[marabak]

As described in another thread I recently posted, I recently took my 58 plate i30 in to have the front brakepads replace. Afterwards, the mechanic said he noticed that my clutch was slipping whilst he took it on a test drive. This is the second time that they have "found" something though, so I am a little dubious, particularly for something as expensive as a new clutch.

Admittedly, I have only been driving a year, I learnt in a diesel and this is the only petrol car I have ever driven, so I have no idea what a "normal" clutch feels like. I do notice that the revs will rise sometimes when I change gear, but I also have the habit of blipping the accelerator when changing to try and match the right rev range, so this could be the cause of that.

I have googled how to test for a slipping clutch, but there doesn't seem to be any definitive way. One method I did try was to try and pull off in 3rd. Using a bit of accelerator, it pulled off smoothly (albeit very slowly as you'd expect) so I tried just using the clutch. The car didn't move and I felt like I was almost able to remove my foot from the pedal before the car started to stall (far higher than my usual bite point), but the revs didn't rise either.

Does anyone have any recommendations on an obvious pass/fail test I can perform myself? If the clutch is slipping, how major is it that I get the work carried out asap, or can I leave it a while without any particularly disastrous results?

Thank you

[CraigB]

I'd be more inclined to put the car in 1st and get it rolling, then plant your foot...if it pulls away under load it should be fine but if the rev's keep going up without the car moving to match then you might have a clutch issue.

[asathorny]

I'd be more inclined to put the car in 1st and get it rolling, then plant your foot...if it pulls away under load it should be fine but if the rev's keep going up without the car moving to match then you might have a clutch issue.

OR get moving and when you up to normal cruise speed let the car slow down to MMMmmm say 15 MPH then put it in third and see if it picks up, then if so I would say it's fine   

[eye30]

Try this.

Engine running.
Hand brake on.....fully pulled up as far as possible.
Put into 2nd.
Slight on the gas.
Raise foot up slowly on the clutch.

If the car wants to move forward and the front raises up then clutch would appear to be ok.

However, if the car does not want to go forward and the engine revs increase then probably clutch is slipping.

[Dazzler]

How many years old is a 58 plate and how many miles have you done?

I'm a 58 plate (59 later this month) 

You could end up being stranded if it fails completely. I wouldn't give it too hard a time in testing in case it is ok and you actually damage it!

Not a cheap thing to fix I think there is quite a bit of labour involved. Can't give you a figure though as can vary so much by who you get to do it and where the parts are sourced. 

[Shambles]

I'm a 58 plate (59 later this month) 

Sorry, that's 

[Phil №❶]

If your clutch is slipping, it should be relatively easy to detect in gears 2,3, or 4. Once in any of these gears at a low speed, accelerate at a spirited rate and if slipping you will see the tacho and hear the engine increase at a much greater rate than normal with very little actual acceleration. Don't do this too often as you will be generating a lot of heat in the clutch due to the slippage. There may be an odor of burning friction material too. If slipping is confirmed, you will need to get it sorted fast as you could be left inconveniently stranded unless fixed.

[Dazzler]

Well said Phil..

[crayman]

As Phil posted, highway speed and say 4th gear is the only way you'll load the clutch sufficiently and still have the engine producing decent hp.
Forget the lower gears, car will accelerate away too quickly. (unless the clutch is totally stuffed)
Don't do your 3rd gear start off.
Maybe you could post your engine info as there are a few threads re-slipping clutch, oil on clutch plate etc.
Worst was the excess crank end float, thrust bearings in sump saga.

[marabak]

How many years old is a 58 plate and how many miles have you done?

58 is end of 2008/early 2009 (so around 7 years old) with just a tad over 50k miles. I've had the car for a year, and put around 5k miles on it in the meantime. Probably a 50:50 split for me between motorway driving and rush hour commuting.

I'll try the accelerating when I manage to do some driving outside of rush hour traffic

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the info. Good luck with it. Seven years (but only 50K miles) so possible wear issue but hopefully not! 

[druggist]

Give it to me for a month, I'm teaching my daughter to drive a manual, and I usually get about 250 000 km to a clutch but maybe not this time.

I love the smell of burning clutch in the morning............NOT

[ibrokeit]

Thanks for the info. Good luck with it. Seven years (but only 50K miles) so possible wear issue but hopefully not! 

FYI the term 'nn plate' comes from the number sequence on the number plate in UK - for the first 'half' (1st Feb - 31st Aug) it is the year digits in YY format (e.g. 08), for the 2nd half they add 50 to it - per marabak explanation.

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the info. Good luck with it. Seven years (but only 50K miles) so possible wear issue but hopefully not! 

FYI the term 'nn plate' comes from the number sequence on the number plate in UK - for the first 'half' (1st Feb - 31st Aug) it is the year digits in YY format (e.g. 08), for the 2nd half they add 50 to it - per marabak explanation.

Ta. I knew there was an explanation on here somewhere, but easier to ask.. 

I like our system better.

As an aside....I can usually tell the age of a car within a year or in some cases within months (in Tassie anyway) by the rego number (unless they are personalised  )

I know my cars well enough to work out if they have been re-registered too for some reason. It helps I have had so many cars and I remember almost all the rego numbers. I can then work out the age in relation to the car that had the closest rego number! 

