Not another clutch surely?

[BigBadRob]

Evening all,
My 61 plate V70 has covered a little under 65K (of which I have done 17K in the last 6 months) and I have noticed the tell tale signs of clutch slip under hard acceleration when climbing through the gears. Usually at the same revs/power in 3rd, 4th & 5th. I only have the 1.6D so periodically I work it to get certain results. The car has no towbar and to my knowledge has never been used to drag anything. I destroyed the clutch in similar mileage in my Fabia and Octavia VRs but they both had 3x as much torque and nearly 100 more horses (and I had a slightly different mentality)
I am a little surprised that the clutch may be going so soon on a vehicle that spends it's life on the motorway with the clutch engaged 90% of the time on cruise control in 6th sitting just under the turbo at around 2000 rpm

To add to this, since the 2nd of Jan I have noticed a distinct rumble/rattle/vibration when releasing the clutch pedal into 1st or 2nd gear with little or no revs. If I apply 1200 rpm or more and release the clutch it doesn't happen but left to its own devices there's a tangible shudder through the car and a rotary-esque rattling/knocking which wasn't there before. From the feeling through the pedals, it specifically happens as the clutch plates first engage but disappears on application of revs/power.

2 questions which I would appreciate some feedback on:

1. How much (roughly) is a clutch assembly and labour for a 1.6D V70 and how much could I get this done for at an Indy vs main dealer?

2. What the rubber duck could that noise be?

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by BigBadRob

I am a little surprised that the clutch may be going so soon on a vehicle that spends it's life on the motorway with the clutch engaged 90% of the time on cruise control in 6th sitting just under the turbo at around 2000 rpm

That sounds to me like your cause at first impression. Driving style.
My peak torque starts at 1750 rpm and I wouldn't dream of driving any distance in top gear at any lower than that.
Do you know the peak torque figures for your engine?

[cheshired5]

Having checked, it appears the 1.6 enters the peak torque range at 1750 too but at 240Nm compared to my 340, I'm wondering if it's asking a lot on a big car.
Maybe similar owners could pitch in with their driving styles.

[CJL]

I don't know which models are affected, but my 2012 V70 D5 has had the clutch replaced under warranty. The clutch now has a uprated friction material and modified adjustment mechanism.

I don't use full power under 2000 rpm, just to try and reduce the stress on the clutch, but I maintain that the car should be able to cope, and that's probably how a lot of people who know nothing about cars would drive it normally.

[wigstonv70]

Sorry to hear of your problems. The rattling noise may be the dual mass flywheel. If you are in Melton Mowbray, and want an indie to fix it why not try Sheffield and Meredith in Leicester. Very competitive labour rates, and very knowledgeable aswell. tel 0116 2470344. For a price on the parts why not try the Eurocarparts website. Put in your reg no and it spits out the parts you need and the price.

[BigBadRob]

To be honest, given the small engine:massive vehicle ratio, I do tend to accelerate a little harder than I probably should but that's still only when overtaking or down slip roads etc (the missus reliably informs me that it's usually over 2000 rpm as I tend to set cruise at 80mph and let the adaptive part and the surrounding traffic do their job of keeping me sub-70)
I see your point though, hadn't really considered where the torque spike was. That said, with only 240Nm available and one supposes a reasonable quality of friction material on the OE clutch, 65k is still a little shy for it to be failing. Especially when you think that this could easily be used for towing, I like to think Volvo would have done their homework and made it suitable for the tasks it was likely to be involved in.

Also, I had the DMF fail on my Octavia but it was a drastically different noise/feeling to this but then I suppose different cars and all that. I'll give the Indy a shout tomorrow and will also get a ballpark figure from Marshall in Melton to see what the differences are. Much appreciated

[BigBadRob]

For those interested. an update on the noise/clutch scenario:

Had my hand forced into sorting the issue by the vibration from the drivetrain making it virtually undriveable at low revs.

Car just been repaired on my driveway by an independent mobile garage I've used before at labour rates that are half that of the main dealer.
It's had a new release bearing (which was the rumbling noise to begin with) and a clutch and flywheel which were both goosed. Some argy bargy was had yesterday as whichever parts source they used did supply the wrong parts to begin with, despite having Reg and VIN. For the info of anyone with a drivE V70, the 2011MY and 2012MY have a very subtly different LUK clutch kit and flywheel. The earlier one is available direct from LUK but the 2012MY can only be purchased through Volvo apparently.

The flywheel that's been removed has over 5mm of play (by this I mean you can push the edges of the plates together when it's sitting on the output shaft or on a flat surface) as well as rotary play of 8 teeth and the clutch friction material was worn flat well beyond the grooves, the combination of which I assume is what I could feel as the awful vibration through my feet and seat pad during deceleration. Bit disappointing this can happen in a little over 70k but I suppose it is a big car with a relatively small engine and I may not always be as careful as I could be with it in hindsight.

Total cost came out at £1275 which is £300 more than they had originally quoted and quite a significant amount to shell out at once but represents the cost difference in the parts from Volvo over LUK. An expensive morning if the truth be told but I've just been for a drive and it's absolutely sublime!

Interested to know if anyone else has had the same thing done at a main dealer or indy and what the costs involved were though? Or perhaps any techs on here could give me the approx cost at an assumed 7hrs labour?