Any mobile mechanics that can fit a clutch kit?

JimmyPetrille

Currently learning to drive and i somehow managed to burn through a 3 week old replacement clutch on a VW Lupo. The job cost €400 parts and labour. Pretty sure i know how the damage was done but i had been driving for a few months with the previous clutch without major problems. I basically got stuck on an underground carpark ramp when trying to leave. I was trying to drive up the ramp but the car kept cutting out.

Kinda went into panic mode knowing other cars would soon be behind me beeping and what not. Smoke was coming out and i'm sure the clutch was being damaged.

Didn't help that there was a load of people standing around shouting advice at me. Eventually some good samaratian helped me get it up the ramp and out of the car park. Ordeal lasted about 10 minutes. Since then I've drove the car a good bit with little problems until the clutch burned out abruptly last week.

It's currently parked up outside someones house a 25 minute drive away from me. Would rather not having to pay for it to be towed back to the mechanic that fitted the last one. The car happens to be around the corner from someone i know who said i could move it to their drive since they've no car.

I ordered a clutch kit myself to try and save some money. Long story short wondering if there are any mobile mechanics that could fit a clutch kit on someones driveway or is it always a job for the garage? thanks

StereoSound

JimmyPetrille wrote: »

Currently learning to drive and i somehow managed to burn through a 3 week old replacement clutch on a VW Lupo. The job cost €400 parts and labour. Pretty sure i know how the damage was done but i had been driving for a few months with the previous clutch without major problems. I basically got stuck on an underground carpark ramp when trying to leave. I was trying to drive up the ramp but the car kept cutting out.

Kinda went into panic mode knowing other cars would soon be behind me beeping and what not. Smoke was coming out and i'm sure the clutch was being damaged.

Didn't help that there was a load of people standing around shouting advice at me. Eventually some good samaratian helped me get it up the ramp and out of the car park. Ordeal lasted about 10 minutes. Since then I've drove the car a good bit with little problems until the clutch burned out abruptly last week.

It's currently parked up outside someones house a 25 minute drive away from me. Would rather not having to pay for it to be towed back to the mechanic that fitted the last one. The car happens to be around the corner from someone i know who said i could move it to their drive since they've no car.

I ordered a clutch kit myself to try and save some money. Long story short wondering if there are any mobile mechanics that could fit a clutch kit on someones driveway or is it always a job for the garage? thanks

No mechanic is gonna change a clutch on their back outside someones house, you need to get the car up on a lift.

tomwaterford

LIGHTNING wrote: »

^

In that case how do they mobile clutch fitters work? They did a clutch in my mates Polo outside my apartment

It's a dose of hardship....done my fair share of clutches on axle stands and lying on sheets of cardboard


Gonna treat me to a lift in 2k18

StereoSound

LIGHTNING wrote: »

^

In that case how do they mobile clutch fitters work? They did a clutch in my mates Polo outside my apartment

If they can do that then thats ambitious, I remember years ago a friend of mine dropping the bell housing on a lancer to get to a clutch release beaaring I think it was, it was done on his back and it was a nightmare to do it without a lift.

biko

It's a garage job. No-one is going to lie out in the cold and rain when they can have car brought to their warm garage instead.

jimbis

Where abouts is the car?

JohnBoy26

biko wrote: »

It's a garage job. No-one is going to lie out in the cold and rain when they can have car brought to their warm garage instead.

If you are a very good friend or relative of a mechanic then it is very possible that they would do it(depending on the car) but otherwise no.

I think in the op's case towing it to a garage will definitely be the easiest and best option.

EPAndlee

I can't understand why anyone would want to do a clutch on the ground. You'd be better off towing it to a workshop and get them to do it

JohnBoy26

Why don't you get it towed to the nearest reputable garage? Surely there's one closer than 25 miles away.

Toyotafanboi

I've seen a few ads lately for mobile mechanics and have been surprised to see them doing clutches and timing belts and other "big" jobs on peoples driveways. It's surely uncomfortable for the mechanic but sure if the price is right I suppose it's worth their while.

That said I'd have a slight lack of confidence in a job that was done on my driveway in the dark and rain on a day like today!

