Roll Call - PD Owners with G60/VR6

I just installed mine a few days ago and so far I am liking it. The engine is a bit louder even with the clutch pushed in, and that concerns me a bit. I'm wondering just how much crankshaft damping that stock D-M flywheel did. Should I be worried about a snapped crank in my future?

Has anyone else with a PD100 engine replaced their stock flywheel with a solid steel? What are your thoughts on the combo?

Wow, 30 views and no replies. Sweet Jeebus, am I first one to do this on a PD? I really hope not...been down that road using untested combos before with disastrous results on other cars.

i have a spec stage 3 six puck race clutch kit and 13lbs lightened steel FW installed and yes it is louder. been driving with it now about 5,000kms with no probelms and love it.

Sooch; Thanks for leading the way. Please keep us posted.

joevat said:

i have a spec stage 3 six puck race clutch kit and 13lbs lightened steel FW installed and yes it is louder. been driving with it now about 5,000kms with no probelms and love it.

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Is it the first time you've had the 6 puk clutch in with this setup , if so whats it like compared to the one before.......have you got to give it a few more revs plus does it snatch at a given point at all.

Thanks for the replies folks. With Joevat that makes two of us that have single mass flywheels on PD engines. That's not giving me the warm fuzzy that I was hoping for. I may chicken out and get a new DM flywheel and use the Spec clutch. Yeah, do the job over again. Heck, I don't know. I don't want to run the risk of snapping the crank from vibrations, and i'm pretty sure that the PD crank is different fron the ALH engines. If they were the same, I would feel better about it since so many folks have done the G60 swap and not had any issues.

Just in case, anyone have the part number for the stock DM flywheel on an '05 BEW engine?

I've got the setup in my PD100 and it did make the chattering and the engine is generally louder. It's got grip and it works for me. I installed it as prevenative rather than fix a slippage problem. I didn't have any slip from the stock clutch with RC2, but I plan to upgrade more... I also had a LSD installed - which is great.

I thought I should give you folks an update. The clutch has been working fine since I installed it.

Likes:
1 - Doesn't slip
2 - Pedal feel is a lot like stock

Dislikes:
1 - Pedal feedback is pretty much non-existant
2 - The transmission doesn't shift as smoothly sometimes (inconsistent)
3 - The pedal feel changes day to day
4 - Engine is, IMO, significantly louder
5 - Gear clatter is very evident to me

All of the things that I loved about that car, like the smoothness of the clutch and engine, the quietness at idle and on the highway, the refined and consistent feel, are all gone because of the setup that is in there now. I really don't like the extra noise and harshness. It's just too buzzy for my taste. I guess I am very picky about some things.

So, long story short, and many will think i've gone mad...and what they don't know is that I always have been. I'm doing the job over. I will be installing a new stock DM flywheel and the Spec stage 2 that I never returned. I am considering fabbing up a longer clutch fork pivot pin, to deal with the extra throw that I might need. That should take care of the low engagement issue that some have had.

Sooch said:

Wow, 30 views and no replies. Sweet Jeebus, am I first one to do this on a PD? I really hope not...been down that road using untested combos before with disastrous results on other cars.

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I might do it if and when my powertrain warranty is gone (only at ~50K miles now) and I am ready (ie. have the extra cash for) to go for RC2 or above.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

I might do it if and when my powertrain warranty is gone (only at ~50K miles now) and I am ready (ie. have the extra cash for) to go for RC2 or above.

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Read my latest post before you do it.

Sooch said:

I thought I should give you folks an update. The clutch has been working fine since I installed it.

Likes:
1 - Doesn't slip
2 - Pedal feel is a lot like stock

Dislikes:
1 - Pedal feedback is pretty much non-existant
2 - The transmission doesn't shift as smoothly sometimes (inconsistent)
3 - The pedal feel changes day to day
4 - Engine is, IMO, significantly louder
5 - Gear clatter is very evident to me

All of the things that I loved about that car, like the smoothness of the clutch and engine, the quietness at idle and on the highway, the refined and consistent feel, are all gone because of the setup that is in there now. I really don't like the extra noise and harshness. It's just too buzzy for my taste. I guess I am very picky about some things.

