Clutch options for the b5.5

What do the Valeo 1.9 TDI clutches cost? What is their power rating?

I have about 800km on my new setup and the clutch still is incredibly jerky trying to release. My old Valeo was very smooth engagement. Is it just nature of the setup or break-in??? I feel like a newb leaving stoplights! :S The new setup also chatters out of gear in idle now. It doesn't bother me but my old setup was silent. Growing pains I guess...

blujett2.0 said:

I have about 800km on my new setup and the clutch still is incredibly jerky trying to release. My old Valeo was very smooth engagement. Is it just nature of the setup or break-in??? I feel like a newb leaving stoplights! :S The new setup also chatters out of gear in idle now. It doesn't bother me but my old setup was silent. Growing pains I guess...

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Did you go with a 240mm or 228mm setup?

I found with my darkside sourced Sachs SRE 240mm organic disc and factory DMF, that there was a fair amount of chatter on take-up initially but that you could mitigate by keeping revs higher. Now that I am 40k km on the setup, it's much better - only the higher pedal effort lets you know that it's a race clutch.

Never had a slip ever with the setup.

Windex said:

Did you go with a 240mm or 228mm setup?

I found with my darkside sourced Sachs SRE 240mm organic disc and factory DMF, that there was a fair amount of chatter on take-up initially but that you could mitigate by keeping revs higher. Now that I am 40k km on the setup, it's much better - only the higher pedal effort lets you know that it's a race clutch.

Never had a slip ever with the setup.

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It's a 240mm. (Clutchmasters FX-25, 32lb flywheel) I'll give that a try Windex thanks! I've been trying to take it easy through break-in so I haven't really laid down the power yet. I'll try a higher rpm engagement and see if that helps.

On a 228mm Clutch masters I had to rev to 1800 to get a smooth engagement.

I talked to blujett and gave him the suggestion of actually trying to keep the rpms at idle when letting the clutch out. I drove one of the fx350 setups with my 30lb flywheel for a few days and it's butter smooth letting the clutch out keeping the rpms at idle with 1100miles on it now. It's grabbier than a stock clutch, but zero shudder or vibration on engagement. I was pleasantly surprised just how smooth it was. Car had stock engine mounts and still had a bsm.

I am going with the 1.9TDI from Frans for my project.

I wanted to update this on my end since I know there are at least a few of you that are interested. I have installed the modified (u)s spec Valeo and I have had a chance to drive it several miles through the city. It is very similar to the original feel of the stock valeo, very smooth engagement and zero shutter. It is noticeably grabbier but not by a lot, very easy to drive. Once it is broken-in I will report back but so far I am very pleased.

Whitbread said:

I talked to blujett and gave him the suggestion of actually trying to keep the rpms at idle when letting the clutch out. I drove one of the fx350 setups with my 30lb flywheel for a few days and it's butter smooth letting the clutch out keeping the rpms at idle with 1100miles on it now. It's grabbier than a stock clutch, but zero shudder or vibration on engagement. I was pleasantly surprised just how smooth it was. Car had stock engine mounts and still had a bsm.

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UPDATE: Thanks for the advice Whitbread. I ended up following his suggestion and the engagement is MUCH smoother. I now hit 1100miles on the new clutch and it's wearing in quite nice. VERY satisfied with the setup. Looking forward to posting back how it does with towing.

newlitemotorist said:

I wanted to update this on my end since I know there are at least a few of you that are interested. I have installed the modified (u)s spec Valeo and I have had a chance to drive it several miles through the city. It is very similar to the original feel of the stock valeo, very smooth engagement and zero shutter. It is noticeably grabbier but not by a lot, very easy to drive. Once it is broken-in I will report back but so far I am very pleased.

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Anything to update? Looking to send my slipping Valeo off to south bend soon.

UPDATE: I'm at 5K miles on my Clutchmasters clutch/Whitbread 35lb flywheel. I've been running it hard and no slipping at all. I've got used to the chatter on idle but I still don't think it's very much. I hooked up the camper and gave it a short run and it's solid! Thanks Whitbread!

How have the guys looking at refinishing the Valeo 1.8T clutches doing? Any updates?

blujett2.0 said:

UPDATE: I'm at 5K miles on my Southbend clutch/Whitbread 35lb flywheel. I've been running it hard and no slipping at all. I've got used to the chatter on idle but I still don't think it's very much. I hooked up the camper and gave it a short run and it's solid! Thanks Whitbread!

How have the guys looking at refinishing the Valeo 1.8T clutches doing? Any updates?

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You mean clutchmasters . Glad to hear it's serving you well! Did you try changing oil to redline lightweight shockproof to quiet the gear rattle at idle? I've had extremely good luck with it in any trans behind a tdi (including an NV3550 in a wrangler with an ahu) to nearly eliminate the gear rattle at idle.

Whitbread said:

You mean clutchmasters . Glad to hear it's serving you well! Did you try changing oil to redline lightweight shockproof to quiet the gear rattle at idle? I've had extremely good luck with it in any trans behind a tdi (including an NV3550 in a wrangler with an ahu) to nearly eliminate the gear rattle at idle.

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WHOA! What am I smoking? YES I mean clutchmasters! I haven't upgraded the oil yet. I should get that done when the new cam goes in. Thanks!

