Clutch woes

Drummer Boy · 22nd January 2019, 01:56

Hi all

I have a ZTT CDTi manual and have started to suffer clutch issues. I THINK it's going to have to be a new one but I'd appreciate any wise input.

Car is on 120K, I bought it on 101K ish last March. There was a receipt for a clutch job when I got it but I didn't pay close attention to the date or mileage on the receipt; it turns out that it was January 2018 at approx 100K so either I have burned through a clutch extremely quick or it was a duff job! Or maybe something else has gone wrong - that's what I'm hoping.

Around November it started to slip, just occasionally. I realised when I was on the uphill section of a motorway and suddenly the revs shot up. I've done a few hundred miles since then and was going to see someone over Christmas who is recommended but for a couple of reasons it was not to be. The car was quite driveable and the clutch would only slip if I accelerated a bit too hard past 2K revs.

This morning it was v v cold, I think the car thermometer read at -3, and the clutch operation was AWFUL. It seemed that the bite was much further toward the top of the pedal travel but that may be because the pedal seemed more spongy than usual. The clutch was slipping much further down the rev range, more like 1500+ so any kind of acceleration was made much more difficult.

If I'm absolutely honest, I've always thought the take-up of the clutch on this car is rough. I had a 75 CDT Tourer before this and remember the heavy clutch pedal but not the judder on moving off. With the worsening of clutch operation this morning, 1st is even more rough and reverse feels like it is going to shake the car to bits!

Based on these symptoms, the Haynes fault finder seems to point me towards the clutch disc linings either being excessively worn or contaminated, or faulty/distorted pressure plate or diaphragm spring. Does this sound like I should get the clutch job done again? Am I missing anything else that I should be checking first? Even if there were other things to be done to extend the life of the clutch, would it be better to get a good quality clutch replacement done to (probably) get rid of the annoying judder and excessively heavy clutch pedal?

And finally, I read loads of conflicting opinions about this but should I be getting a DMF at the same time? If only because it would be more economical than having to repeat so much of the job if/when it does finally need replacing.

Sorry for the long post - hopefully some of you have words of wisdom on this!

22nd January 2019, 01:56	#1
Drummer Boy Regular poster ZT-T Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Ashford, Kent Posts: 37 Thanks: 5 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts	Clutch woes Hi all I have a ZTT CDTi manual and have started to suffer clutch issues. I THINK it's going to have to be a new one but I'd appreciate any wise input. Car is on 120K, I bought it on 101K ish last March. There was a receipt for a clutch job when I got it but I didn't pay close attention to the date or mileage on the receipt; it turns out that it was January 2018 at approx 100K so either I have burned through a clutch extremely quick or it was a duff job! Or maybe something else has gone wrong - that's what I'm hoping. Around November it started to slip, just occasionally. I realised when I was on the uphill section of a motorway and suddenly the revs shot up. I've done a few hundred miles since then and was going to see someone over Christmas who is recommended but for a couple of reasons it was not to be. The car was quite driveable and the clutch would only slip if I accelerated a bit too hard past 2K revs. This morning it was v v cold, I think the car thermometer read at -3, and the clutch operation was AWFUL. It seemed that the bite was much further toward the top of the pedal travel but that may be because the pedal seemed more spongy than usual. The clutch was slipping much further down the rev range, more like 1500+ so any kind of acceleration was made much more difficult. If I'm absolutely honest, I've always thought the take-up of the clutch on this car is rough. I had a 75 CDT Tourer before this and remember the heavy clutch pedal but not the judder on moving off. With the worsening of clutch operation this morning, 1st is even more rough and reverse feels like it is going to shake the car to bits! Based on these symptoms, the Haynes fault finder seems to point me towards the clutch disc linings either being excessively worn or contaminated, or faulty/distorted pressure plate or diaphragm spring. Does this sound like I should get the clutch job done again? Am I missing anything else that I should be checking first? Even if there were other things to be done to extend the life of the clutch, would it be better to get a good quality clutch replacement done to (probably) get rid of the annoying judder and excessively heavy clutch pedal? And finally, I read loads of conflicting opinions about this but should I be getting a DMF at the same time? If only because it would be more economical than having to repeat so much of the job if/when it does finally need replacing. Sorry for the long post - hopefully some of you have words of wisdom on this!