my advice.

 

[Belle427]

Your mechanic is doing the right thing, most would do the same.
I’ve never been convinced by solid flywheel conversions myself so I would just stick to oem and it should give you many more years trouble free service with quality components.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I may be wrong but I think you can swap a dodgy dmf for a solid one. Apparently cheap and more reliable.

I’m in the same boat as mine as started to become a bit noisy when depressing the clutch.

You can, but there are downsides. The transmission becomes much more rough, more vibration and there have been cases of broken crankshafts as a result. They cushion the crankshaft's rotation as well as the transmission from the power pulses. A solid one is 100% reliable, after all - all they are is a lump of solid metal.

The DMF has a sort of rubber cushioning built into them.

 

[Old Salt]

I would have it done, ask the price of the parts first if in doubt, but there is no point in incurring two lots of labour costs.

I am just about to have my cambelt changed at 5 years old even though the car has only done 28k. Having the water pump and idler gears and alternator belt done at the same time as it just makes sense.

 

[Mr Chibs]

I would have it done, ask the price of the parts first if in doubt, but there is no point in incurring two lots of labour costs.

I am just about to have my cambelt changed at 5 years old even though the car has only done 28k. Having the water pump and idler gears and alternator belt done at the same time as it just makes sense.

I need all that as well... going to be an expensive month

 

[Old Salt]

I need all that as well... going to be an expensive month

Independent VW specialist £806 including interim service, parts, labour and vat. I thought it was reasonable and far, far better than main dealer. OEM parts too!

 

[BlueLoo]

Just replace the bearing.

Clutches are good for double your mileage.