Clutch and Dual Mass Flywheel at Number One Motor Co Ltd, Norwich

Clutches

Your clutch is full of moving parts that should operate smoothly. That means gearchanges are smooth and no nasty grinding sounds. Clutches will wear out over time, and when they do, they give some clear warning signs.

Here are some clutch failure red flags:

• Your clutch feels spongy, sticks or vibrates when you press it
• You hear a squeaking or a grumbling noise when you press down on the pedal
• You can rev the engine, but acceleration is poor
• You have difficulty shifting gears
• You experience a 'slipping' clutch, which causes a momentary loss of acceleration

If you experience any of the issues, your clutch needs some attention. Thankfully, replacing a clutch is a routine job but can be labour intensive.

Dual Mass Flywheel (DMF)

Symptoms of a worn or broken DMF include increasing vibrations, especially through the clutch pedal. A bad DMF can make the motor appear to have a misfire and rough idle as well. You may also hear a rattle, which will disappear when you depress the clutch. DMFs can last more than 100,000 miles but may go bad in as little as 20,000 - it depends on the quality of the part and especially your driving style. Drivers who are not smooth in their clutch engagement cause serious amount of wear every time they get behind the wheel.

We recommend changing the dual mass flywheel whenever the clutch is replaced, because it involves no additional labour, and just the cost of the DMF to be replaced. If there have been enough miles accumulated to wear out a clutch, you have gotten plenty of miles out of the dual mass flywheel. There is really no telling when a DMF will go bad, as it typically happens suddenly. To leave it in place and change only the clutch is a false economy, because when it does go bad the labour alone to replace it is hundreds of pounds. We can diagnose and provide a full costing for both (if required), using LUK, SACHS or VALEO kits.