Seeking current recommendations on flywheels for the B5.5 TDI / O1E combination. [I have a message in to Matt Whitbread, who did the conversion several years ago for the guy I bought the car from, but want to cover more bases to get the car back on the road sooner]

Matt told me that my car received a slightly lighter-weight flywheel back then (certainly not one of his 32-pounders) and that likely contributes to some chatter that I notice when shifting. Well, late last week I couldn't get reverse, and now that the shop has wiggled the linkage, all I've got is reverse. So the transmission is coming out for a look/repair, and while it is out I figured it was a good time to think about the flywheel. My fingers are crossed that the clutch, with 15k miles or so on it, is ok and that it would be compatible with new flywheel.

Engine got a level-1 tune years ago, so I'm not putting lots of boosted torque into the transmission, if that makes a difference.

What's working these days?

Thanks!

I have the exact same flywheel you have in my Passat. It might be simply that the shifter linkages came loose and need to be adjusted again. I had a S4 that suddenly came loose while driving, I went to take off from the light and almost backed into the car behind me!

Pull up the boot, you will see a few linkages, you can make the required adjustments from there, google for o1E shifter adjustment. IIRC it just takes a 5mm allen key.

I see no need to change the flywheel setup, adjust the shifter linkages and see where it goes from there.

What "chatter" are you talking about? Can you try to explain it a little better?

I have about 20K miles on my Clutchmasters FX25 and Whitbread 32lb flywheel. Engagement is still a bit choppy when going into 1st. I've learned to just live with it. The car has VERY smooth engagement otherwise. Mine chatters just a bit on idle with the clutch out but it's got much quieter over time.

I was too late to the table to get the Whitbread setup (Didn't find out about it until I had already paid for my order). I went with a Darkside DMF / SRE clutch assembly from RyanP. Chattered a bit on take up when it was new, but has now bedded in nicely. Holds torque on a stg 1.5 tune fine. Slightly higher than stock pedal effort.

No Chatter at idle, but then it is an OE DMF. Only downside on the setup was/is cost.

JFettig, the "chatter" is more like a light grind going into 3rd and 4th. Matt said that at that point the lighter flywheel lets the rpms drop a bit fast. He offered to replace the synchros for me free of charge (very generous), but I balked at shipping from Washington to Michigan. He said that the balancer would take care of most of the issue and the 32-pounder would handle the rest. Since transmission is out to have the reverse checked, I may just have the shop look at the synchros, upgrade to CF there, and get a balancer pulley.

I have a Valeo 835012 SMF kit for the 1.9 euro Passat tdi.
I got a stage 2 tune and it will slip a little in 4th and 5th if you are getting on it pretty good.

Will any other clutches fit my flywheel?

I do some fairly heavy towing so I am not sure the relining of my clutch will work or
not and I don't want any extra down time.

Jake Brake said:

I have a Valeo 835012 SMF kit for the 1.9 euro Passat tdi.
I got a stage 2 tune and it will slip a little in 4th and 5th if you are getting on it pretty good.

Will any other clutches fit my flywheel?

I do some fairly heavy towing so I am not sure the relining of my clutch will work or
not and I don't want any extra down time.

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I think valeo uses a proprietary flywheel. Send the disk and PP to Southbend and have them reline it. My brother plans on doing the same, as well as another member on here did the same.

I am considering that, but was concerned about moderate to heavy towing with it.
my clutch is getting worse, still driveable, but not for long.
Man this thing is a beast with the tune!

Yeah I was stage 2 before and after the manual swap. Really a different animal with the trans swap.

I went with a Valeo SMF kit for the 1.8t passat and sent the whole kit to Southbend to have them reline it with the stage 2 endurance lining. I have a TDtune stage 2 tune and have about 5k miles on the setup, no slipping stock pedal feel and pretty smooth engagement. I think I gave $300 for the kit and $350 for southbend reline so $650 total. Several others on here have the same clutch and highly recommended it with many more miles than I have on mine.

Thanks, I am on the fence on this one. I would like the heavier flywheel, but budget is tight right now. You do any towing with your set up?

I guess another way to look at it is the clutch will go before the gearbox.

Rowingfish87 said:

I went with a Valeo SMF kit for the 1.8t passat and sent the whole kit to Southbend to have them reline it with the stage 2 endurance lining. I have a TDtune stage 2 tune and have about 5k miles on the setup, no slipping stock pedal feel and pretty smooth engagement. I think I gave $300 for the kit and $350 for southbend reline so $650 total. Several others on here have the same clutch and highly recommended it with many more miles than I have on mine.

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What is a Stage 2 Endurance lining? Fancy name for kevlar?

imo000 said:

What is a Stage 2 Endurance lining? Fancy name for kevlar?

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From Southbend's website:
"The friction material is a hybrid using a full face Feramic (Sintered Iron) lining on the flywheel side and a high metal content Organic lining on the pressure plate side. "

Thanks for the explanation.

I have sent my clutch, pressure plate and flywheel off to South Bend. Anxiously waiting to hear back from them.

Jake Brake said:

I have sent my clutch, pressure plate and flywheel off to South Bend. Anxiously waiting to hear back from them.

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Haha. Was just there yesterday. I should have looked for it.

Has anyone tried using a lightened flywheel to reduce rotational weight?