2002 throw out bearing repair question

My clutch works fine except for new throw out bearing noise.
What are my repair options rather than replace the whole damn clutch system?

This TDI is having more and more issues these days because of age and I need to get it all done reasonably in Wisconsin or loose the car.

Here is a list of things i need to get done:

New V Cover, being done Wed Aug 2, 20

New shocks and struts not scheduled yet
Clutch Throw Out Bearing replacement. not scheduled yet
TB due in 10K miles @80k. not scheduled yet
minor body work. not scheduled yet

Suggestions

How many miles on clutch?
If it’s fairly new then just do bearing , arm and pin.

If it’s up there in miles it would be prudent to do the whole shebang now.....no sense dropping the trans just to change the TO bearing and have a half life on clutch then several months later halve to drop it again to replace the clutch.

Upon removal of tranny you may find the fingers severely worn ( where the TO bearing rides on ) and have to do a clutch job anyway....

Could i just do the clutch plate and bearing with good results? (given fingers still good)

230k on engine/clutch. Engine runs strong, replaced turbo and intake cleaned out by Jason TDI recently

is it a dual mass flywheel?
And how many miles on it?
Stock new ones are fairly reasonable.

...and you'll probably want to try to narrow down if it's throw-out bearing you're hearing or the more typical syncro chatter, particularly as a DMF ages. At least from a budgeting for repairs perspective.

That said, tranny gets pulled either way, and with the parts in front of you is the best way to decide what's making the noise.

When i press in the clutch the noise silences. As for the flywheel, I think its stock but i have no clue.
miles like 200+

timeline said:

When i press in the clutch the noise silences. As for the flywheel, I think its stock but i have no clue.
miles like 200+

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That is not the throwout bearing then. In my experience, you will have more noise when you press in on the clutch with a failing throwout bearing.

If the clutch is a SMF, 230K is not crazy high. I had a throwout bearing go bad on me and it ended up feeling like it was binding up with a rattling noise. It didn't take long for the pedal to stick to the floor. I replaced the whole clutch as a kit (flywheel, disc, pressure plate, fork, throwout bearing, pivot ball, and pivot clip) because I figured it would need it. If it's a DMF, then you will want to replace it.

What I found was the clutch disc still had lots of miles left. I didn't want to delay dealing with not having all the parts, so in the end i spent more, but it was worth it.

Yup, in my experience:

- throwout bearing noise happens when the bearing is being used ie clutch pressed in

- syncro noise (due to a worn DMF not damping vibration) happens when the transmission is being spun internally ie clutch out

As above...either way the tranny will be coming out. I'd personally budget for a full clutch kit including replacement DMF flywheel and of course throwout bearing... and then hope to catch a break when actually able to inspect the parts.

Sounds like the flywheel is on its way out, if it's original. Time for a single mass conversion.

If you want to wait to spend some of the repair money you can keep the timing belt in there for the full interval, 100K miles.

$189.00 for the LUK 17050 clutch RepSet at Rock Auto.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4694628&cc=1418554&jsn=1&jsn=1

Really. Oh boy!. OK. Wonder how long I have before its goes down. Thanks for the input guys. :-(

If you do go the clutch route you'll have to ponder DMF vs SMF a bit. SMF is the standard upgrade, in part because it won't degrade over time like the DMF.

On the other hand, if you don't like the syncro noise now you may not like it much after a new SMF clutch. My personal experience with a couple SMFs now... one Sachs and one Southbend... is that the syncros stay noisy.

Buy one and the other parts mentioned and keep it on hand. You will need it at some point and why not replace it all with new if you have to go in there anyway. Foolish not to. May want to insure the rear main seal is good while in there too. On jobs like this it is best to do everything if needed while in there and get it done once.

I like the idea of buying the whole shebang over time and just putting up with the noise especially if I have to do it anyway. What is DMF and SMF stand for? I'm definitely not a mechanic, just a TDI owner.

Thanks, Is there a way to tell which I have without pulling it apart?

How long have you had the car ?

If the clutch and flywheel is original to the car it's a DMF.

And I wouldn't call it a failure point, DMFs have a service life. 200K miles is pretty good. Some last longer, some don't. The DMFs in early DSG transmissions had shorter lives, but they're better now.

If the OP's car has 220K on it, odds are any clutch kit he installs will last the remainder of the car's life. I like the way DMFs perform in these cars, but there honestly isn't a big difference. Most SMF kits sold these days have quiet hubs on the disc so there's no rattle people used to experience in the G60/VR6 setups.

A reasonably accurate Youtube vid on some of the differences between dual mass and single mass flywheels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FDuK8UoVa0

csstevej said:

How long have you had the car ?

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Had the car since '14. Jason put a new engine in a used wagon i bought from one of his new clients who blew up the engine getting bad service before he met Jason. Jason had another client that crashed his jetta and sold him the engine out of it. I paid Jason to merge the two. The engine is 120 k less miles on it. Not sure if he put the trans in as well. Never asked him. Thanks for that info Danny and Vince. Cool.

That Luk recommended is the DMF, which I'm no fan of. The SMF is plenty quiet. Also, the design of the pressure plate fingers on the DMF is a bit weird, as the idea is you don't have to center the disc in the pressure plate. It's already got the pressure plate bolts tight. You put the crankshaft bolts through the holes in the pressure plate fingers. It's almost 'idiot proof'. But I don't like weird shaped pressure plate fingers. If it is a Luk you would use, I would suggest a different part number. Also, with a rear seal only costing about $36, I would never go into that job without replacing the rear crankshaft seal when the transmission is off.

Hints, tip and tricks.. still free.

Franko6 said:

That Luk recommended is the DMF, which I'm no fan of. The SMF is plenty quiet. Also, the design of the pressure plate fingers on the DMF is a bit weird, as the idea is you don't have to center the disc in the pressure plate. It's already got the pressure plate bolts tight. You put the crankshaft bolts through the holes in the pressure plate fingers. It's almost 'idiot proof'. But I don't like weird shaped pressure plate fingers. If it is a Luk you would use, I would suggest a different part number. Also, with a rear seal only costing about $36, I would never go into that job without replacing the rear crankshaft seal when the transmission is off.

Hints, tip and tricks.. still free.

Click to expand...

Thanks Franko. I believe in keeping it simple too.

For what it is worth,

1. as preventive maintenance, I replaced the DMF in my 2000 Jetta (son owns it now) at 291k miles ...... it appeared to be just fine and was not causing any problems.

2. I replaced a DMF in an 01 Jetta with over 400k miles on it ....... everything was worn out, including the Throw-out bearing, Fork, etc. I used the "quiet" SMF from ID Parts .. very smooth and quiet. The lady has been impressed with it's performance.

3. I installed a DMF on the ALH in my Vanagon as I was tired of the rattle from the SMF (used from a 1996 Passat). The DMF is noiseless and is very smooth. No regrets.