# Could Water tank be causing clutch problem on VW Caddy?



## Firefox (Mar 3, 2008)

Kind of motorhome related - certainly it has the theme of vans and tanks!

A friend's son has a new VW caddy which he is using for car valeting. It has had a water tank (with baffles) fitted of 250 litres  capacity on the driver/passenger bulkhead. This together with the other equipment is coming in at 70 kg under payload.

The problem is that the vehicle has gone through 6 clutches in as many months. The dealer is claiming that the water moving in the tank is causing the clutches to wear out.  Has anyone any experience of tanks in vehicles causing problems with the clutch. Although the caddy is not used much in motorhomes, as it is a smaller vehicle, there are many other similar and larger vehicles with fresh water tanks 50-200 litres and also a waste water tank of the same capacity both of which could be near full. 

I've never heard of similar clutch problems myself.


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## avandriver (Mar 3, 2008)

What a load of old ironing 

No way can a water tank on board cause excessive clutch wear .


Reminds me of when I took my car in for new tyres on the nearside , they were both wearing unevenly but when the tracking was checked it was fine , the fitter in the workshop told me that all diesell cars lean to one side causing uneven tyre wear .


I dont go tho that garage anymore .

Maybe your friends son should do the same 


Steve


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## Firefox (Mar 3, 2008)

Thanks Steve. It confirms what I was thinking. 

Anyone else with clutch probs caused by water tanks?! 

The only thing I could think of was that they hadn't fitted the clutch properly and it was slipping on drive, or they were fitting from a batch of parts with dodgy friction plates.


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## hillwalker (Mar 3, 2008)

the only thing i can think of the water tank maybe to heavy,
i dont think it should affect the clutch,is the water tank biggar than the van..


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## Deleted member 2636 (Mar 3, 2008)

750L of water weighs 750Kgs or 0.75 metric Tonnes. That is quite a bit. Is one of these little VW Caddy vans is capable of carrying that?
The clutch business still sounds like nonsense though. 
Its a bit like the Transit Connects: There appears to be gearbox trouble with them as well.


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## Firefox (Mar 3, 2008)

Yes, correct. 0.25 tonne = 250 kg for the water and they weighed it with the water, driver, and the other gear he uses. 

She didn't tell me the Caddie's payload, but checking on the net it's 700-800kg depending on the model.

It reminds me of when we used to go motorhoming in a Bedford Dormobile HA van. That was a small van with a payload of around 500 kg I think, and we had to be quite careful about the weight.


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## avandriver (Mar 3, 2008)

Bedford HA  

I had one of those and what a barrel load of fun it was , if you turned a corner too fast you ended up doing a 360 degree spin 


Steve


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## lenny (Mar 3, 2008)

Firefox said:


> Kind of motorhome related - certainly it has the theme of vans and tanks!
> 
> A friend's son has a new VW caddy which he is using for car valeting. It has had a water tank (with baffles) fitted of 250 litres  capacity on the driver/passenger bulkhead. This together with the other equipment is coming in at 70 kg under payload.
> 
> ...


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## Bigmerc (Mar 4, 2008)

I think you to ajust the screw sitting behind the steering wheel he probbly riding the clutch pedal at traffic lights in stead of taking it  out of gear holding weight on the clutch and they will not last long.


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## Firefox (Mar 4, 2008)

That would tend to wear out the release bearing, but I don't think it would affect the friction plates unless you were pressing hard enough to partially disengage while driving. And of course holding on the clutch on a slope instead of using the handbrake will wear the plates quickly.


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## Deleted member 2636 (Mar 4, 2008)

New glasses needed - what a clot: Anyway, 250L of water weighs in at 250Kgs. Idiot that I am. What did the school report say "Must pay attention!"


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## walkers (Mar 4, 2008)

Firefox said:


> Kind of motorhome related - certainly it has the theme of vans and tanks!
> 
> A friend's son has a new VW caddy which he is using for car valeting. It has had a water tank (with baffles) fitted of 250 litres capacity on the driver/passenger bulkhead. This together with the other equipment is coming in at 70 kg under payload.
> 
> ...


could it be as the water tank is against the bulkhead that there is too much weight on the front axle (driving axle) or have you already weighed this and discounted that  theory?


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## lenny (Mar 4, 2008)

baloothebear said:


> New glasses needed - what a clot: Anyway, 250L of water weighs in at 250Kgs. Idiot that I am. What did the school report say "Must pay attention!"



Don't worry Balloo, we all make mistakes, , thats why they put rubbers on the end of pencils


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