Today, we are reporting on an interesting case from a garage, where they replaced the dual mass flywheel and the clutch on a customer’s vehicle. Unfortunately, the vehicle suffered another breakdown due to clutch damage shortly after leaving the garage. When disassembling the vehicle, it was noticed that the hub profile of the clutch disc had completely worn away.

Our REPXPERTs assessed the damage on site and at first it seemed that the garage had carried out all of the work correctly. But on closer inspection, the team noticed that a new set of bolts had been used to attach the clutch pressure plate to the dual mass flywheel. These bolts were slightly longer than the ones that had originally been used. Due to the open threaded bores in the secondary mass, the bolts protruded so far out of the reverse side that they struck the primary mass, preventing the dual mass flywheel from working as it should. A rigid clutch disc had also been used in this clutch kit, meaning that the torsional vibrations from the engine acted on the connection between the hub and the transmission input shaft without any damping. Ultimately, the higher load caused the hub profile to rapidly wear away, subsequently causing the clutch to fail.Instructions for Servicing:
If new bolts are included in the packaging for the clutch or the dual mass flywheel, these bolts must be used. If no bolts are included, only bolts with the same length and strength as the original equipment must be used. Only replace the original bolts if this is recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.