Cheapish ALH clutch options for tune/nozzles.

Hey guys, I currently have a G60/VR6 in my 99.5 and its been slipping with DLC1019's and a DIY 15PSI tune. Some days it holds, other days it slips like mad in 4th and 5th. I think it also might be a bit worn as the engagement point is quite low. At the time I put it in, I bought a used AHU flywheel and put a sachs VR6 disk and PP on it. Thinking its slipping because I didn't resurface the flywheel? I have seen people with way more power then me with these clutches so its baffling me why its slipping.

If I get the disk resurfaced and get the quiet 1Z/AHU clutch setup(to get rid of the annoying rattle), you guys think it would hold then? Rockauto has the clutch kit for around $150 and I have a local machine shop that can clean up the flywheel.

I also was looking at the LUK 17-050 DMF kit but I really hate DMFs. The thing is the price is right and if it can hold the power I would consider it.

Thanks in advance.

IMHO, not getting the flywheel resurfaced was a bad choice. I don't know how thick the disk surface contact area is, but you are now looking at the third disk/pressure plate on that flywheel and it might be on the verge of not being thick enough for another 200k miles.

I had an ALH Beetle with PP520 nozzles, 11mm pump and a Rocketchip Stage 3 tune. It had the Luk 17-050 clutch and did not slip. For the money they are hard to beat. However, if you are interested, I have a good used Valeo solid flywheel / clutch I'll sell you cheap. PM for info.

I believe that LUK setup can be sourced from Amazon for less than 2 bills. I agree that it should do you well.

Cheers,
brian

Something sounds 'off'. Usually, a clutch engagement point will rise as the clutch wears. If it's engaging low (close to the floor) then those two facts are kind of at odds. My DC clutch setup is nearing the end of its service life. Engagement point is significantly higher than it used to be. I'm an old fart and have driven clutches for over 40 years. My experience is the pedal rises as the clutch wears.

The window of 'works fine' (or not) is relatively narrow when it comes to clutch components. Height of the clutch cover mnt. surface to main friction surface vs disc facing thickness vs finger height of the diaphragm vs throwout fork geometry can all make for quite a few variables.

I know the SMF mod started with a G60 flywheel. Don't know if an AHU is the same thing or not. I'd sure want to know before I speculated on another clutch. I'm suspecting something else is at play with your setup.

I've got the stock sachs kit (actually, just had the disc relined, nothing more), cleanly burning everything a 10mm pump can put through pp764s (4.9v at the QA).

My master failed once, the seal expanded and didn't let it suck in new fluid. Pedal was low and strange. Would not bleed no matter what I did.
Finally realized what was going on, took it apart, and extended the grooves in the piston a couple mm so that they reached beyond the entire seal rather than just the lip of it.
This failure mode will also hold pressure in the slave cylinder when the conditions are right. 'low pedal' says that it has not enough fluid in the now sealed loop, so it shouldn't be holding pressure on the throwout bearing with the pedal up.

My sachs vr6 held even my 1722 for a while with tons of mods. I would think it would hold tune and nozzles for 100k miles or forever.

[486] Thank you for clearing that up, I had it stuck backwards in my head.

Nevada_TDI said:

[486] Thank you for clearing that up, I had it stuck backwards in my head.

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Nash_TDI said:

My sachs vr6 held even my 1722 for a while with tons of mods. I would think it would hold tune and nozzles for 100k miles or forever.

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I think something is wrong because yesterday I could barely hold 60mph going up a hill without it slipping.

I was looking at rockauto and under 1998 Jetta TDI they have both LUK and sachs clutch kits listed for the SMF setup for reasonable prices. Big question is whether they will hold up to the power that I am making currently if I get my current flywheel resurfaced.

Assuming you mean this one?

SACHS 3000951707 Diameter [mm]: 228; Number of Teeth: 28

or from ID:
http://www.idparts.com/sachs-vr6-clutch-kit-b4a3a4a5-p-297.html

At that price I'd almost go all new

http://www.idparts.com/sachs-g60vr6-clutch-flywheel-kit-a4a5-p-764.html

Looking at these options:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...d,1421985,transmission-manual,clutch+kit,1993

I don't want to use a VR6 disk because they cause rattling at idle.

