Advice re: clutch noise

[SarahZ3]

Hi, and thank you all SO much for making me feel so welcome on this site - amazing! I hope I'm getting the hang of posting on the site... And particular thanks to David in Shoreham, great that you are local..

Yesterday I happened to pop in to a local small garage near to me - Denton Motors in Worthing - and asked about a noise that comes on when I press the clutch to change gear (noise not too bad at the moment). The guy there said it's the bearing on the clutch that is going. Today he rang me and quoted for either a standard clutch replacement (£400 inc. labour) or a clutch replacement with Dual Mass Flywheel (that's what it sounded like! - £700 inc. labour)- he's not sure until he looks at it which it will be. Does this make sense? Does anyone know which it would be?

Thank you to Gary for his advice already posted.

Many thanks,

Sarah

 

[t-tony]

Hi Sarah, I'm in the motor trade in Lincoln and those prices sound about right to me. It is likely that your car will have the dual-mass flywheel.

Tony.

 

[Ianmc]

Sounds like a thrust bearing issue. I personally would have a new OEM clutch fitted.

 

[MRH1966]

Hi Sarah, I'm just down the road in Lewes........ Prices sound about right........my son had a new clutch and flywheel in his 325i and it was £700 to fit

 

[SarahZ3]

Hi Sarah, I'm in the motor trade in Lincoln and those prices sound about right to me. It is likely that your car will have the dual-mass flywheel.

Tony.

Excellent! thank you Tony for your help and advice

 

[SarahZ3]

Hi Sarah, I'm just down the road in Lewes........ Prices sound about right........my son had a new clutch and flywheel in his 325i and it was £700 to fit

Many thanks!

 

[SarahZ3]

Sounds like a thrust bearing issue. I personally would have a new OEM clutch fitted.

Thank you!

 

[gookah]

the biggest part of the bearing job is getting the gearbox out, so it makes sense to change the other bits that also wear out whilst the gearbox is out. Unfortunately that can get quite expensive as a Dual Mass Flywheel and the clutch components are not cheap either.
But once done it should outlast your car ownership, the bearing is probably £20.... its the other bits and the labour that is the expensive bit

 

[oldcarman]

Sarah there are very few z3 cars running a single mass unless the PO had one specifically ordered or made up. It simply lightened the flywheel so there was less mass to get spinning and therefore was quicker for shifts and launching. There is a lot to do to get to that flywheel either single or dual mass so as been advised replace anything that's worn or you'll be paying again for the same work if that part lets go!! HTH. JIM.

 

[SarahZ3]

the biggest part of the bearing job is getting the gearbox out, so it makes sense to change the other bits that also wear out whilst the gearbox is out. Unfortunately that can get quite expensive as a Dual Mass Flywheel and the clutch components are not cheap either.
But once done it should outlast your car ownership, the bearing is probably £20.... its the other bits and the labour that is the expensive bit

Great advice, thank you Gookah

 

[SarahZ3]

Sarah there are very few z3 cars running a single mass unless the PO had one specifically ordered or made up. It simply lightened the flywheel so there was less mass to get spinning and therefore was quicker for shifts and launching. There is a lot to do to get to that flywheel either single or dual mass so as been advised replace anything that's worn or you'll be paying again for the same work if that part lets go!! HTH. JIM.

Thank you so much Jim, so helpful for a non car maintenance person like me!

 

[g8jka]

But once done it should outlast your car ownership, the bearing is probably £20.... its the other bits and the labour that is the expensive bit

Mine went back to being noisy again after you replaced it. I think you only did the bearing didn't you and not the clutch etc?

 

[FRANKIE]

Hi, and thank you all SO much for making me feel so welcome on this site - amazing! I hope I'm getting the hang of posting on the site... And particular thanks to David in Shoreham, great that you are local..

Yesterday I happened to pop in to a local small garage near to me - Denton Motors in Worthing - and asked about a noise that comes on when I press the clutch to change gear (noise not too bad at the moment). The guy there said it's the bearing on the clutch that is going. Today he rang me and quoted for either a standard clutch replacement (£400 inc. labour) or a clutch replacement with Dual Mass Flywheel (that's what it sounded like! - £700 inc. labour)- he's not sure until he looks at it which it will be. Does this make sense? Does anyone know which it would be?

Thank you to Gary for his advice already posted.