Sorry for the 

[marabak]

Sorry, I've just realised I never replied with my findings.

So I tried accelerating from a low speed in 4th, and there was an appreciable increase in revs before the car seemed to catch up in speed, when the revs then dropped back down. Now I am aware of it, I think I am noticing it more and more, so I am currently in the process of trying to get a few quotes as I have absolutely no idea how much it should be (or even if it is just the friction plate (if it is called that) or something more).

[Dazzler]

I suspect the quotes will vary considerably. Do some googling for reviews or feedback if you get a nice cheap quote though.. Just in case!

[asathorny]

Try one or two of the clutch replacement specialists, possibly.

Or, if money's no object, sling it into the dealership.

If the friction plate is worn out and it sounds quite likely then all three items need to be replaced i.e. friction disk, pressure plate and release bearing.  To replace just one item would be barmy.   

They come as a kit in most cars

[cruiserfied]

Just a tip, in Australia the genuine clutch from Hyundai is fairly competively priced.
Dont let them charge you for any more than 4 hours. If they say it will take longer they are bullshitting you or very much useless. And remember to get the flywheel machined.

[marabak]

I discovered a website called whocanfixmycar.com which I thought might be quite useful. I entered my details, a description of the fault (something like clutch repair -  "increase in revs without associated increase in car speed") and garages can then give you quotes on the work. Obviously, these are only quotes, but as I have no idea on the typical cost, it might be able to give me a good idea. The garages are also rated by other "users" although how much of a true representation (with typically less than 10 reviews per garage) this is, I don't know.

Currently, I have had two reviews - albeit both from quite a distance away. One quoted £230 and the other £417 so obviously there is a big difference there... Which one is the true cost, hopefully further quotes will help decide.

[eye30]

At a guess I would say circa £150 to £200 plus parts.....but if you get quotes from places that only do clutches then it may be cheaper due to their knowledge and only doing such jobs.

ps
there is a one such place not far from the Pier Head, Liverpool, off Regent Road towards Bootle near to the Stanley Dock.
Can't remeber name but I remember seeing the name in the daily free newspaper - Metro.

[AlanHo]

This might be worth doing ......

Liverpool Clutch Repairs | Clutch Fitting Liverpool | Timing Belts, Exhausts, Tyre Fitting Liverpool

[Dazzler]

I think you are all just clutching at straws! 

[AlanHo]

You are asking for a swift kick in the clutch Dazz

[marabak]

Hey, it's me again.

Life got in the way, and my car seemed to be behaving pretty well. However, over the Christmas period, I had a few issues struggling to increase in speed from 30mph and I bit the bullet and booked my car in at Halford's Autocentre for a "free clutch test" (as it is right next to where I work anyway). They confirmed that it was definitely a clutch issue and offered to replace it for £398 which wasn't too far from some of the quotes.

However...that was yesterday. Originally, they claimed that they were only able to get hold of a LUK(?) replacement but as that is "top of the range" I was happy to go with it. When I went to pick it up though at 5pm, they were having trouble with the clutch pedal and something about a bearing (I'm distinctly not tech-jargon fluent) and said it wouldn't be ready until today. No problem. I spoke to them this morning, and they said that they ended up taking out the whole thing and popping in a Blueprint(?) one (odd how it managed to appear as an option now) and at 3pm it was working well up on the jack in the garage. However, they just phoned me to tell me that they are still not happy with it after testing it out on the road.

The mechanic described it as the bite point being really low (about an inch from the floor), it was grabbing at the gears and he wasn't happy with handing it back to me yet. He has spoken to the gear place and they had suggested replacing it with a genuine Hyundai model as they had seen it before on similar cars. I do remember taking my test in an i30 (18 months ago) despite all my lessons being in a diesel Corsa and I noticed that the clutch was very low in that, much lower than the Corsa. As it is, he reckons that it will all be sorted by tomorrow (I hope they don't try and charge for three days labour), but I was wondering if anyone had any views or ideas on the situation?

Thank you

[AlanHo]

I think you are in Halford's clutches.

They are at least having a good go at getting it right.

Best wishes for it all to turn out hunky dory.........

[asathorny]

I can only echo Alan's remarks.

Good luck with it 

[marabak]

Thank you both, fingers crossed for tomorrow

[Dazzler]

Hopefully the quote price was firm... 

[marabak]

Well, after three days and three separate clutches, I have my car back. However, the bite point feels really low (as in just a minor lift of the foot propels the car forward). Now I am aware that previously it was pretty high (probably due to the worn clutch) and I know I will need to get used to it, but it feels too low to my inexperienced feet. I recall driving an i30 on my driving test 18 months ago (after learning in a diesel Corsa which was unavailable due to an accident a few days before) and at the time, it's clutch felt incredibly low down with regards to the bite point and to change gear. Is this a common thing with i30s? My i30 is the only car I have ever really driving whilst not a learner (15 months now) so I am far from an expert.

The mechanic claims to have fitted a slave cylinder as well, but as I'm not technical, I have no idea what impact this has or is intended to have.

I am taking the car back in on Tuesday, at the garages request, for them to reassess it after a bedding in period.

[Dazzler]

Yes, the take-up point is generally quite low. Did they honour their original quote?