Give Chris a call at Kentucky Clutch,1-502-955-9173 he will build you a clutch to hold and not empty your wallet completely. Jmo

Ok I need to do something, its starting to slip really bad now and feels like it hangs at times...rockauto above had Brute Power clutch for a 98 Jetta TDI listed for $80 as a closeout. Brute Power seems to be a decent company so I called them asking if they had torque ratings but they said that they had none and it was made to meet "OE specs". They also have Valeo, LUK, and Sachs in ascending order of cost. The sachs is the VR6 setup with the TDI disk, similar to what I have now. I really want to order a south bend stage 2 daily from IDparts but $$$ is tight right now.

Also does resurfacing the flywheel reduce the holding power since the disk is now a bit farther from the pressure plate and will change finger height?

Another thing is does anybody know anything about the LUK 17034 kit? Its listed to bolt to a sachs style SMF flywheel and LUK clutches seem to have more holding power than Sachs.

turbocharged798 said:

Also does resurfacing the flywheel reduce the holding power since the disk is now a bit farther from the pressure plate and will change finger height?

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any decent shop cuts the step the same dimension as it came in
'swhy pot flywheels usually cost a crapload more than flat ones to resurface

honestly with just dlc1019's and your tune the 17-050 should hold fine, just give it ample break in time before you hammer it too hard... my PD golf is tuned more aggressively than your car and has a vnt 17 with a 17-050 and does not slip at all ... even my heavy a$$ westy with a gt2052 boosting 18 psi, 11mm rover pump and dlc1019's does not slip the previously used severely oil contaminated 17-050 ... it's almost scary fast (for a weeble wobble) and upgraded brakes are a requirement at this point

jimbote, any ideas why the clutch in my car couldn't hold DLC520s and a Malone Stage 2 but my wife's car (which registered 258 ft-lbs on a DynoJet), with same mods, can? My car had fewer miles on it; clutch always felt just fine, better than in the wife's car. If the production number on her car was earlier than mine I'd say that her car might have gotten one of the older style clutches: both cars are model year 2000.

I put in a DC stage 1 clutch in my car and it does everything that it's claimed to do. Happy with it. But, it's a fair amount more than the 17-050!

UhOh said:

jimbote, any ideas why the clutch in my car couldn't hold DLC520s and a Malone Stage 2 but my wife's car (which registered 258 ft-lbs on a DynoJet), with same mods, can? My car had fewer miles on it; clutch always felt just fine, better than in the wife's car.

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mileage means nothing for clutch wear
An idiot can burn one down to metal without even moving the car
One that only sees freeway miles with a very good driver may never even break in to the point of full face contact before 100k miles.

486, yeah, believe me, I'm well aware of how clutches can be messed up: my EX learned to drive on my old Corolla and when we divorced I ended up with that car and it's crappy clutch!

The clutch in my car was nice, smooth and gave no indications of any abuse. Maybe one day I'll torch it apart and see what it looks like. The clutch in the wife's car feels stiff, old, like it a clutch with 174k miles on it.

I've owned nothing but manual transmission cars (and trucks) for over 30 years.

So after a lots of debating and thinking, I settled on the LUK 17-050. The final push that made me go for it was rockauto has them for $175. Used the 5% off they listed in the vendor section and got the whole thing shipped to me for $177 and it was at my door in a day.

The thing that is really amazing is that its such a complete kit. Come with a TO bearing, alignment tool and even the flywheel bolts. I thought I was going to have to order them separately but I took a look and they are already there. Also made in Germany is listed on the box.

I do pretty much hate DMFs but this deal is just too good to pass up. We will see how it holds up, can't wait to be able to use all my power when on the highway!!

Well...found why my VR6 clutch was slipping. Transmission input shaft seal failed and was dumping oil right onto the clutch disk. The disk was completely saturated in oil. On the flip side, there is still a TON of meat left on the disk and the PP and flywheel are in perfect condition.