Clutch Replacement

walpeter

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Good Morning!
I have a Hymer 544 1991 on a Fiat Ducato 2.5 D which has done 103000 miles. I am tempted to have the clutch replaced although it is not slipping or showing any other signs of defect. It's just that I would not want it to go whilst miles away from home. It worried me in France this year, especially when going up and down the foothills of the Pyrenees. I am a careful driver and always gentle with the clutch. I have had the van 12 years. Does anybody know how many miles a clutch is likely to last on a similar vehicle. I don't want to replace it yet if it's still got possibly another 20000 miles of use as it it's going to cost around £400 to replace. Any helpful replies would be appreciated.
 
No Idea

But if you plan to keep the vehicle I suggest £400 is a good investment !
 
First it should bite about a inch or two from the floor and there should be some free play at top,if not then the release bearing may be riding on the diaphragm.
You may be able to inspect this if there is a window at g/box where the lever goes in,try and pull lever back a we bit and if you find some movement and can see no bad were on diaphragm teeth then alls well.
I have 300000 miles on my car and only fitted clutch because i had g/box of doing other work and the clutch i took out was fine but the diaphragm pressure springs had eaten half through and i have seen the release bearings go through them or break up before the friction plate wore out.
I do think you have done well with clutch live but do have a look and if not happy the price stated is good to go.
 
Have regularly run Fiat Ducatos at work (current and previous version) to around 180k before replacing, and this is with employed drivers who don't always drive with care.
 
If the clutch is working ok and showing no signs of slipping then personally I would leave it alone.I have had a new clutch fitted on the previous motorhome but that was slipping badly when going up long gradients in 5th.Your van went up and down the Pyrenees ok,you are a careful driver and have looked after it,the clutch may have several years left in it yet.
 
wakk44 said:
If the clutch is working ok and showing no signs of slipping then personally I would leave it alone.I have had a new clutch fitted on the previous motorhome but that was slipping badly when going up long gradients in 5th.Your van went up and down the Pyrenees ok,you are a careful driver and have looked after it,the clutch may have several years left in it yet.
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when a clutch is slipping you have left it way to late and as slipping is the last thing that happens way after diaphram spring wear and by the time it slips the rivets have eaten into flywheel which may require replacing to, read my earler post
 
trevskoda said:
when a clutch is slipping you have left it way to late and as slipping is the last thing that happens way after diaphram spring wear and by the time it slips the rivets have eaten into flywheel which may require replacing to, read my earler post
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How long is a piece of string?I don't think it's possible to predict when a clutch is going to slip,in my case I had had the engine remapped which I think contributed to the demise of the clutch,don't think I'll have that done again.
 
wakk44 said:
How long is a piece of string?I don't think it's possible to predict when a clutch is going to slip,in my case I had had the engine remapped which I think contributed to the demise of the clutch,don't think I'll have that done again.
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Hi if you read my post there are tell tail sines long before slipage,and yes some remaping may put to much torque through clutch wearing it out faster though the most common factor is the people who sit at lights with the foot on clutch and holding on brake,always into nutral and never drive with foot resting on pedal get into habbit of putting foot on floor,when i was tought to drive the instructor had a big spoon which he whacked you on the knee if you rode the clutch.
 
If the clutch is OK save your £400 ,all my sprinter vans I have ever owned I have always put over 500k on them,except my last one which I kept for nearly 7 years which had 922k and I haven't had a clutch in any of them,so a commercial vehicle with just over 100k should be fine for at least another 100k especially as it is a leisure vehicle so I doubt it is getting abused.

Richard
 
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trevskoda said:
Hi if you read my post there are tell tail sines long before slipage,and yes some remaping may put to much torque through clutch wearing it out faster though the most common factor is the people who sit at lights with the foot on clutch and holding on brake,always into nutral and never drive with foot resting on pedal get into habbit of putting foot on floor,when i was tought to drive the instructor had a big spoon which he whacked you on the knee if you rode the clutch.
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Exactly, clutch wear is directly proportional to the driver's driving skill. Miles travelled has little to do with it. A 500 miles trip up a quiet motorway would cause no clutch wear but a poor driver, constantly slipping the clutch to pull away and manoever would be cooking it all the time.
We have all heard the revving engine in the car park as a driver with poor skills attempts to park. They'll be Mr clutch's next customer.

