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Clutch replacement

A clutch is a wear item, but how fast it wears depends almost entirely on how the car is driven — hill starts, towing and riding the pedal cost more lining than high mileage does. So there is no fixed interval. Because the gearbox has to come out anyway, whatever would soon need the same job is usually replaced at the same time.

What it covers

  • Clutch disc, pressure plate and release bearing as a set
  • Checking the dual-mass flywheel and replacing it if there is play
  • Replacing the slave cylinder where it sits inside the bellhousing
  • Inspecting the crankshaft and gearbox input shaft seals

What tells you it is due

  • Revs rise under acceleration without the speed following
  • The biting point creeps ever higher
  • Judder when pulling away
  • A burning smell after a climb or after towing

Worth knowing

If the biting point only rises with a warm engine and is normal when cold, it need not be the clutch — on hydraulic systems the master cylinder is sometimes leaking. That is a considerable difference in work, and a pressure test settles it before the gearbox has to come out.

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