Is this clutch toast already?!?

SpeedracerIndy · 12-12-2008, 02:43 PM

I replaced my clutch about 3 years ago when I had the transmission out for a rebuild. I have put about 15,000 miles on it since. I just dropped the engine and trans to fix some oil leaks and was very surprised to see the amount of wear on the clutch. Is this clutch toast already? If so, how did it wear out so quick?

One pic without flash to see the depth of the rivets and one with flash to see the thickness of the friction material.

Oh Haha · 12-12-2008, 04:31 PM

I don't think it's toast but why worry about it. Replace it while you have it accessible.

Make sure you have the clutch adjusted properly and you will get a long life from the disc.

With general use they should last well over 40,000 miles if not longer.

pssst---You Audi's color is spelled wrong.

dtw · 12-12-2008, 05:18 PM

Was your flywheel turned? Does it have any purple rings or discolored area? Is it ridged/does it have an uneven surface?

Nickatnyt · 12-12-2008, 10:49 PM

Not sure what the definition of 'toast' would be, but the wear around the one rivet would convince me to put a new clutch in there and know that I had at least 15K miles more of fun shifting.

hcoles · 12-13-2008, 05:57 AM

seems like the wear rate is a bit on the high side... do you "use" the clutch alot?

SpeedracerIndy · 10:15 AM

I'll try to answer most questions best as possible. I'm on the blackberry, so can't post a pic of the flywheel, but it is not purple or scored at all. I had it resurfaced when I replaced the clutch and it is at it's limit. Therefore if I replace the clutch again, I'm going to have to get a new flywheel this time.

I've grown up driving manual transmission all my life, so I'm confident it's not my driving style. I never burn out or side step the clutch. In fact I almost always double clutch to protect my syncros.

Could it just be from a machined flywheel and improperly adjusted clutch? I know I never adjusted it after I installed it 3 years ago. I didn't think adjustments were necessary more often than 15,000 miles.

I know most would advise against it, but I think I'm going to put it back in since next time I replace it I'll have to do clutch, pressure plate and flywheel anyway. Hopefully I can get another 15,000 or 3 years out of it. I can get my engine and trans out of the car in about 2 hours, so I should be able to drop the engine only quicker than that. The car has no AC, no cruise, no smog equipment, etc so it's really easy to drop the motor. Plus it's just fun!

Oh yea, thanks for noticing my signature is misspelled. And I appologize for misspellings in this message, but I'm on the blackberry so that's my excuse.