Many thanks,

Sarah

Hi @SarahZ3. I believe that you probably don't have a working knowledge of the parts of the clutch and their working functions. While it is a good thing to know this, it is not easy to explain in words and pictures and videos help. Even at that, it is usually not easy to grasp. I have provided 2 videos here. In watching them myself, I will be the first to admit that unless you are really into the mechanics of it, they can be very boring and/ or difficult to watch. I have screened these so as to be able to direct you to the part that shows which piece is failing on your car. This will enable you to have an idea of what the part actually is but to see where it is located and the other clutch parts around it. As @gookah mentioned, it is advisable to replace the other clutch components, not necessarily because they are worn but because when they finally do wear to the point of needing to be replaced, you won't have to go through the expense of the LABOR to get to them. It becomes cost effective to replace the other nearly worn out pieces of the clutch assembly when doing the one of them that is worn out.

On this video, you can move ahead to 2:45 minutes to see your defective part:

View: https://youtu.be/pqF-aBtTBnY


On this next video, move ahead to 14:00 to see the throw out bearing. The one in your car won't look exactly like this one but has the same function and placement in the assembly:

View: https://youtu.be/JpzefqEeVGE


Looking at these parts of each video will give you an idea of how much work is necessary to just GET TO these parts and why labor costs are a big part of the proceedure. Good luck with everything. ..............Frankie

 

[SarahZ3]

Hi @SarahZ3. I believe that you probably don't have a working knowledge of the parts of the clutch and their working functions. While it is a good thing to know this, it is not easy to explain in words and pictures and videos help. Even at that, it is usually not easy to grasp. I have provided 2 videos here. In watching them myself, I will be the first to admit that unless you are really into the mechanics of it, they can be very boring and/ or difficult to watch. I have screened these so as to be able to direct you to the part that shows which piece is failing on your car. This will enable you to have an idea of what the part actually is but to see where it is located and the other clutch parts around it. As @gookah mentioned, it is advisable to replace the other clutch components, not necessarily because they are worn but because when they finally do wear to the point of needing to be replaced, you won't have to go through the expense of the LABOR to get to them. It becomes cost effective to replace the other nearly worn out pieces of the clutch assembly when doing the one of them that is worn out.

On this video, you can move ahead to 2:45 minutes to see your defective part:

View: https://youtu.be/pqF-aBtTBnY


On this next video, move ahead to 14:00 to see the throw out bearing. The one in your car won't look exactly like this one but has the same function and placement in the assembly:

View: https://youtu.be/JpzefqEeVGE


Looking at these parts of each video will give you an idea of how much work is necessary to just GET TO these parts and why labor costs are a big part of the proceedure. Good luck with everything. ..............Frankie

Hi Frankie, this is absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much for posting the videos. Really helps me to understand the parts and the process as yes, I don't have a working knowledge of the parts of the clutch and their working functions. So many helpful comments and useful advice on the forum. I understand that it is best to replace all the clutch components that need replacing now in order to alleviate necessary work in the future. Thank you again. Sarah

 

[oldcarman]

Thanks for the refresher course @FRANKIE i need to pull the Transmission in my 66 Mustang but it's easy as it's an automatic although I have an original three speed standard I might put in it unless I can find a four or five speed. I hope @ SarahZ3 now understands which part she actually needs and why the labour is so high!! JIM

 

[SarahZ3]

Thanks for the refresher course @FRANKIE i need to pull the Transmission in my 66 Mustang but it's easy as it's an automatic although I have an original three speed standard I might put in it unless I can find a four or five speed. I hope @ SarahZ3 now understands which part she actually needs and why the labour is so high!! JIM

Yes, great help here - definitely understand much more of what's involved!

 

[gookah]

Mine went back to being noisy again after you replaced it. I think you only did the bearing didn't you and not the clutch etc?

We got the clutch kit as well, but the kit they sent us from eBay was no good, It didn't have the locking ring attached if you remember.
So we ended up putting it all back together because it turned out the clutch was not that worn anyway , and it was the bearing that was the initial reason for taking it off. You ran it for a good few years afterwards,
It went quiet at first, probably a dodgy bearing.

 

[g8jka]

I remember something about it all going back. It sounds like the same problem I had, mine was noisy until the clutch was depressed and it went, not noisy when it was depressed. Changing the bearing should get rid of your noise.

 

[SarahZ3]

Thank you all for your replies here re: my clutch problem. I now understand the parts that are related to the clutch and how they all work together. For me, I'm reliant on the garage that I have found down here to tell me exactly what he problem is and I'm aware that they won't really know this until they look. From the comments here I get the feeling that it could be a case of just changing the bearing, or getting the whole thing done (especially if the parts are wearing) and that this would alleviate similar work (and costs) again in the future. Will be phoning the garage on Monday! Many thanks again.

 

[g8jka]

Probably is a case of just changing the bearing, but the labour costs involved taking it out then it's a no brainer to get the lot changed whilst it's out. It won't need doing again then.