Clutch wear and replacement costs

J

jemgee

Member
Messages
383
A few questions for the experts to answer please !

Apart from the dealer hooking up the diagnostic kit are there any early or other warning signs whilst driving eg 'rough' changes or slippage etc ?

Does driving style affect clutch wear - I always use manual and sport buttons but change up or down at c 2000 rpm and generally avoid hard acceleration. In auto it holds onto the lower gear to about 3000 rpm.

If the diagnostic check says for example 55% worn, what % level above that would be when a replacement should be fitted ? Does the % give any guidance as to how many miles that would be left ?

Lastly I happened to look at HR Owen website and they are offering fixed price clutch costings. Any thoughts about other dealer or indie pricing ?

http://www.hrowen.co.uk/maserati/aftersales/service-maintenance/fixed-price-service/

Thanks in advance !
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,778
Those prices seem very reasonable, but one would want to check that everything was swapped out while it's in there.

When failing it'll miss shifts, probably, and might well slip and throw errors. The wear reading is a guide, but it's not very accurate. Keep an eye on the wear when you get it services and drive it until it fails.

<edit> Odd the GS and 4200 have different costs

C
 
Contigo

Contigo

Sponsor
Messages
18,376
The answer is don't pay any attention to the clutch wear value! If the car drives fine then drive it, you will get plenty of warning by gears unavailable, clutch slipping and juddering. The only other type of failure is the tangs/forks collapsing (mainly coupes) suddenly resulting in car being low loaded.
 
safrane

safrane

Member
Messages
16,854
Drive the car until the clutch goes bang (tang fail) or it starts slipping.

After 3 CC cars I know that driving like a nun makes little difference to the life of the clutch, but driving it and enjoying it makes it worth owning.
 
StuartW

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,314
Yes, the wear indication is just that - an indication, but it will have a bearing on how much life is left in the clutch. The trouble with putting a number on it, is that we are all used to taking numerical indicators as gospel but you really can't in this case.

My clutch was changed around 4,000 miles ago and was showing as 2.7% worn after 100 miles which was a year ago. Yesterday, the SD3 read it as 0.69% worn so my super slick gear changing is clearly having a positive effect!
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,778
StuartW said:
Yes, the wear indication is just that - an indication, but it will have a bearing on how much life is left in the clutch. The trouble with putting a number on it, is that we are all used to taking numerical indicators as gospel but you really can't in this case.

My clutch was changed around 4,000 miles ago and was showing as 2.7% worn after 100 miles which was a year ago. Yesterday, the SD3 read it as 0.69% worn so my super slick gear changing is clearly having a positive effect!
Click to expand...

It's the way you stroke the paddles :)

C
 
spkennyuk

spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,959
jemgee said:
A few questions for the experts to answer please !

Apart from the dealer hooking up the diagnostic kit are there any early or other warning signs whilst driving eg 'rough' changes or slippage etc ?

Does driving style affect clutch wear - I always use manual and sport buttons but change up or down at c 2000 rpm and generally avoid hard acceleration. In auto it holds onto the lower gear to about 3000 rpm.

If the diagnostic check says for example 55% worn, what % level above that would be when a replacement should be fitted ? Does the % give any guidance as to how many miles that would be left ?

Lastly I happened to look at HR Owen website and they are offering fixed price clutch costings. Any thoughts about other dealer or indie pricing ?

http://www.hrowen.co.uk/maserati/aftersales/service-maintenance/fixed-price-service/

Thanks in advance !
Click to expand...

Your changing gear at 2000 rpm ?

I can only speak for the 4200 /GS but the gear change is smoother above 3000rpm. I suspect thats why the auto mode on the QP is holding the gear until 3000 plus Rpm.

You can also use sport and Auto at the same time for the faster gear change in auto mode.

Im sure sombody will confirm if the same applies to the QP that has one.
 
Ewan

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,811
Mike - drive the car until you have an obvious clutch problem. Don't worry about the computer readings - just drive and enjoy it until it breaks, then fix it. I never understand why some people change the clutch so early. It's like ordering a bottle of wine but then stopping when you're three quarters of the way through and replacing it with a new bottle.
 
O

ofenomeno99

Member
Messages
354
I guess the only problem with driving it till it breaks is when you find your self in traffic unable to get into gear, or being stuck somewhere unable to get home because your car wont go into gear. Real first world problems :whistle:
 
outrun

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
I thought mine was going after several "gear unavailable" readings, including one when I thought it was stuck in my garage. I spoke to Voicey who suggested it's the clutch release bearing and it just needs a good old drive to warm up all the fluids and properly lubricate everything (oh er). So I took it to Le Mans.

Been fine ever since except one gear unavailable reading after it had been sitting for 6 weeks without a drive.

Main dealer plugged it in to Italy who advised that it needed a clutch.

They are wrong. It's fine.
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,270
Agree, drive it till it won’t drive, sudden total failures are rare - other than MAF’s at Brunty last year I am struggling for examples. My 4200 was on > 63k on the same clutch, it was slipping but still going enough to drive.

I would add it is worth getting it set up properly though, and Voicey is your man for it.
 
Spartacus

Spartacus

Member
Messages
3,185
- mine had went bang .
- low loader ,
-came back with new clutch .
-drive
-;)


Drive it till it stops working , you could put a new one in and it could go bang in 10k . Your old one could last 80 k .
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,630
outrun said:
I thought mine was going after several "gear unavailable" readings, including one when I thought it was stuck in my garage. I spoke to Voicey who suggested it's the clutch release bearing and it just needs a good old drive to warm up all the fluids and properly lubricate everything (oh er). So I took it to Le Mans.

Been fine ever since except one gear unavailable reading after it had been sitting for 6 weeks without a drive.

Main dealer plugged it in to Italy who advised that it needed a clutch.

They are wrong. It's fine.
Click to expand...

Getting the same issue with mine Athol, if I use it, its fine, if I leave it for a month, first start causes this error. Restart and its fine. Voicey told me that its actuator pots which I am in discussion with him to have done.

I will get Mike to get the TCU perimeters first to Voicey to confirm.

Its only 4hrs and £500 to have done but its a gearbox out job and one I would rather leave till clutch time.

I could do it myself on my ramp at home but I need to put tape over the badges and draw an Alfa logo on them to make me get over it and get on with it :)
 
outrun

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
Conaero said:
Getting the same issue with mine Athol, if I use it, its fine, if I leave it for a month, first start causes this error. Restart and its fine. Voicey told me that its actuator pots which I am in discussion with him to have done.

I will get Mike to get the TCU perimeters first to Voicey to confirm.

Its only 4hrs and £500 to have done but its a gearbox out job and one I would rather leave till clutch time.

I could do it myself on my ramp at home but I need to put tape over the badges and draw an Alfa logo on them to make me get over it and get on with it :)
Click to expand...

My plan is to leave it until it needs a clutch then ship the car to Voicey. Let him change whatever he thinks is needed and set it up properly. Fly down, drive home. If I get any issues pre-Le Mans then I'll ship it, fly down and drive to Le Mans and back which should warm her up a little!

I reckon it's just temperamental Italian stuff and nothing to worry about.
 
StuartW

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,314
It's another example of these cars needing to driven regularly to keep them working as they should
 
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