"That" clutch issue

[C8PPO]

you know, the one where the clutch pedal goes all weird when you boot it hard and the only cure is a new clutch?

Well, my question is - has anyone had this done under warranty? I have the issue, Roger has seen/tested/confirmed that. It doesn't trouble me in daily driving as I hardly ever boot it hard, but with it's 3rd birthday coming up in September I'm wondering whether to get it into a main dealer and see what they say.

I do have just 40k miles up now which might be an issue, I guess, although I gather that the problem is down to manufacturing tolerances, rather than wear?

Opinions/experiences please!

[Magic919]

I see it as limitation of the standard clutch and can't say I'd expect Vx to upgrade it under warranty. I'm expecting to fit something better one day, at my expense.

[ringram]

I understand its a known problem in Oz and the solution involves replacement of the clutch with an LS7 unit.
Thats based on ls1.com.au threads. But the part number for the clutch is now the same as the LS7 one.

There was also mention of a pedal box modification.

[the_ferret82]

good luck getting VX to do the clutch. i have enough fights and arguments getting them to replace my clutch of a different issue (no first and 3rd gear) and my car only had 9K on the clock...

[granada203028]

You don't have the remotest hope of warrantee replacement if it is more or less OK in daily driving. Clutch is only covered for the first 2500 miles anyway - it is considered a consumable.

I had mine changed when new due to judder. They put another juddery one in. I replaced it again myself 2 years later which did fix it. The one they put in did show lop sided wear pattern but they still didn't want to know.

[C8PPO]

I'm not surprised - I had them refuse a claim over brakes when the car was almost brand new, so I've had my fights with them already.

Just wondered whether anyone had had any success on this fron, but I can see the way forward now!

Mind you, I think the "limitation of standard" and "OK in daily driving" positions are crap - if you sell a 400bhp car, sell it with a 400bhp clutch (oh, and 400bhp brakes )

[anonymous-user]

I'll be interested to see how you get on. I have the same problem and have been thinking just this last week that I need to get them to have a look at it to see what they can do under warranty.

From what I understand it isn't actually the clutch itself, but the slave unit which somehow lets in air/water (?) which contaminates the fluid - which is why the fluid is always black. I had Monkfish properly drain and replace my fluid and the clutch worked fine after that for a short while, but shortly after that it turned black again and the problem returned.

As you say, no problem when driving normally, but get a bit spirited and the pedal goes all limp!

I'll deffo be having a go at getting it done under warranty - a leaky slave/master cylinder will be my argument. We'll see.

[S600VXR]

If you read up on this its an issue with the design. The slave is circular on our cars and due to surface contact area and the heat soak properties of the materials used it heat soaks very easily! as such any water in the fluid boils quickly and fks up the system - hence limp peddle till it cools down. What you need to do is get the system bleed properly and a high quality oil put in, then get it bleed regular. Halfords dot 4 or your local car dealers special deal fluid will not suffice! Something like the dot 6.1 fluid that Ringram was using would be ideal.
The alternative is to get an adaptor kit fitted in place of the bleed tube on the side of the slave which routes the bleed point to somewhere easily accesable so you can power bleed yourself easily and regular (OEM setup is diabilically difficult to get to!). This will entail moving the gearbox back to get to everything mind - something Im working up to with the Fish.

[stevieturbo]

C8PPO said:

I'm not surprised - I had them refuse a claim over brakes when the car was almost brand new, so I've had my fights with them already.

Just wondered whether anyone had had any success on this fron, but I can see the way forward now!

Mind you, I think the "limitation of standard" and "OK in daily driving" positions are crap - if you sell a 400bhp car, sell it with a 400bhp clutch (oh, and 400bhp brakes )

Some makers sell a 50bhp car, that has crap brakes and clutch lol So its hardly anything new.