So, long story short, and many will think i've gone mad...and what they don't know is that I always have been. I'm doing the job over. I will be installing a new stock DM flywheel and the Spec stage 2 that I never returned. I am considering fabbing up a longer clutch fork pivot pin, to deal with the extra throw that I might need. That should take care of the low engagement issue that some have had.

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Rather than using a new DMF, I'd be willing to ship you a usd one for cost of shipping so you can have SPEC resurface it. Should be alot less expensive. Let me know. I think I've got at least 2, if not 3 of em in the basement.

Thanks for the offer. I still have my original, and while it may be good enough, I have the funds to cover it right now, so I ordered a new one from Impex.

Actually there was a VIN split they tell me, regarding the DM flywheel, so I have to wonder if there was an update/improvement to the stock part.

Hey Oldpoopie, You've been around awhile, I have a tech question for you. Are the PD"s internaly balance or externaly? What about the pre-PD serries?

Sooch said:

I thought I should give you folks an update. The clutch has been working fine since I installed it.

Likes:
1 - Doesn't slip
2 - Pedal feel is a lot like stock

Dislikes:
1 - Pedal feedback is pretty much non-existant
2 - The transmission doesn't shift as smoothly sometimes (inconsistent)
3 - The pedal feel changes day to day
4 - Engine is, IMO, significantly louder
5 - Gear clatter is very evident to me

All of the things that I loved about that car, like the smoothness of the clutch and engine, the quietness at idle and on the highway, the refined and consistent feel, are all gone because of the setup that is in there now. I really don't like the extra noise and harshness. It's just too buzzy for my taste. I guess I am very picky about some things.

So, long story short, and many will think i've gone mad...and what they don't know is that I always have been. I'm doing the job over. I will be installing a new stock DM flywheel and the Spec stage 2 that I never returned. I am considering fabbing up a longer clutch fork pivot pin, to deal with the extra throw that I might need. That should take care of the low engagement issue that some have had.

Click to expand...

The single mass flywheel will make a bit more harmonic noise than the DM one. That is normal. As for the other issues you are having, something doesn't sound right. There are many people with this same set-up and I had it in my wife's PD wagen without issues. The pedal should feel a tad softer. Shifting and gear clatter should not be there. Did you do the work? Maybe something was not installed correctly. Did you try bleeading the slave cylinder for the clutch. Maybe it has air in it? It seems very wierd that you are having these issues. The Spec stuff may not be any better, especially if it has a higher clamping pressure plate. Make sure the slave cylinder is not the issue first. They are known to fail. Even with low miles.

TdiRacing said:

The single mass flywheel will make a bit more harmonic noise than the DM one. That is normal. As for the other issues you are having, something doesn't sound right. There are many people with this same set-up and I had it in my wife's PD wagen without issues. The pedal should feel a tad softer. Shifting and gear clatter should not be there. Did you do the work? Maybe something was not installed correctly. Did you try bleeading the slave cylinder for the clutch. Maybe it has air in it? It seems very wierd that you are having these issues. The Spec stuff may not be any better, especially if it has a higher clamping pressure plate. Make sure the slave cylinder is not the issue first. They are known to fail. Even with low miles.

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The harmonic "ringing" from the solid flywheel is one of my biggest complaints. The pedal is a bit softer and operates smoothly. Yes, I did bleed the clutch. It's not that I ever grind a gear, or that the clutch doesn't function, I just don't like the feel. The clutch disengages fully. The gear clatter with the pedal out, transmission in neutral, is also normal. I really don't like that either. Too much noise for me.

I did the work myself, as I always do. All I can say is that it's right and everything is working properly. I just don't like the "feel" or sound of the system.