JimmyPetrille

Yeah think i'll get it towed but feel like it should be at the mechanics expense given how short the clutch lasted. Was just seeing if i could save some money after already paying €400 for the previous job. There was no warranty or even receipt given for that job. Is that normal practice? It's an independent mechanic but would have expected some come-back should something go wrong which it has. The last clutch was a rymec (at least that's what was on the box that came back with the old clutch) not sure if thats a cheap brand but i ordered a LUK clutch kit myself over the black friday weekend which i believe has a good rep. I know i have to learn how to be more careful with the clutch though but the previous one was slipping when i bought the car in July and i got 4 months out of that one so strange that this only lasted 3 weeks

JimmyPetrille

jimbis wrote: »

Where abouts is the car?

its in Dublin 17

JimmyPetrille

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Why don't you get it towed to the nearest reputable garage? Surely there's one closer than 25 miles away.

its 8km from my house and 9 km from the mechanics garage that replaced the clutch 3 weeks back

kona

JimmyPetrille wrote: »

Yeah think i'll get it towed but feel like it should be at the mechanics expense given how short the clutch lasted. Was just seeing if i could save some money after already paying €400 for the previous job. There was no warranty or even receipt given for that job. Is that normal practice? It's an independent mechanic but would have expected some come-back should something go wrong which it has. The last clutch was a rymec (at least that's what was on the box that came back with the old clutch) not sure if thats a cheap brand but i ordered a LUK clutch kit myself over the black friday weekend which i believe has a good rep. I know i have to learn how to be more careful with the clutch though but the previous one was slipping when i bought the car in July and i got 4 months out of that one so strange that this only lasted 3 weeks

Incredible.

ohnonotgmail

JimmyPetrille wrote: »

Yeah think i'll get it towed but feel like it should be at the mechanics expense given how short the clutch lasted. Was just seeing if i could save some money after already paying €400 for the previous job. There was no warranty or even receipt given for that job. Is that normal practice? It's an independent mechanic but would have expected some come-back should something go wrong which it has. The last clutch was a rymec (at least that's what was on the box that came back with the old clutch) not sure if thats a cheap brand but i ordered a LUK clutch kit myself over the black friday weekend which i believe has a good rep. I know i have to learn how to be more careful with the clutch though but the previous one was slipping when i bought the car in July and i got 4 months out of that one so strange that this only lasted 3 weeks

so you burned the clutch sufficiently going up a ramp that smoke appeared and you think the mechanic is responsible?

JohnBoy26

JimmyPetrille wrote: »

Yeah think i'll get it towed but feel like it should be at the mechanics expense given how short the clutch lasted. Was just seeing if i could save some money after already paying €400 for the previous job. There was no warranty or even receipt given for that job. Is that normal practice? It's an independent mechanic but would have expected some come-back should something go wrong which it has. The last clutch was a rymec (at least that's what was on the box that came back with the old clutch) not sure if thats a cheap brand but i ordered a LUK clutch kit myself over the black friday weekend which i believe has a good rep. I know i have to learn how to be more careful with the clutch though but the previous one was slipping when i bought the car in July and i got 4 months out of that one so strange that this only lasted 3 weeks

You can burn out a clutch in 1 hour if you wanted to. Clutch wear is usually down to a persons driving style or high mileage.

In this case you burned the clutch trying to drive up a ramp and are now(excuse the pun) clutching at straws trying to blame the mechanic in order to get a free tow and a replacement clutch.

Just accept it's your fault learn from the experience and move on.

Toyotafanboi

Yeah, the clutch is completely consumable.

We sold a new car here last year, the customer got 30kms down the road and rang to say the car wouldn't go. Sent roadside assistance to her and she'd burnt the clutch out. Given the difficult situation we had the car recovered back, gave her a similar courtesy car and fitted a new clutch kit to hers as a goodwill gesture.

She wasn't half an hour in the courtesy car and she burnt the clutch out in that and then she burnt the replacement clutch out in her car when she got it back. We ended up giving her a refund for the car and giving her her old car back which she is driving to this day with no issue.

