Valeo SMF - horrible shifting at -17C

petee_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada
TDI
15 Golf TDI, was 06 Jetta TDI, 15 q7 tdi, was 11 Q7 TDI
My jetta display said -17C this morning... coldest it's been since I had a Valeo SMF clutch kit put in this summer.

Horrible shifting through the gears for the 1st 10 minutes of the commute. ( 2 stop signs, 1 right turn, and had to slow down to 60kph through St Clements..)

- No problems getting into gear, but almost felt like no power/ almost stalling for the 1st 0.5 second of each shift.

Got better after the 1st 20 minutes. Seemed fine at the end of my 60 minute commute this morning.

Is this normal for a SMF clutch kit?

Shifted fine yesterday at -10C

Thanks all,
Peter
 

Johhny04

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Markham, Ontario
TDI
2003 Jetta TDi
Guessing here but I would think it has to do with gear oil in tranny. Not clutch. Have you ever changed the gear fluid in tranny? If so, to what?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
If it feels like it's stalling or losing power, the clutch probably isn't the problem.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Unless the car has sat for a long period of time, cold rarely effects clutch operation.

Gear oil can make shifts very balky, but you would feel that as a shift level which is hard to engage into gear.

If the car hesitates, I would look at engine parameters such as timing, Fuel IQ, GP function etc.

Also, might be a less-than-stellar tank of fuel, perhaps some water content. Fill the tank up and see if the problem persists.
 

dandywriter

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Location
Ottawa (Kanata), Canada, eh?
TDI
2014 Golf Wagon 6M
Had a Valeo SMF for 7 winters; down to -40C at Pembroke. No problem shifting, but I change my tranny fluid every 5 yrs with OEM (what fluid are you running? changed it recently?). I have found the winter front to be essential to quicker heating when it's chilly.
 

Uberhare

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
I'd say to change your gear oil and flush the clutch fluid. I did have a clutch line freeze in Thunderbay last year at -32! Originally thought I'd popped the slave, but it was just frozen and forced the line past the clip. Didn't even drip it was that cold.
 
Last edited:

petee_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada
TDI
15 Golf TDI, was 06 Jetta TDI, 15 q7 tdi, was 11 Q7 TDI
Thanks guys.

Happened again this morning at - 20C on the display.

Tranny fluid on this vehicle may not have ever been changed.

This time, it cleared up in about 5 minutes and back to normal within 10....

Each time I change gears, the car would shudder for a split second and then I could accelerate normally until the next t gear... I don't accelerate hard because everything's still cold.

Is there a water separator I may need to change out? Last time I changed the fuel filter was 3+ yrs ago and 130K km ago...

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Thanks guys.

Happened again this morning at - 20C on the display.

Tranny fluid on this vehicle may not have ever been changed.

This time, it cleared up in about 5 minutes and back to normal within 10....

Each time I change gears, the car would shudder for a split second and then I could accelerate normally until the next t gear... I don't accelerate hard because everything's still cold.

Is there a water separator I may need to change out? Last time I changed the fuel filter was 3+ yrs ago and 130K km ago...

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk
Your fuel filter is due to be changed every 32,000 kilometers. You should be on your 4th fuel filter by now...

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/516/2006_All.pdf
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Sounds to me that the fuel might be gelling up.
 

Uberhare

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
If the filter is getting plugged, cold fuel will not flow very well. Sounds like it's due! I always joke with people its time to change it when they start to rust. (Mine's 5 years old with over 100K now )
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Yeah, I used to use that schedule too, though an incident last year may alter that habit. Two days after having my driveway paved, the filter in my Passat rusted through from the inside, dumping a 1/2 liter of fuel on my fresh pavement, made a nice round hole...
$hit!! They can rust from the inside?
 

P2B

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Toronto & Muskoka, Canada
TDI
2002 Jetta, 2003 Jetta, 2003 Jetta Wagon
$hit!! They can rust from the inside?
They have a drain on the bottom, with a nipple you can connect a hose to and catch whatever comes out.

I'm in the habit of draining 50ml or so every fall. There's usually only a drop or two of water, but on a couple of occasions there's been about a tablespoon.

Simon
 

petee_c

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Location
Heidelberg, Ontario, Canada
TDI
15 Golf TDI, was 06 Jetta TDI, 15 q7 tdi, was 11 Q7 TDI
Yeah I've filled up a couple times since I had that problem...

Maybe just bad fuel...

I'll put off a fuel filter change until the spring when it warms up.
 
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