Is my heavy clutch normal?

BlackWizard

I'm driving a 2003 VW Passat TDi.

The clutch has to be pressed kinda hard. I don't find it's an issue on long distance driving. But in city driving and bumper to bumper traffic on the M50 my leg gets sore. I've recently driven a Nissan Tino, VW Golf and Ford Ka. They all have easy to press clutches. So now I'm wondering if this is normal?

I damaged by knee a while back so I'm actually in training to strengthen in up a bit. Which does kinda mean my clutch leg is actually REALLY fit. So it's not an issue of me not being fit or strong.

Also is it normal for the car to shake when letting the clutch engage in first or reverse gear? Shaking stops once it's in gear or if I increase the revs a good bit while letting the clutch engage. My old car used to shake..but this shaking is actually uncomfortable. I'm just not used to TDi's at all. So it's hard to tell what's normal and what's not.

I'd appreciate help on this! It's been at the back of my mind for months as the solution for this, if it's a problem, might be expensive

thewing

Heavy clutch like that is a sign the clutch is beginning to die

Had the same thing myself, and kept

Goosed my hamstring as a result, which 6 months later, still isn't right due to the type of strain.

Get it fixed....and yeah, it's pricey.

BlackWizard

Thanks theWing. I've actually nearly had my hamstring cramp up on me a few times so I know what you mean.

But is there any possibility that this is all normal? Or am I clutching at straws on this

BlackWizard

The other strange thing is that I haven't noticed the clutch slipping. Shouldn't the clutch be slipping if there was an issue?

I'm kinda hoping someone will tell me this is all normal and I can forget about it

evogirl

sounds to me like it could be the pressure plate. esp with the car shaking and that. im no expert so i stand to be corrected

itarumaa

Some cars have really heavy clutch, like old Audi's for instance.

So it does not necessary mean that clutch would go soon.

Shaking does not sound too good tough, is there any other issues with the clutch?

What happens if you floor it at third gear for instance, does it slip at any situation?

Carawaystick

turbo diesel engine would need a stronger clutch to transmit the extra torque compared to a ka or the like.

The spring would need to be stronger to keep the plates from slipping and the clutch would be heavier to overcome this.

thewing

If your leg is getting sore that's not right

No modern car would have you pressing a clutch so hard that your leg would be sore.

I've driven an older model passat and didn't find the clutch that heavy.

It wouldn't cost much to let a mechanic have a butcher's at it.

BlackWizard

thewing wrote: »

It wouldn't cost much to let a mechanic have a butcher's at it.

Yeah that's exactly what I done yesterday evening.

The clutch is a bit heavy but he said it's fairly normal for my car. But because my clutch(entire clutch kit) needs to be replaced it makes driving in traffic a lot harder because I can't engage first gear that easily.

My car has 110k miles on it and I need a new clutch.. to be honest I'm not impressed. It's a really well looked after car. The good news is that I don't have to replace the clutch until it gets really bad or the clutch starts slipping badly. Right now there is no slipping and the juddering I'll just have to put up with.

Also I'm kinda wondering if I really need a whole new clutch kit. Like it could just be something wrong with my pressure plate.

BlackWizard

I tried to overtake someone today in 4th gear. But I didn't go anywhere. The clutch is slipping..

So I guess I DEFINITELY need a new clutch kit installed. This and timing belt and water pump. It's going to be a fun weekend

unkel

:eek:

Phew

(OP will know what I mean)

Hope it isn't too costly mate. Let us know how you are getting on.

BlackWizard

Well I bought a new clutch kit from the motor factors. Cost me 200 euro. Doesn't include flywheel.

So on Saturday just gone, I brought the car to a warehouse because I didn't want to get rained on and set out to change the clutch with my Dad and uncle. My Dad is an ex mechanic. So if anything goes wrong he gets the blame..

So at about 10am we had the car up a few feet ready to work on. I had the Haynes manual ( piece of **** manual.. pictures are ****e ) open on the right page

We took out some bits and bobs from the engine. I pulled out the air flow pips and other things that were in the way or might of been in the way. Took off the wheels and the covers from under the car to get access to the gearbox.

There are shafts running through the gear box into the wheels so I suggested we drop the suspension. 5min later my Dad said the same, it's the only way to get the gearbox out. By the way the clutch is sandwiched between the gearbox and engine for those who don't know!

So looking at the suspension we seen that where there is normally a one piece wishbone there is a two piece tied together with a bolt. It's called a sway bar link or something. Picture below.


So you just unbolt that red thing. Then pull it out. You pull out a 6 year old bolt holding your suspension together.. Are they mad! The thing wouldn't even twist. It was almost welded in place. We spent from 11am to 9pm that night trying to get this bolt out on both sides of the car.

So first we tried to hammer it through. We used so much force the bolt bent. So we cut the part that bent off. This meant we had to use a puncher and hammer to knock it through. The puncher bent. Next up was using bolts to hammer against the stuck bolt. We went at it for hours. Bent about 20 good bolts. It still wouldn't budge. So at about 2pm we got the drill. Drilled right into the bolt as far as we could. Got about 1/4 of an inch in before the drill bit went. We used up about 10 drill bits and got only 1/4 of the way through. So back to hammering. And by pure luck it budged a bit! So another 2 hours of hammering got it out.

Next bolt was just as hard. Same things were tried again. At 9pm we were trying to figure out how to get the car home because it was a lost cause. We needed a new suspension arm because we were going to have to cut it off. So the next morning I decided to take off the entire suspension and have a few goes with the hammer against some concrete. Nothing happened. Same thing again. But after a few hours of hammering it budged too! And we got it out!

The rest of the clutch changed went well. Getting the gear box out was tricky but really it was a walk in the park compared to the bolt. We got it all finished by 2pm Monday afternoon. :cool:

I'm still a bit sore from working on it all weekend though. A few bad cuts and bruises. But the car drives like a dream! The clutch is so much easier to press and it changes gears so smoothly! There is no more shaking when pulling out of first or reverse.

mickdw

I think that car has a very complex wheel alignment proceedure which required the toe to be check with wheel loaded as you would normally do and also then with the front of the car raised a specified amount. if the toe changes abnormally when raised, there is another adjustment to be done. Not at the tie rod but I think at the bolt on top of the rigt hand arm shown in your pic. I think that bolt is manufactured 'out of centre' and so just turning it alters the geometry of the car.

unkel

Holy bugger!

Fair play to you for getting it working. But that's how many man hours in total? :eek:

Hal1

Well done OP! great success story and some savings at the sake of your sanity.

pcardin

When I bought car for my wife it had the same problem. Was heavy but working compleately. Was working for one year till it suddenly died. The whole clutch system had to be replaced as the one faulty part fu**ked the others.

Seth Brundle

Imagine paying dealer rates to get that done!

remotesensor

Did you get a flywheel in the end? Maybe it's myth but I've heard it's essential to replace the flywheel when the clutch is being done.....