We were the crooks though. Some people just get accustomed to driving one car and can't get an easy grasp for another.

JimmyPetrille

I fully accept that it was likely my fault that the clutch burned out but it was driving OK for a week or two after the ramp issue. And before the replacement it was fine for the 5 months since i bought it. Not saying its the mechanics fault that's mainly me listening to other people that are saying it should have lasted longer even if i wasn't always being kind to it. Then again those people don't know much about cars so yeah my initial reaction was that it was my fault and i'm not looking to shift the blame, just hard to know exactly what happened but yeah i'll shop around and see what comes back

I'm thinking there could have been another issue that made is so difficult to drive up the ramp apart from my inexperienced driving skills. Its an old car after all

JimmyPetrille

kona wrote: »

Incredible.

glad you enjoyed that

1874

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

You can burn out a clutch in 1 hour if you wanted to. Clutch wear is usually down to a persons driving style or high mileage.

In this case you burned the clutch trying to drive up a ramp and are now(excuse the pun) clutching at straws trying to blame the mechanic in order to get a free tow and a replacement clutch.

Just accept it's your fault learn from the experience and move on.

I was just about to say,

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Yeah, the clutch is completely consumable.

We sold a new car here last year, the customer got 30kms down the road and rang to say the car wouldn't go. Sent roadside assistance to her and she'd burnt the clutch out. Given the difficult situation we had the car recovered back, gave her a similar courtesy car and fitted a new clutch kit to hers as a goodwill gesture.

She wasn't half an hour in the courtesy car and she burnt the clutch out in that and then she burnt the replacement clutch out in her car when she got it back. We ended up giving her a refund for the car and giving her her old car back which she is driving to this day with no issue.

We were the crooks though. Some people just get accustomed to driving one car and can't get an easy grasp for another.

How the hell do you go about burning a clutch out in months, weeks, but an hour???????? and 2 of them? granted if it was one once after a short time, Id consider something other than the driver might be awry, I know someone that had awful knocking when changing gears after a clutch change, gearbox wasnt completely (tightly) bolted back on apparently.

I just cant conceive of how someone could go through a clutch so quickly, no doubt it's possible, my mind cant fathom it!
So what causes it? is it resting the foot on the clutch all the time like its a footrest?
have it depressed half way and driving like you stole it??
Thats all I can think of.
I'll probably need a clutch after posting this, fingers crossed, here goes, but Ive never changed a clutch in cars I owned.

Del2005

JimmyPetrille wrote: »

I fully accept that it was likely my fault that the clutch burned out but it was driving OK for a week or two after the ramp issue. And before the replacement it was fine for the 5 months since i bought it. Not saying its the mechanics fault that's mainly me listening to other people that are saying it should have lasted longer even if i wasn't always being kind to it. Then again those people don't know much about cars so yeah my initial reaction was that it was my fault and i'm not looking to shift the blame, just hard to know exactly what happened but yeah i'll shop around and see what comes back

I'm thinking there could have been another issue that made is so difficult to drive up the ramp apart from my inexperienced driving skills. Its an old car after all

You need to look at your driving style. You did serious damage to the clutch when trying to get up the ramp, the fact that you managed to get another week out of it shows how good cars have gotten.

If you are getting smoke coming out of the car when trying to get up a ramp you need to stop, let the car cool down and find out what caused the smoke.

What does your ADI say about your hill starts? Because that's what going up the ramp is.

JohnBoy26

1874 wrote: »

I was just about to say,



How the hell do you go about burning a clutch out in months, weeks, but an hour???????? and 2 of them? granted if it was one once after a short time, Id consider something other than the driver might be awry, I know someone that had awful knocking when changing gears after a clutch change, gearbox wasnt completely (tightly) bolted back on apparently.

I just cant conceive of how someone could go through a clutch so quickly, no doubt it's possible, my mind cant fathom it!
So what causes it? is it resting the foot on the clutch all the time like its a footrest?
have it depressed half way and driving like you stole it??
Thats all I can think of.
I'll probably need a clutch after posting this, fingers crossed, here goes, but Ive never changed a clutch in cars I owned.

like tfb I have seen it happen. I know another person who went through 3 clutches in the space of a year.

