ALH Clutch Suggestions Needed

[Dhawk12]

I have an 02 ALH that is an auto to manual conversion (so 11mm pump) and it has injectors that I got from another manual engine without a tune that the owner said "were the biggest he could go without a tune". I did have to hammer mod to minimize smoke, there is almost none except for WOT runs.

It is a SMF (southbend) and a Sachs clutch of some sort that was on the donor car I pulled the trans from at the pick n pull. (Some photos I took when installed included)

It made it close to 4 years, but I think that clutch is going so looking for suggestions and sources for replacing in Canada.

Should I/ do I need to find another clutch for a SMF that can handle the slight bump in power, or should I just go back to the LUK DMF and will it handle the power? TIA

 

[Nero Morg]

As long as the flywheel is good, reuse it, and get another south bend clutch. Get a stage 2 daily, good for stock, and can handle a fairly decent power bump.

Consider replacing the pivot joint and release fork while you are in there.

 

[Windex]

I put the Luk 17-050 into my B4 passat on a stg 2. Handled the torque in that heavier car no problem. Added bonus of no gear rattle in drivethroughs

 

[Judson]

I much prefer DMF. Quieter, smoother. Just my preference. On my old 98 VR6 the SMF was the way to go.

 

[jokila]

I went back with DMF. They are better made nowadays. Smooth.

 

[Dhawk12]

Yeah I am torn between finding another SBC clutch in Canada (pricey it seems) vs the LUK DMF kit which is like $400 on Amazon lol.

 

[PakProtector]

Sachs VR6 smf and flywheel is smooth. On a low rpm/gentle take off, it is smoother than a 17-050( it is working the flywheel less ). If the rattle is important, you will need a DMF. I just have manual sticks in my auto swap alh, and am quite a fan of the SMF VR6 rig by Sachs.
cheers,
Douglas

 

[jokila]

Yeah I am torn between finding another SBC clutch in Canada (pricey it seems) vs the LUK DMF kit which is like $400 on Amazon lol.

$339

Complete Clutch Replacement Kit (A4)

If you need to replace the clutch on your high mileage TDI and want to stick with the super-smooth DMF setup, this is the kit to go with. The main clutch component in this kit is preferred th...

www.idparts.com

 

[Dhawk12]

$339

Complete Clutch Replacement Kit (A4)

If you need to replace the clutch on your high mileage TDI and want to stick with the super-smooth DMF setup, this is the kit to go with. The main clutch component in this kit is preferred th...

www.idparts.com

Normally I buy from Idparts or Roseland, but shipping to the border and the Canadian dollar make that a bit hard, and Roseland doesn't seem to stock the LUk kit.

 

[Windex]

Normally I buy from Idparts or Roseland, but shipping to the border and the Canadian dollar make that a bit hard, and Roseland doesn't seem to stock the LUk kit.

Rockauto - 402.00 shipped with HST to my door in Ontario

2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 1.9L L4 DIESEL Turbocharged Clutch Kit | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

 

[pkhoury]

Sachs VR6 smf and flywheel is smooth. On a low rpm/gentle take off, it is smoother than a 17-050( it is working the flywheel less ). If the rattle is important, you will need a DMF. I just have manual sticks in my auto swap alh, and am quite a fan of the SMF VR6 rig by Sachs.
cheers,
Douglas

Good to know. I'm in the same boat I think as the OP. Now y'all can make fun of me; I really want that TDC mark on the flywheel (car currently has a $100-ish XTD Stage 2 on it), but I have suspicions the previous owner's shade tree mechanic didn't install the rear main seal properly or at all (because there's a slow oil leak).

So I presume the VR6 smf and clutch should be fine for say a Stage 2 or Stage 3 tune on an ALH?

 

[PakProtector]

HA! I think it unwise to bet that 'you will be fine with ____ clutch'. Now it would be easy to say a VR6 clutch will hold a stock engine...LOL
cheers,
Douglas

 

[csstevej]

I’m running a VR6/g60 set up on my golf with 11MM pump , sprint 520’s and a Malone stage 3…..clutch has 320,xxx miles on it , taught 3 kids to drive a stick and still holding on the power set up, car currently has 447,xxx miles on it.

 

[Dhawk12]

Sachs VR6 smf and flywheel is smooth. On a low rpm/gentle take off, it is smoother than a 17-050( it is working the flywheel less ). If the rattle is important, you will need a DMF. I just have manual sticks in my auto swap alh, and am quite a fan of the SMF VR6 rig by Sachs.
cheers,
Douglas

You got me thinking, is my clutch really going? It doesn't seem to be slipping under high load pulls, just starting off in 1st or reverse has what I can only describe as the engine shaking until the clutch is fully engaged. It happened about a year ago but then went away for awhile. I was thinking it was a sign that something was glazed from slipping and so it was grabbing and then slipping repeatedly making the engine shake, but maybe I'm wrong on that and I'm expecting it to be smoother than it should be.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Could be worn engine and transmission mounts. I was getting a very occasionally shudder on engagement with my SBC Stage 2 daily, new mounts made it go away entirely. 150K on the clutch.

BTW, Windex SBC clutches don't rattle at idle in neutral anymore. They have used the same disc as the A3/B4 stock clutch for years. Quiet.

 

[Dhawk12]

Could be worn engine and transmission mounts. I was getting a very occasionally shudder on engagement with my SBC Stage 2 daily, new mounts made it go away entirely. 150K on the clutch.

BTW, Windex SBC clutches don't rattle at idle in neutral anymore. They have used the same disc as the A3/B4 stock clutch for years. Quiet.

