DIY Clutch & DMF Recommendations

[MartinMc]

Hi Everyone,
I need to replace my clutch and DMF but was wondering what people’s experiences are with the different brands?
Like many of us I will shop around and see deals online for the likes of Valeo, LUK or Sachs and being human we are all at least tempted by a special offer.
I will be taking this job on at home as sadly we have our daily drivers both need spending on.
I’d be really interested in people’s experiences above marketing as I really can’t afford to buy cheap and buy twice.
Thank you for any advice

 

[Howzat]

Mine had a LUK fitted last year to fix my juddering in 1st and reverse problem and it's done the job. Can't really say if its better than any of those other brands you mentioned. I guess only time will tell.

 

[Dav-Tec]

Speak to @Nutexa Frictions mate, they're clutches are awesome! Really good kit and stronger than any of the stock main stream brands

 

[Nutexa Frictions]

Hi, if you undertaking the Job yourself on the driveway, if you send us the old clutch plate/cover when you take it out we can fully refurbish it and send back like brand new.
we do 100's of refurbs for Toyota cars and commercial clutches every year.

We could also make you a brand new uprated one.


HOW CLUTCH CAME IN....


CLUTCH FULLY REFURBISHED

 

[MartinMc]

Thank you for the tip, hadn’t considered refurbing the clutch, almost thought that was a thing of the past.

Speak to @Nutexa Frictions mate, their clutches are awesome! Really good kit and stronger than any of the stock main stream brands

Thank you for reaching out, it does sound like an interesting option especially the upgraded version as when I get further down the conversion route I would be considering a remap. Are there any negatives with the uprated version? Do you supply any of the other parts such as the DMF, bolts or slave cylinder?
Thanks again.

Mine had a LUK fitted last year to fix my juddering in 1st and reverse problem and it's done the job. Can't really say if it’s better than any of those other brands you mentioned. I guess only time will tell.

Thanks for the feedback, LUK do pop up on deal at GSF and the like, I kind of get the feeling the DMF is more problematic at times, I haven’t experienced any clutch problems it’s coming out because the DMF sounds awful.

 

[Nutexa Frictions]

it would all depend on the lb/ft torque on the remap, but we could do a uprated organic clutch with a stronger cover plate, we can also supply the DMF’s and slaves

 

[MartinMc]

Mine had a LUK fitted last year to fix my juddering in 1st and reverse problem and it's done the job. Can't really say if its better than any of those other brands you mentioned. I guess only time will tell.

Mine had a LUK fitted last year to fix my juddering in 1st and reverse problem and it's done the job. Can't really say if its better than any of those other brands you mentioned. I guess only time will tell.

it would all depend on the lb/ft torque on the remap, but we could do a uprated organic clutch with a stronger cover plate, we can also supply the DMF’s and slaves

That all makes sense, as the vehicle weight increases with the build, larger wheels fitted and an increase in torque output any clutch is going to get a harder time. It’s a T28 102 5 speed so I won’t be going too mad, I think folks on here talk about going from the 240NM to 340NM range but I’d do my research fully first, hopefully someone will jump in with what’s a sensible and trouble free figure for this drivetrain setup? As long as there isn’t a noticeable increase in required pedal pressure what’s not to like?

 

[Dav-Tec]

it would all depend on the lb/ft torque on the remap, but we could do a uprated organic clutch with a stronger cover plate, we can also supply the DMF’s and slaves

Russ I'll send you a message mate what spec it'll probably need we map stacks of 5 speeds

 

[Slunkie]

Hi Everyone,
I need to replace my clutch and DMF but was wondering what people’s experiences are with the different brands?
Like many of us I will shop around and see deals online for the likes of Valeo, LUK or Sachs and being human we are all at least tempted by a special offer.
I will be taking this job on at home as sadly we have our daily drivers both need spending on.
I’d be really interested in people’s experiences above marketing as I really can’t afford to buy cheap and buy twice.
Thank you for any advice

Which DMF did you go for in the end and why?

I'm about to change mine and wondering whether to go Sachs or LUK as there's only about £20 between them, would be great to know if one or the other is known to be more durable.

Obviously no reason to spend the extra £££ on genuine VW as they all seem to fail earlier than one would expect, sometimes barely out the factory!

 

[Sasquatch]

OE clutches are by ZF Sachs. Confusingly, that's not to say aftermarket Sachs branded clutches are necessarily identical to VW branded items.

I'd go LuK, although that's a general rule as I've not yet specific experience on the T6 for this,

 

[MartinMc]

Which DMF did you go for in the end and why?

I'm about to change mine and wondering whether to go Sachs or LUK as there's only about £20 between them, would be great to know if one or the other is known to be more durable.

Obviously no reason to spend the extra £££ on genuine VW as they all seem to fail earlier than one would expect, sometimes barely out the factory!

Overall the job didn’t go as planned,
I needed the best value option and as prices can fluctuate on the parts I sourced two complete Sachs kits online, each one was returned as they appeared to be remanufactured or at best definitely not new. I went with the complete LUK kit and it appeared identical to the original setup that came out. I haven’t done anywhere near enough miles to talk about quality or longevity but it’s certainly all performing as expected. As a side note the bulk of the rattling noises I had was actually coming from the alternator clutch pulley, I’d overlooked that at the time thinking it was all DMF sounding ready to explode by the end. I was doing limited driving and lots of cringing at the sound as I recall.
If I have to go this route again I would probably go the LUK route for peace of mind, I see my issue here as being Sachs kits I had were likely not genuine and it’s more of a seller issue.
I love the idea of the refurbished and upgraded opportunity from DavTec but in the end I didn’t have the time to wait for my parts to be turned around and shipped back.

 

[Slunkie]

@MartinMc & @Sasquatch

All super useful info, thanks very much. I'll go LuK then, slightly cheaper anyway.

Funnily enough I just had exactly the same situation with the alternator pulley but was hugely relieved when I noticed the aux belt going mad. A very quick job that one, need to build up some courage before I tackle the DMF! I'll do the easy bit and just order it in for now.

 

[MartinMc]

Sadly I bottled doing the job myself and my friend did it in his commercial garage for mates rates. I think as long as you can get decent enough height and support from above if you don’t have a ramp to put it on of course, it’s all doable. The time and weather factors swayed my decision in the end

 

[Slunkie]

Sadly I bottled doing the job myself and my friend did it in his commercial garage for mates rates. I think as long as you can get decent enough height and support from above if you don’t have a ramp to put it on of course, it’s all doable. The time and weather factors swayed my decision in the end

Honestly if I had a mechanic mate I'd do the same. Maybe it can wait until spring...