throw out bearing change ?

I just picked up a 2006 Jetta TDI with 54K miles. Seems like it has a noisy throw-out bearing. Should I attempt this myself or let Jason (Madison WI) do this work along with putting in a clutch? My tranny and clutch experience is with older Boss and Shelby toys and I REALIZE this is VERY different. I have a lift in my shop and am not afraid of getting dirty, just messing it up. Cost estimates anyone??

Probably not the throw out bearing. These cars have a Dual Mass flywheel that is problematic and are prone to failure. There are numerous threads on this. Due a search with the term DMF.

If a DMF clutch is making noise or causing vibration at idle, failure may be eminent and when a DMF clutch fails they usually knock a hole in the transaxle case destroying the transaxle.

Your best bet is to stop driving the car until you can have a trusted VW mechanic check your clutch out.

Almost forgot, welcome to the club.

I talked to Jason today and will trailer the car to him next week. He has the same concern so I'll be taking the careful road.

Exactly what I would do in your case. I bought my A5 new and changed to a SMF clutch at 50K miles simply because I couldn't stand the craptastic engagement of the OEM POS DMF clutch. In my case the DMF didn't display any failure symptoms.

Some other gotcha's these cars have, which Jason should be able to brief you on are:

• Premature cam wear.(PD engine)
• Rear brake(s) dragging.
• The consequences of botched maintenance. (timing belt)

Once you get a handle on the quirks of these cars, you will find that they are fun to drive, solid, reliable and have close to the fuel economy of a Prius without the boredom.

This is my second TDI, other is an '04 sedan with 105K on it. Jason changed the TB at 96K. He usually goes over the car pretty good and points out what he has replaced on others. Is there a way to squeeze out some more mpg on this year? Eat WI cheese to live longer!