Below we have listed a number of coupling problems to indicate what could be the cause when your coupling is broken. The clutch is an important part of keeping your car running. If you have clutch problems, come by and have it looked at before you come to a standstill.

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Wear

Worn clutch plates are a common problem. There can be several causes of the wear. We have a special page describing how to determine if your clutch plates are worn. The most common problem is a worn clutch disc. This manifests itself in the slipping of the clutch and therefore making a lot of revs and making less progress when accelerating.

Clutch slips or snaps but is not worn

We also encounter problems with the clutch in young(er) cars. A clutch that is not yet worn can slip or engage unevenly if the plate has become greased. Behind the clutch (and the flywheel) is the crankshaft seal, which retains the engine oil in the engine. The same seal ring is located in front of the clutch in the gearbox, the primary shaft seal ring that stops the oil in the gearbox. If this seal starts to leak, the oil ends up on the primary shaft and eventually the clutch.

Due to the lubricating effect of the oil, the clutch will slip and can even burn. Moreover, the annoying thing about the construction of those specific gearboxes is that the primary shaft sealing ring is not mounted in the gearbox from the outside, as is the case with most gearboxes. This seal is mounted from the inside of the gearbox housing. In addition to replacing the clutch kit, the gearbox will therefore have to be dismantled to replace the seal.

In addition to the complaints about the clutch, this problem can often be recognized by drops of clear oil hanging from the gearbox or spots on the street under the car where you parked. Do you doubt whether your gearbox is leak-free? Make an appointment for a diagnosis, then we can quickly see if something is wrong together on the bridge.

The clutch does not disengage completely

The clutch works on friction. With a worn clutch you have too little of it, with a clutch that does not fully disengage, you have too much friction. The gearbox continues to “run along” with the engine. This can have various causes, which usually have to do with adjustment, the operation (cable or hydraulic), the pressure group or the pressure fingers.

If the clutch does not disengage completely, the first sign of this will be the fact that it is difficult for the car to enter first (or second) gear with the engine running. While this is easy with the engine switched off.
If your clutch does not disengage completely, then with the engine running, force will remain on the gearbox, which will make it difficult to change gears, but this could also be a problem with the gearbox.
If your clutch control is completely out, the car will not stop moving with the gear engaged, even though the clutch is fully depressed.

Different sound when you depress the clutch pedal

The clutch connects the engine to the gearbox by pressing the clutch plates against the flywheel. The clutch plates are usually pressed against the engine flywheel by means of springs. When you disengage, you push the clutch plates – against this spring pressure – away from the flywheel. Depending on the version of the car, this is done with pressure fingers or a diaphragm spring (see image of pressure group with diaphragm spring).

When you disengage, you load the pressure group, the bearings of the pressure group, the pressure fingers of the clutch. When these show signs of wear, your car may make a different sound – for example a screeching sound – when disengaging.

Clutch or clutch pedal vibrates

Depending on the type of car, a normal or a dual-mass flywheel is used. The image below shows an example of this. A dual-mass flywheel, or dual-mass flywheel, is used almost as standard in diesel cars. If the dual-mass flywheel becomes worn, the springs are no longer strong enough, so that the second part of the flywheel, the first part on the crankshaft, no longer follows smoothly.

The result of a worn dual mass flywheel is that the clutch does not engage smoothly. This is translated by most drivers with the shuddering or vibrating of the clutch pedal. Also called bouncing, wobbly or jerky acceleration. You can test this yourself by driving the car with the engine idling, without accelerating. Just like you might do while driving in a traffic jam.

If you feel the clutch pedal shivering as you release it (you actually feel the jerky engagement of the engine) then the dual mass flywheel is worn out. The springs are no longer strong enough to allow the clutch to be engaged smoothly.

When the DMF is severely worn, you will usually hear a short rattling sound when the engine is turned off. Eventually the engine will shake at idle and when the springs have almost gone, you will hear a loud rattling sound. Usually the mass flywheel must then be replaced.

What can you do?

Do you have doubts whether your clutch, pressure group or flywheel is worn? Faay auto group has a lot of experience in replacing clutch plates, the pressure group and the dual mass flywheel.