Clutch failures why?
Discussion
Can any one spring there knowledge on to why the clutch on a Cerbera fails,Im of the belief that most failures are down to the exuberance of there owners in pulling away quickly,or sliiping the clutch while spinning the wheels or is it down to poor quality components,if its the former i will try not to travel down this route
BLUETHUNDER said:
Whats the life span of a Cerbera clutch then? if treated right.My Chimaera i had three years and never a had a problem with clutch failure,yet you hear quiet a few horror stories on here,could it be that they have a low tolerance to being used hard?
i know a certain person had 7, yes 7 in a year!
normally 20K 24K from my past experience, depends on whether a lot of city driving, lighting up the rears i never ride the clutch - i just let it go, using the throttle to control!
So the clutch isnt much cop in city driving,got caught up in the chelsea football traffic on on sunday after an hour and a quarter sitting in traffic the clutch started to behave funny,after a cool down period it returned to normal,Dean if by any chance your mate is another Rat-pac member then im not surprised they have had seven clutch failures,i travelled with them up to Duxford for Mania seen the way they drive.
dean_ratpac said:
Whats the life span of a Cerbera clutch then? if treated right.My Chimaera i had three years and never a had a problem with clutch failure,yet you hear quiet a few horror stories on here,could it be that they have a low tolerance to being used hard?
i know a certain person had 7, yes 7 in a year!
normally 20K 24K from my past experience, depends on whether a lot of city driving, lighting up the rears i never ride the clutch - i just let it go, using the throttle to control!
Yes Dean, I've heard all about your smokin rears!
ASAIK the majority of clutch failures are to do with poor initial installation.
If the assembly is set up incorrectly then the clutch travels too far on application causing excess stress on the fingers of the diaphragm plate.
If I'm talking b
cks, I'm sure someone much more knowledgable will soon be along to correct me..... 
If the assembly is set up incorrectly then the clutch travels too far on application causing excess stress on the fingers of the diaphragm plate.
If I'm talking b
cks, I'm sure someone much more knowledgable will soon be along to correct me..... I know this tempting fate but my clutch plate has now done about 10,000 miles including 2 full seasons of sprinting which I reckon equates to about 100 standing starts p.a. plus wheel spins due to tyre warming etc. I reckon that is pretty good considering the abuse it gets. The bloody thing will go and break next week now just to prove me wrong!
I don't think you'll find many knowledgeable Cerbera owners riding the clutch or performing transmission-busting standing starts as we all know that this is a weak area, and could well suffer if abused - saying that I do ride my car hard and do enjoy the occasional tyre smoking
My clutch just been replaced at 25k miles, although it would have lasted longer. Most of the slave cylinder was kaput, while the clutch was alright(ish), but other damage inside the bell housing made us worried enough to replace it, given that the maximum lifespan is likely another 5k miles and the time required to do the job.
My clutch just been replaced at 25k miles, although it would have lasted longer. Most of the slave cylinder was kaput, while the clutch was alright(ish), but other damage inside the bell housing made us worried enough to replace it, given that the maximum lifespan is likely another 5k miles and the time required to do the job.
BLUETHUNDER said:
Dean if by any chance your mate is another Rat-pac member then im not surprised they have had seven clutch failures,i travelled with them up to Duxford for Mania seen the way they drive.
hmmm yes he was, actually there must have some serious design problem, 7 in a year with normal driving! i do remember that day. what theRATPAC driving mad.. no just fast!
budaholic said:this could've been the reason mr sears out of our group had so many clutches?
ASAIK the majority of clutch failures are to do with poor initial installation.
If the assembly is set up incorrectly then the clutch travels too far on application causing excess stress on the fingers of the diaphragm plate.
If I'm talking b
budaholic said:
ASAIK the majority of clutch failures are to do with poor initial installation.
If the assembly is set up incorrectly then the clutch travels too far on application causing excess stress on the fingers of the diaphragm plate.
If I'm talking b
Some of the recent examples have been mechanical failures of the springs between the plates, but certainly not all. In my case, it was definitely a bodged installation, although the problems were a little more severe than excess stress on the fingers. Sometimes I feel it's a pity the name and shame rules are around, because I guarantee you'd all be pretty shocked at the treatment I've received. However, I'm not going to let this one lie.
Steve.
I'm convinced that poor installation means a much reduced clutch life, but the AP unit is a hardy one as regards standing starts etc, it's pure mechanical movement of the diaphragm that is hte weak point, so cars that spend all their life on the motorway will get great mileage from there clutches (one of my customer cars got 67k miles from a cerbie clutch which was about 15 months driving!) , and cars that spend all their time in london or birmingham for example will have short lifes as their diaphragm springs are being worked more frequently.
Steve T, can you pm me your clutch saga please? I'm keen to get as much info on cerbie clutches as possible, cheerz.
Steve T, can you pm me your clutch saga please? I'm keen to get as much info on cerbie clutches as possible, cheerz.
Mine had with broken fingers at about 18k miles. Luckily I noticed a change in the gear selection early - it was just a little bit harder to engage - so I never had a complete failure. I had it checked by TCS (trackcar) as the car was due a service anyway and it was replaced.
I can't say whether it was poor fitting or poor materials but I think I've still got it (why ?!) if anyone wants to check...
I can't say whether it was poor fitting or poor materials but I think I've still got it (why ?!) if anyone wants to check...
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