Opinions on converting Golf 1.9 Tdi to solid flywheel.

dooroy

A friend has a 2008 Golf 1.9 Tdi and the DMF is beginning to rattle a bit .
I will be changing the clutch for him and he considering converting to a solid flywheel as he intends holding on to the car.
Having read up a bit on this I find opinions vary greatly so would appreciate advice from members of the forum who would have more extensive experience in this area. I know a guy who converted his 2004 Skoda 1.9 Tdi 2 years ago and has had no problems . But that is only 1 car ?????
The car has 131K mls on it and has the BXE engine ( luckily no conrod through the block so far ).
So any ideas/opinions welcome .

braddun

are you buying the kit

dooroy

No

George Dalton

Bad idea. We have taken back out the majority of solid flywheel kits we have fitted and replaced them with the OEM dual mass. They suffer from refinement issues but the main problem with them is the clutch lasts no time at all. We replaced the clutch twice in one Golf in 60k km before getting tired of the whole exercise and refitting the correct parts, no issues since.

Look at it this way. The existing flywheel has lasted for 6 (nearly 7) years. If the replacement dual mass lasts as long then it won't be the current owner's problem when it eventually fails.

dooroy

Thank you george - makes the decision very easy . Two replacements in 60K:eek: - this was why I didn't want to go ahead based on one owners experience. And a good point regarding how long it will last .
I have always believed in replacing like with like but you know how some people get hung up on cost - no thought of the job having to be done soon
again.

Bigus

Isn't there also some benefit in fuel efficiency using DMF over solid or so the manufacturers say.
I doubt the car manufacturers are putting in DMF just for the hell of it.

dr.fuzzenstein

George Dalton wrote: »

Bad idea. We have taken back out the majority of solid flywheel kits we have fitted and replaced them with the OEM dual mass. They suffer from refinement issues but the main problem with them is the clutch lasts no time at all. We replaced the clutch twice in one Golf in 60k km before getting tired of the whole exercise and refitting the correct parts, no issues since.

Look at it this way. The existing flywheel has lasted for 6 (nearly 7) years. If the replacement dual mass lasts as long then it won't be the current owner's problem when it eventually fails.

I think DMFs suffer badly from pub talk, "Yeah, Seamus got a car with DMF and it failed after two weeks, they're all sh*te, wouldn't touch one with a bargepole, stay well away".
My own CMax, the clutch and flywheel lasted 6 years and 250k km. If it lasts that time again, I'm not worried. Was replaced with Sachs parts, 60k km later all is well so far (touches wood and takes out lucky rabbit's paw)

dooroy

As I said I like to replace like with like - and the 'pub talk' is probably to blame for a lot of the negative comments re DMF's.
When my own 2008 Galaxy 1.8 Tdci needed a clutch I fitted a DMF - and also a Land Rover Discovery Td5 I owned before that had its DMF replaced .
I changed a clutch incl DMF in a 2000 Bora 1.9 Tdi about 7 yrs ago - and 110K mls later its still problem free ( touching wood also ). The owner is a farmer and it does its share of trailer work so its a been well tested .
So the Golf is getting a new clutch kit incl DMF (Sachs) .
Thanks for all the help in making a decision - and a Happy New Year to all .

pea be

Good decision .... I had a sharan, and fitted solid flywheel Kit when dmf started to fail at 150k miles on mechanics advice. It really felt rough afterwards, with a lot of vibration, and I regretted not spending a bit more to replace with dmf.

PukkaStukka

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

My own CMax, the clutch and flywheel lasted 6 years and 250k km. If it lasts that time again, I'm not worried. Was replaced with Sachs parts, 60k km later all is well so far (touches wood and takes out lucky rabbit's paw)

The 1.6Tdci DMF is probably one of the most robust out there. The one fitted in the 1.8 and 2.0 diesels I believe don't fair as well

dr.fuzzenstein

PukkaStukka wrote: »

The 1.6Tdci DMF is probably one of the most robust out there. The one fitted in the 1.8 and 2.0 diesels I believe don't fair as well

Mine is the 1.8TDCI, so far I'm not too upset at reliability.