Yeah now that I think about it more I did change the dog bone mount back then and I think that is when it went away. Strange that the dogbone could be gone again.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

If the other mounts are overdue for replacement the dogbone will fail more quickly.

 

[Fahrvegnugen]

Anyone get shuddering from lsd on hard take-off? I got new mounts and dogbone with wavetrac lsd. Hard accel in first is only time it ever shudders. So I always figured it must be the differential. If I go easy it doesn’t shudder.

 

[Rrusse11]

"Anyone get shuddering from lsd on hard take-off?"

Never a problem with my Peloquin and SBC 2E, NB I have an early SouthBend, no "silent". You might be getting a bit of glazing, When I was babying it a bit, it used to chatter a touch, be a little more aggressive on the throttle and you should clean it up.

 

[Fahrvegnugen]

Went for drive thinking of this so I tried it, after slipping clutch in every gear I have decided it’s bad news for the clutch. Barely even used. I think I drive it too hard with my abrupt mashing of the go pedal. Figured it would be immune to the 136 hp 240 tq setup. It always shuddered right from the beginning of its 10,000 mile journey

 

[Rrusse11]

@Fahrvegnugen ,

Hmmm, no mention of what your current clutch is. Ayup, you need an upgrade. Bite the bullet, if you're hard on
a clutch, get the SBC Stage 2 Endurance, my experience is to buy more clutch than you think you'll ever need.
Not cheap, but it will solve the problem. I've got ~60k on mine, and it was used when I got it, supposedly with
circa 10k on it. Rock solid, I doubt I'll wear it out, bearing and pivot will go before I trash the disc, and
I'm running a 26psi tune, guessing here around 170hp 300#s with a Peloquin. Never a hint of slipping under
load.

My $.02 FWIW

 

[Fahrvegnugen]

Year old south bend stage 2 daily with about 10k. Figured I overbit that bullet already. Thanks you’ll get me psyched to buy another one

 

[Rrusse11]

Wow, what are you like on brakes?????????? Mebbe you should talk to Nero about his Stage 3 SBC, a bit heavy on the
pedal apparently, but that should do ya'. The SBC 2 Endurance is Kevlar. I'm told that if you remove and send it in
to Southbend they can rebuild them. Time frame may be difficult if it's a daily driver but.

 

[Nero Morg]

Some days I dread the stage 3 pedal feel. But I'm also on my feet all day as a semi truck mechanic.

 

[PakProtector]

These wee clutches are finger clutches...and the bigger Luk in Lurch is no biggie either( the 05-101 ). Unless I break my kneecap again...LOL
cheers,
Douglas

 

[TDI-Jim]

Good to know. I'm in the same boat I think as the OP. Now y'all can make fun of me; I really want that TDC mark on the flywheel (car currently has a $100-ish XTD Stage 2 on it), but I have suspicions the previous owner's shade tree mechanic didn't install the rear main seal properly or at all (because there's a slow oil leak).

So I presume the VR6 smf and clutch should be fine for say a Stage 2 or Stage 3 tune on an ALH?

How has the XTD clutch been? Is it worth the savings?

 

[Fahrvegnugen]

Got the endurance clutch today and it is noticeably different that my daily ever was. I'll try to get photos of the trashed daily on here when I can. It grabs way closer to the floor and doesn't shutter. Struggling not to stall the car in first now. Never had trouble with that before. The engagement is so light I thought it was shot. It seems much more eager to propel the car forward I can't wait to get it broken in!

I think I'll send it to south bend if possible to see what happened. My brakes don't wear out all the way before rust gets them. I don't go above 3,000 rpm either. I think something went wrong with the daily g60 flywheel combo. I never could properly spin the tires and it never propelled the car like this endurance seems to.

 

[TDI-Jim]

Got the endurance clutch today and it is noticeably different that my daily ever was. I'll try to get photos of the trashed daily on here when I can. It grabs way closer to the floor and doesn't shutter. Struggling not to stall the car in first now. Never had trouble with that before. The engagement is so light I thought it was shot. It seems much more eager to propel the car forward I can't wait to get it broken in!

I think I'll send it to south bend if possible to see what happened. My brakes don't wear out all the way before rust gets them. I don't go above 3,000 rpm either. I think something went wrong with the daily g60 flywheel combo. I never could properly spin the tires and it never propelled the car like this endurance seems to.

Does the endurance clutch mount to the g60 flywheel or does it need a different one? I ordered the g60/vr6 clutch but I'm thinking of returning it to get the stage 2 daily, for future upgrades.

 

[Nuje]

Normally I buy from Idparts or Roseland, but shipping to the border and the Canadian dollar make that a bit hard, and Roseland doesn't seem to stock the LUk kit.

I'm over on Vancouver Island, but even still, I just ordered a SMF/VR6 clutch kit from Aaron at cascadegerman.com - free shipping to Pt. Roberts (or Lynden or Blaine, WA). Drive over, pick it up, declare it at the border, pay basically GST/PST (duty typically hasn't typically been much on car parts for me).
(I'm passing through Vancouver area next weekend, so it's not costing me a ferry trip.)

 

[Nuje]

You got me thinking, is my clutch really going? It doesn't seem to be slipping under high load pulls, just starting off in 1st or reverse has what I can only describe as the engine shaking until the clutch is fully engaged. It happened about a year ago but then went away for awhile. I was thinking it was a sign that something was glazed from slipping and so it was grabbing and then slipping repeatedly making the engine shake, but maybe I'm wrong on that and I'm expecting it to be smoother than it should be.

Yeah - I'd say that your clutch is OK. Sign that the clutch is failing is flooring it at ~80km/h in 5th and watching the revs go up quickly, but the speedometer is barely moving.