Help! I have no drive

That is the tittle everyone else uses so thought I would jump on the band wagon. And while true that I have no drive, it is because my clutch has gone, I think I have torn the centre out of it. Went to pull away, sudden jolt, horrible whirring sound from the bell housing and no drive. Pedal feels strange and makes no difference and can put it into gear with the engine running.

I did notice a piece of clutch spring in the wading plug hole (too large to remove) when it was on the ramp for its MOT a couple of months go so knew it was only a matter of time.

My question is how long would you expect a clutch to last? I have a 200tdi, LT77, 1.2 transfer box, 265/75 AT tyres. I fit the valeo 130 clutch and cover (UQB000130G, URB100760G). This clutch has done about 50k miles with far more of them towing than I would usually do, but probably only 3-4k of towing miles. Is that about right or has it failed early?

For me any clutch plate that falls apart rather than wears down, is an early failure.
You dont abuse it. The vehcile its speced for tows in countries all over the world.

I hadnt heard of clutch plates ripping centers out in my younger days but it seems to happen often now.
My Dad and Uncles ran a garage, as a youngster I used to look in the scrap and cant recall ever seeing a clutch plate in bits just worn out.

Well unless you absoulty abuse the clutch with the amount of power you chuck through it, dont think your 200tdi will do that.

J

marjon said:

Well unless you absoulty abuse the clutch with the amount of power you chuck through it, dont think your 200tdi will do that.

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Are you trying to say the mighty 111bhp (when new, although well maintained so am hopeful not too many horses have escaped) is not a huge amount of power? How very dare you!!

marjon said:

I hadnt heard of clutch plates ripping centers out in my younger days but it seems to happen often now.

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I am, at this point, just guessing that that is the problem, but will post up some pics of the wreckage when I split the gearbox. Same again parts have been ordered on express delivery so may be here for the weekend, if not looks like a day off work next week!

Yes, I had something similar with a clutch friction plate in the spring of 2019. I had just changed the clutch 18 months prior and hoping for a much longer life. I can't remeber offhand if it was a Valeo or an AP, but it was the sort of thing where the splined boss in the middle is a seperate piece which appears to be staked or peened into the sheet metal disc of the friction plate. It's a cheap and convenient way of manufacturing them, as you can mix and match centre bosses with friction plates to fit a variety of vehicles, and not much casting or machining is needed. On taking the clutch out, the boss was so loose in the plate that you could turn it by hand.

Last time I swapped the gearbox I put a LOF clutch in, and their friction plates are all one solid piece of metal so the boss can't come loose. I know some of you have had problems with LOF products, but mine's been fine so far.