JimmyPetrille

Del2005 wrote: »

You need to look at your driving style. You did serious damage to the clutch when trying to get up the ramp, the fact that you managed to get another week out of it shows how good cars have gotten.

If you are getting smoke coming out of the car when trying to get up a ramp you need to stop, let the car cool down and find out what caused the smoke.

What does your ADI say about your hill starts? Because that's what going up the ramp is.

its mad because at the time i didn't think about the ramp as if it was a hill start. I have practiced them loads without much issue so if i had thought about it like that i probably wouldn't have had a problem.

Suddenly there was a load of teenagers standing around saying you can't drive (obviously didn't notice the l plates or have been joyriding cars since they were 10 and assume everyone else has) and all this and my confidence was shot all of a sudden with the added pressure of other cars possibly coming up behind me any minute, and the fact it was pitch dark around me.

Yeah the car was smoking but i couldn't really stop at that stage or i'd be blocking other cars although i probably could have reversed back down the ramp and gave it a few minutes to cool. Basically just wanted out of the situation as quick as possible and logic went out the window. Nearly certain i wasn't resting my foot on the clutch since that but maybe i was too slow bringing it out or something or half depressing the clutch on hills instead of braking with clutch down all the way

The day it broke down with the current clutch it was driving around ok for 30 minutes and suddenly there was smoke and i was having to rev very high to get it going at all

Wondering had i stopped when i first noticed the smoke could the clutch have been saved or had the damage been done by then?

mullingar

You probably did 95% of the clutch damage going up the ramp. We're you trying to get up the ramp in 3rd or 5th gear? The car cutting out proved the clutch was fine at the time and you finished it off soon after.


Get an automatic

Cee-Jay-Cee

If you were able to find a mechanic willing to do the job on a driveway in the middle of winter then they would charge you accordingly. It'll be cheaper to get it towed to some garage and have it done there.

I changed the clutch on a civic years ago on the driveway with axle stands but it was in the middle of summer and I was in no rush. Took about 4 hrs all in.

bucketybuck

There really needs to be a tougher driving test.

JohnBoy26

bucketybuck wrote: »

There really needs to be a tougher driving test.

From what I gather the op is a learner driver.

bucketybuck

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

From what I gather the op is a learner driver.

And has been driving on the roads for months now.

JohnBoy26

bucketybuck wrote: »

And has been driving on the roads for months now.

Doesn't matter. It's got nothing to do with the standard of the driving test. Not that I disagree with what you are saying about the test but in this case the op doesn't seem to have a full license.

jimbis

At least the op seems to be learning from this. Not all of us were born into driving. When you get sorted, and after you've put a few miles on the new clutch. Find a quiet hill and practice your hill starts.

Have you contacted the mechanic that originally replaced the clutch? They might offer you a good price if you explain the situation. That clutch change will be still fresh in their head so that will make it some what easier for them.

Changing clutches on the driveway is a pain alright, specially in the cold of winter but I've done plenty of them this way. Even done one in the snow lol.
But it's a different story doing it on some random driveway when your used to your own set up.

Cee-Jay-Cee

1874 wrote: »

I was just about to say,



How the hell do you go about burning a clutch out in months, weeks, but an hour???????? and 2 of them? granted if it was one once after a short time, Id consider something other than the driver might be awry, I know someone that had awful knocking when changing gears after a clutch change, gearbox wasnt completely (tightly) bolted back on apparently

I know an elderly man who has an 1988 Starlet since brand new. There is about 59k miles on the car. It has always been serviced by a mechanic who lives next door to him. The car has had around 40 clutches in its time, at least one a year and sometimes 2. The aul fella rides the hell out of the clutch and never gets past 3rd gear. His foot is always partially on the clutch and he never fully releases it so the engine is always revving high regardless of speed. The car has also had at least 5 head gaskets in its time too but is still going well.

thedeere

That’s some bar stool story ^

Trojan

Automatic all the way. You can even start for the price of a new clutch, have a look here.

I was always fine with manual until I got my first auto, and I don't think I'll go back.