Clutch Question

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

I’ve noticed that the last couple of weeks, my clutch pedal engagement point has gotten very close to the top of the stroke. I don’t have to push it in very far for it to engage and break the connection between flywheel and trans. Is this indicative of a worn out clutch, or might it be fluid related? The car has about 102k on it, but I got it with around 80k and don’t know the full history before. Could be original or not.

And what does a new clutch go for? Something like $1500 parts and $1000 labor?

#2

The engagement up at the top is a good sign either something is wrong or the clutch self adjustable unit has moved again. Our clutches have a self adjustable pressure plate the idea is to keep the engagement at a constant level as the disk wares out. So the higher engagement point that would point to the clutch wearing out.

Getting a new clutch isn’t really expensive and depending on your goals with the car you can actually get some performance out of upgrading if you get a lightweight flywheel

What are your plans for the car. What mods do you have and what mods do you plan to get.

#3

It is probably your clutch wearing out.

How does the pedal feel? Does it get stiff as you get towards the floor? Is it totally smooth and easy all the way to the floor? Those are also signs of the clutch wearing out.

Justin’s last three questions will really help you decide which clutch kit to go with. If you are staying mostly stock then get a B7 flywheel and clutch kit. If you are going mildly modified like with the JHM tune, piggies, and catback exhaust then get the JHM stage 3 or 4 clutch kit. If you want more power than that then you want to get the JHM R-series clutch kit.

#4

Does anyone have any idea how many self adjusting “notches” there are? Or an idea of how long you have at each adjustment? And yes, I realize that depends a lot on how you drive it, just looking for some ballpark value or range.

The only mods I have thus far are a set of JHM piggies. Was considering the JHM tune, but I don’t think there is a shop in the Chicagoland area that supports it. The car has over 100k on it and got a new long block around 65k, but the new engine isn’t the most healthy. Compression is just below Audi’s wear limit on 3 of 4 cylinders on one bank, so I’m hesitant to do too much to the car and risk increasing the wear rate or have it just be a sunk cost on a bad motor.

What kind of gains does a JHM LW flywheel give? How does it compare to stock?

#5

reducing 10-13 lbs of rotating mass literally at the flywheel is pretty valuable. Doesn’t add any power, but might feel like taking 100 lbs of sprung weight out of the car. Which is significant. Think running the quarter mile with your spare + another wheel in the trunk, vs none.

#6

I had the same issue around 98k, I went and bought a JHM stage 4 clutch and LW flywheel. Had it installed by a local shop, they showed me the old clutch and it was almost at the rivets. I DD my car and for the past 26k with the setup (at 124k now) I’ve had no issues with it! It makes a huge difference in the overall feel of the car, the revs flow a lot nicer. Worth every penny IMO, plus if you have a dual mass to begin with you can ditch it for the single mass.

#7

What is a reasonable price for labor for a clutch installation? Is there anything else worth doing while doing the clutch? At least anything that isn’t in the range of the $5k timing chain service.

#8

I can look up my invoice for you, but I believe I paid $1100ish for the labor to install. I also replaced my trans mount with an 034 street density mount. I’m not sure what else you could do as far as maintenance. Maybe change the fluid?

#9

I got JHM tuned at Dynarev in mundelein, theres also a dealer called axels automotive in lake bluff where you can get flashed. Good experience for me at Dynarev though!

#10

If your not tuned getting tuned at the same time would be good. Check your mounts for the motor transmission the front snub and all the other regular suspects.

Get the lightweight flywheel with the clutch it’s a great performance addition.

#11

If the slave cylinder was going out, would the symptoms be like this? Or is there a way to inspect the clutch to see if wear is the issue? I’d really love to avoid the $2600 bill if possible.

Also, anyone on here in Chicagoland? If so, are there any meet ups in the area ever?

#12

Not in Chicago anymore but check out CPT. They should be selling JHM tunes now.

#13

The meets this time of year tend to be less and less. When I’m in Chicago I’m in near north where are you. It’s not very likely that it is the slave. Are you missing fluid or leaking any. I would say more then not if it’s a fluid issue the pedal would go to the floor

#14

I’m out on the west side in the Naperville area.

So I got a quote from the shop that I usually use and he said for stock parts it would be $2600 before tax, and $1600 just for the labor/consumables. Does the labor seem a little high on that?

#15

CPT charged me $1,100 for the clutch install and they charge something like $140-$150 per hour.

Definitely get a lw flywheel and clutch from JHM. They have the R series that don’t have a self adjusting pressure plate which may be your problem.

#16

That’s crazy high. The labor should be $750-$1,000 depending on labor rate/hr.

The OEM parts RETAIL is $2,161 - (flywheel $1,306, clutch kit $855 [Contains: (1) Disc (1) Pressure Plate (1) Release Bearing (1) Pilot Bearing)

I suggest going JHM R-Series and finding a reputable shop with reasonable labor costs to do the install. You’ll save time, money and repeating the same headache in the future by going to the non SAC style PP.

#17

CPT is expensive. If I were having a clutch done on my S4 I would probably have it done by Hans at Dean’s Performance. It’s mainly a modular ford shop but he also does a lot of euro stuff, BMW specifically.

An S4 clutch is not rocket science and any tech can successfully do it. They key is the tech needs to have an attention detail, and most importantly, check prior knowledge at the door and FOLLOW the JHM instructions.

Go with the Stage 4. Stage 3 can’t really take the heat of repetitive abuse in my opinion.