Clutch Replacement?

[AlanUK]

Evening all, towed the caravan to Cornwall yesterday and 1/2 mile from campsite I encountered the hill from hell... Wasn't long but was damp and slimy under wheel narrow and steep... Towing a lighter 8ft wide caravan and slowed right down as inches to spare on width... Car stalled and I then struggled to get traction, smoke from clutch... Switched engine off for couple of mins, tried again and smoke... Switched engine off for couple of mins and went for it... Got to the top of the hill with nasty smell from the clutch which was still traceable in the morning... Am I looking at full clutch replacement including flywheel... Using a local garage in Cornwall recommended by camp site... What sort of costs should I expect to assess if getting seen off?

 

Thanks in advance Alan

[Dava]

Are you sure your clutch is actually worn out?

That smell can linger for weeks.  Had a similar issue in the Lake District (junction on a 13% hill) but there is no indication that the clutch is U/S.

Find a nice hill, get into 5th or 6th and floor the accelerator to see if you can provoke the clutch to slip (revs going up but speed not changing).  You may have done the clutch some good, they can glaze over and be prone to slipping under load.

[DerekHa]

Hi Alan, just to add to Dave's input above.

My partner was driving my previous car, a 2012 Fiat Bravo 1.6D a few Christmas's ago on a trip to Ikea. Had to queue in 1/2 mile of slow moving stop go traffic and all on the flat!!

Nearly there and started to smell this horrid smell, there's me saying someone's burning a clutch out ahead. Then there's smoke just ahead, must be the car in front I say!

NOOOOO! Not them it's us! Clouds of smoke coming out from under the bonnet. Thought the car was on fire as the stinky smoke came through the heater vents, was a cold day! So switched off quick and bailed out the car.

After the initial pannick and and the smoke dispersing, my partner then admits to having been slipping the clutch all the time we'd been queuing! Lots of sorry's later I braved starting the car again, as the smoke had gone, found everything was fine much to my surprise, that is apart from the awful smell! She doesn't slip the clutch in traffic now!

One lingering effect was the aroma of burnt clutch lining persisting for months despite having the fan/ heater and aircon running constantly. Finally cured it by changing the pollen filter and then setting off one of those aircon sanitiser cannisters inside the car. The clutch was fine and the car driven for many miles afterwards.

Moral being don't right your clutch off so quickly especially as it was being asked to do something exceptional!

[AlanUK]

Thanks guys, taking it into a local garage this afternoon and they're going to have a look at it... Recommended by camp site and already spoke with regulars on site who've used them over the years and speak quite highly of them 🤞🤞🤞👍

[AlanUK]

£1700 for new clutch and flywheel 😲😲😲... Onwards and upwards

[Cyker]

Blimey, that's nearly dealer prices!!  

Although if that's a diesel it'll likely have a DMF which would explain the high cost... (normal solid flywheel is 1-200 quid but the dmfs are aroud 5-700!)

TBH, if the car drives alright and there's no clutch slip when you gun the engine in gear, I'd just leave it...

[Eddiefh]

I sell LUK and Valeo and dearest I done is 700 on a sprinter about 10 days ago , so I’d check brand and how many hours labour , I’m not back in work until Wednesday so unfortunately can’t check prices 

[Cessna]

I really would make sure the clutch really does need replacing before committing to having it done, especially as you are away on holiday (which means tight timescales and what happens if you need to take it back if there is a problem with the work?). Dava and DerekHa have posted some really useful information above, indicating that your clutch may not be worn out yet.

[MrAurisT]

Further to all the replies above, I would also, most definitely check the clutch myself first before authorising that work. As Dava states above, go up a steep hill in 4th or 5th and accelerate; if it was fine before, I very much doubt its been severely damaged.

[AlanUK]

Thanks for all your comments, definitely needs new clutch give it some on a fairly quiet Cornish road and it slipped 😞 when I took it back for repairs yesterday they gave me a revised price of £1550 all in... Have to accept a premium as I'm at their mercy, they've shuffled work around to get us back on holiday... In my mind at times premium prices have to be accepted 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[TonyHSD]

These price’s aren’t too bad.  if we are talking  about clutch kit and dmf plus labour all in for £1550 it’s a bargain.  Some cars has only prices of the parts over £3k and a couple of months for delivery waiting time through the dealer as aftermarket not available. 
Good Luck and hopefully no more problems and enjoyable holiday 👍

[Eddiefh]

Out of boredom at work (car parts shop) just been on computer put in at a guess to my parts search engine- Toyota avensis 2 litre 2013 , for a luk repset kit (this means with dual mass flywheel ) I’d sell at retail £588.48 and trade which your garage will be paying £500 this is Yorkshire though 

[AlanUK]

Thanks, yeah I'd have thought 1200 tops but guess I have to accept £300 captive audience fee plus the fact they jiggled things around to get us back on holiday... Will leave it 18mths/2 years and replace with a bigger tow car... The 6 million dollar question is as ever which vehicle 😂😂😂

[TonyHSD]

20 hours ago, AlanUK said:

Thanks, yeah I'd have thought 1200 tops but guess I have to accept £300 captive audience fee plus the fact they jiggled things around to get us back on holiday... Will leave it 18mths/2 years and replace with a bigger tow car... The 6 million dollar question is as ever which vehicle 😂😂😂

Rav4 hybrid. 👍

[AlanUK]

@TonyHSD Which specific model Rav4 would you recommend for towing? 👍

My van is max 1,498 kg weight

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, AlanUK said:

@TonyHSD Which specific model Rav4 would you recommend for towing? 👍

My van is max 1,498 kg weight

Hi, 

this will depend on your budget. You will need to check each individual model their specs and towing capability.
Here some more information. https://mag.toyota.co.uk/2019-toyota-rav4/
As far as I am aware most favourable towing rav4 amongst owners is the plug in hybrid. 👌