Has anyone tried the Sachs Power Clutch unit with the G60 Flywheel?

A lot of people have the G60/VR6. Are you talking A5 only or PD in general? Why did you switch flywheels in the first place? Are you planning on chipping? If not I don't really see any reason to switch.

2footbraker said:

A lot of people have the G60/VR6. Are you talking A5 only or PD in general? Why did you switch flywheels in the first place? Are you planning on chipping? If not I don't really see any reason to switch.

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Not sure who you're asking. I had both setups, in the hopes that I could use the stock flywheel and the Spec stage 2 that I bought. My stock DM flywheel had not given me any trouble, but had a bit more play that I thought was normal, once I got everything apart. Since I was in a hurry (for some unknown reason), I swapped everything out for the G60/VR6 that I had also collected. I wish I hadn't.

I put a 14lb G60/VR6 setup in my wifes 2004 NB 2 months ago. This car gets driven 80 miles per day, and she would definitely complain if things were not right. It makes more noise in neutral with the clutch out, but once you push the clutch in, the noise is pretty much gone. My wife also likes the softer pedal.

Tweekster, glad you are both happy. I'm not, so i'm going back to the DMF. Clutches are very much a taste thing for me, and I just don't like this combo...noise and feel are just not for me. I'm also not convinced that the G60 flywheel is totally harmless to the thrust bearings when installed on a PD engine. I had three totally different setups on my Mustang before I found what was right for me, FWIW.

So what are other options alowing us to keep the DMF? I need something to hold 150whp and 300wtrq.

Sooch said:

Tweekster, glad you are both happy. I'm not, so i'm going back to the DMF. Clutches are very much a taste thing for me, and I just don't like this combo...noise and feel are just not for me. I'm also not convinced that the G60 flywheel is totally harmless to the thrust bearings when installed on a PD engine. I had three totally different setups on my Mustang before I found what was right for me, FWIW.

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Can I have the G60/VR6?

To my knowledge, SPEC is the only manufacturer of high performance clutches for the DMF. Stage 2 would be plenty.

oldpoopie said:

To my knowledge, SPEC is the only manufacturer of high performance clutches for the DMF. Stage 2 would be plenty.

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Thank you,

I see they are rated at 385lb trq. Taht would work.

Do you know what is the best place to buy?

Also, I heard some bad stuff in the past about spec. Is that still the case?

I ran a spec 2/3 hybrid clutch with my DMF. It was a puck clutch, and while it held anything I threw at it, it only lasted about 50k if I remember right. It also ate the crap out of the flywheel and pp, so much so that they were unusable afterwards. I replaced them with the vr6/g60 and I'm much happier.

I promised an update after I installed the Spec Stage 2 clutch, and a new stock dual-mass flywheel. For those that don't want to read the whole thread, I installed a stock weight G60 flywheel and new VR6 clutch kit back in December on my 2005 Golf. Hated it. The noise sucked, the buzziness throughout the rev range was annoying, and the clutch felt like a marshmello...and it was not a bleeding problem. That's just the way the VR6 clutch feels.

Took me about 7 hours this time start to finish, including setup and cleanup. One thing that I learned was to use CV joint moly lube on the three driver's side engine mount bolts. Much easier turning them in.

So I installed a new dual mass flywheel, and a new Spec Stage 2 clutch. My modern, refined, vibration free car is back. I love it again. The clutch grabs right where the new stock clutch grabbed. Close to the floor, but not too close. The clutch engages smooth as butter, and I can feel where it begins to take up. No shudder, or anything out of the ordinary. I think people that have problems with this Spec Stage 2, must not be cleaning the flywheel and PP properly. Clean it until a white rag doesn't show ANY dirt...that goes for any clutch install.

I didn't have to remove the pedal stop, and I didn't have to bleed the clutch since I made a point of keeping the slave cylinder below the master.

Love the clutch. Time for Kerma.