Knowing how and what a clutch does always helps you treat it with respect.

My moho came with 37Kmiles on it and a worn clutch, riding high on the pedal, but not slipping ,now 2 years later and 12K more miles it is exactly the same, I doubt that would be the case if it still had the original driver.
 
helen262 said:
If the clutch is OK save your £400 ,all my sprinter vans I have ever owned I have always put over 500k on them,except my last one which I kept for nearly 7 years which had 922k and I haven't had a clutch in any of them,so a commercial vehicle with just over 100k should be fine for at least another 100k especially as it is a leisure vehicle so I doubt it is getting abused.

Richard
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I have similar experience with Sprinter vans, but the Dual Mass flywheel does tend to go after about 100k miles, and I usually have the clutch replaced when this happens as per Mercedes recommendations.
 
Robmac said:
I have similar experience with Sprinter vans, but the Dual Mass flywheel does tend to go after about 100k miles, and I usually have the clutch replaced when this happens as per Mercedes recommendations.
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I must have been lucky as never had a problem with the dmf
 
helen262 said:
I must have been lucky as never had a problem with the dmf
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I've only ever had one actually fail, but the mechanic said they usually go every 100k miles, so I've always had it replaced as a precaution.
 
The dreaded DMF, another costly consumable, no wonder people buy the DMF to SMF conversion kit.
 
yeoblade said:
Exactly, clutch wear is directly proportional to the driver's driving skill. Miles travelled has little to do with it. A 500 miles trip up a quiet motorway would cause no clutch wear but a poor driver, constantly slipping the clutch to pull away and manoever would be cooking it all the time.
We have all heard the revving engine in the car park as a driver with poor skills attempts to park. They'll be Mr clutch's next customer.

Knowing how and what a clutch does always helps you treat it with respect.

My moho came with 37Kmiles on it and a worn clutch, riding high on the pedal, but not slipping ,now 2 years later and 12K more miles it is exactly the same, I doubt that would be the case if it still had the original driver.
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Hope you backed it of as the fingers on the dia will wear out and the release bearing will fall apart.
 
I'm fortunate in being able to do my own mechanical and electrical work having been a diesel/electric mechanic, mostly on commercials.

Our Mercedes has a clutch of indeterminate age, and the pedal is getting stiff so the clutch plate splines etc are probably getting rust fretting. I'll take it out and have a look, just for my own satisfaction if nothing else.

Easy enough to drop the box out, it is rear wheel drive so just the propshaft, gear lever and clutch cylinder to disengage. The clutch cylinder is external thank goodness, not one of the new concentric types. I have a new clutch and flywheel ready if needed.

In the case of the OP, I'd leave it be. He knows the history, it is working OK and no obvious problems. If there is still concern, buy a spare clutch and release bearing and take it with you.

Peter
 
Worst thing that people do to a clutch is holding on a hill instead of using the handbrake also slipping instead of changing gear. Don't do that? then I have never changed a clutch a you probably will not either. It would cost the same wherever you are to fix so do no worry about it too much.
The vans are made for morons to drive and they take a lot of stick commercially, loving MH owners do not misuse the vehicle as they had to buy it and repair the damage.
 
walpeter said:
Good Morning!
I have a Hymer 544 1991 on a Fiat Ducato 2.5 D which has done 103000 miles. I am tempted to have the clutch replaced although it is not slipping or showing any other signs of defect. It's just that I would not want it to go whilst miles away from home. It worried me in France this year, especially when going up and down the foothills of the Pyrenees. I am a careful driver and always gentle with the clutch. I have had the van 12 years. Does anybody know how many miles a clutch is likely to last on a similar vehicle. I don't want to replace it yet if it's still got possibly another 20000 miles of use as it it's going to cost around £400 to replace. Any helpful replies would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

My car's clutch has done more than 180,000 miles! It gets a bit juddery when it is hot. The clutch can last a long time if you are a careful driver however the pressure plate with the mechanical mechanism is likely to fail without much warning in my experience.
 
yeoblade said:
Umm, the Release bearing was and is rattling at bit more now at standstill, :mad2:
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Get it changed before it lets you down big time ,thats the thing about buying of wash it every sunday foot dithering on clutch mr careful.
 
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