QP V clutch slips to neutral - wait or change now?

[Pramrod]

The beginning of the end of the clutch on my Duoselect - a few times now she's slipped into neutral when I've requested 5th from 6th (usually doing 75mph on the M1when it happens - so not happy days). But I've avoided that particular change and no problems since.

1/ How do they deteriorate from here?
2/ Should I book for that clutch to be changed now?
3/ Can I eke it out for 2 weeks until I go to China for 10 days?

I do NOT want to end up at the side of the M1 with no clutch.

 

[conaero]

First thing to establish is the wear or more importantly, the mileage and age of the current clutch.

It’s quite rare for a clutch to get to the age they slip, the spring tangs usually let go first.

 

[jemgee]

I occasionally get the 'gear unavailable' message for a second or so but it does change down - is this related to clutch wear? Very rarely I also get a low transmission oil warning on start up - but stopping the engine and restarting after 10 seconds clears it. There is no sign of any leaks

Are these Maserati electrical gremlins ?

 

[Pramrod]

First thing to establish is the wear or more importantly, the mileage and age of the current clutch.

It’s quite rare for a clutch to get to the age they slip, the spring tangs usually let go first.

Does that mean they just suddenly fail without warning?

I believe the clutch was replaced at 30,000-35,000 miles
24% worn July 2015 - with 46,000 miles
55% work in November 2017 with 61,000 miles
Now she’s at 67,000 miles
- Nareman (at Nuvola) and I are just waiting - hoping I could eke it out until Feb/March 2019 when I'd know how business was looking at GT prices had dropped some more.
If I have to put in a new clutch I'll probably keep the QP another year - I mean a duoselect with a new nice properly setup clutch.

Transmission oil was checked, changed and topped up during the service this June (it was very low back then).
No low transmission oil messages on start up.
No electrical gremlins (just have a headlamp level failure warning light which needs resetting - that was from the bump I got and the repairs)

 

[conaero]

30-35k miles out of a clutch is extremely good so I would say it’s failing

 

[Pramrod]

Do you think I book that in immediately?
Will this grow steadily worse over the next days/weeks?
Or is it likely now to just fail completely very soon and need to be flat-bedded?

I'm working Saturday, Sunday, Thursday, Friday - and need to be up and down the M1 from St Albans into town.

If she'll last through it would be immensely helpful (else I'll need to hire or spend £80/day on Uber)

Really appreciate the advice on this.

 

[alvav]

Mine has about that many miles and started misbehaving. Had it recalibrated and it’s been perfect since.

 

[conaero]

I would say if you have got to the point that the clutch is slipping and your going to replace the flywheel anyway, its will be fine as the spring tangs are unlikely to go if they have lasted that long. Obviously you are loosing performance which is the main reason to change it.

 

[Ozmurc]

Does that mean they just suddenly fail without warning?

I believe the clutch was replaced at 30,000-35,000 miles
24% worn July 2015 - with 46,000 miles
55% work in November 2017 with 61,000 miles
Now she’s at 67,000 miles
- Nareman (at Nuvola) and I are just waiting - hoping I could eke it out until Feb/March 2019 when I'd know how business was looking at GT prices had dropped some more.
If I have to put in a new clutch I'll probably keep the QP another year - I mean a duoselect with a new nice properly setup clutch.

Transmission oil was checked, changed and topped up during the service this June (it was very low back then).
No low transmission oil messages on start up.
No electrical gremlins (just have a headlamp level failure warning light which needs resetting - that was from the bump I got and the repairs)

The fact you get occasional "low transmission oil" error message, combined with the fact that the transmission oil was "very low" before being topped up at service, tells me you have a leak in your hydraulic circuit- the oil doesn't evaporate, it has to leak out somewhere. If its only a slow leak it could be one of the rubber hoses at the rear of the transmission (because the other usual place is the annular throw out bearing, but this tends to cause issues faster as the oil can coat the clutch, as well as tending to seep out faster).

Yes your clutch may be worn and need replacing, but I think one of the reasons it slips into neutral is low hydraulic pressure. You can confirm with a quick clutch wear check- shouldn't be charged more than 30min labour to do this- if clutch wear is above 20% remaining, its unlikely to be your clutch in my experience. Worn clutches do slip in higher gears at highway speeds, but that shouldn't put the gearbox in neutral and leave you stranded- hence get a reading on clutch wear, but also get a technician (or check yourself) by slipping your hand up on top of the transmission from under the car- feel for oily residue. The hydraulic fluid reservoir only holds 330ml.... and the oil is thin, and barely visible on a concrete floor compared to engine oil leak.

 

[Pramrod]

The fact you get occasional "low transmission oil" error message, combined with the fact that the transmission oil was "very low" before being topped up at service, tells me you have a leak in your hydraulic circuit- the oil doesn't evaporate, it has to leak out somewhere. If its only a slow leak it could be one of the rubber hoses at the rear of the transmission (because the other usual place is the annular throw out bearing, but this tends to cause issues faster as the oil can coat the clutch, as well as tending to seep out faster).

Yes your clutch may be worn and need replacing, but I think one of the reasons it slips into neutral is low hydraulic pressure. You can confirm with a quick clutch wear check- shouldn't be charged more than 30min labour to do this- if clutch wear is above 20% remaining, its unlikely to be your clutch in my experience. Worn clutches do slip in higher gears at highway speeds, but that shouldn't put the gearbox in neutral and leave you stranded- hence get a reading on clutch wear, but also get a technician (or check yourself) by slipping your hand up on top of the transmission from under the car- feel for oily residue. The hydraulic fluid reservoir only holds 330ml.... and the oil is thin, and barely visible on a concrete floor compared to engine oil leak.

Good point!
Although I've never had low transmission oil error messages (that was someone else) - transmission oil was very low in June.

To check and top up the transmission oil - any decent mechanic can do that? Big job?
Doesn't need to be a Maserati tech?