Servicing the clutch

depending on what symptoms the customer may be complaining about, a clutch service can be anything from adding a little grease to changing the whole clutch.

Common clutch issues include:

• ·         Dragging clutch
• ·         Slipping clutch
• ·         Noisy clutch (including squeaking)
• ·         Juddering

First thing we need to do is find out exactly what symptoms we are getting so we can figure out what issue we are having.  This means that you may have to test drive the car.  If you don't know how to drive manual, you have a major problem.  These are what symptoms each issue will show:

Dragging - Dragging tends to be when the clutch disc does not fully disengage from the plate or the flywheel.  This will show when you try to release the clutch, the transmission will seem to still be slightly engaged with the engine.  You may find that it will also be very hard to shift gears.

• Slipping clutch - a slipping clutch is the opposite of dragging.  This is a common wear and tear issue and clutches generally need to be changed around every 100,000km.  You will feel the clutch not engaging completely when the clutch pedal is fully up.  You will especially feel this in reverse gear.
• Noisy clutch  - Common sense would tell us that noise comes from somewhere friction is where it shouldn't be.  A noisy clutch will make noises while driving.  Assuming the clutch is what making a noise,  this could be anything from just adding a little grease or having to replace the whole clutch.
• Juddering - Juddering generally occurs when the clutch disc has unaligned itself.  This means that when it rotates with the flywheel, the balance of the clutch disc is off, therefore as it rotates it will shake. 

Fixing the problems - Before we take anything apart, we perform a visual check.  Keep an eye out for what type of clutch it is, where it is positioned,  hydraulic or cable cutch. Different cars will have different layouts, so plan ahead how you will work on the car. 

........ Assuming you have removed the clutch and flywheel, inspect it closely.  Inspect how far down the clutch disc is worn.  Inspect the centring of the clutch disc.  If it is not positioned in the centre,  It will need to be re-aligned.  Use the appropriate aligning tool for the clutch.  You may need to skim the flywheel.  Make sure that the whole flywheel surface is skimmed at the same amount all the way through.  Make sure that when you bolt the flywheel on, use the same bolts in the same place.    You may need to torque the bolts to spec. If you are replacing the clutch,  make sure that you place them side by side and compare them.  They should be fairly similar.  I recommend that you keep the clutch pieces to show the customer if they ask to see it. Different cars will have a different clutch alignment tool made for it.   The bolts used for bolting down the pressure plate to the flywheel need to be torqued as well. 

Also make sure that before the car leaves, give it a good test drive.