Clutch Repairs and Replacement in Ellenbrook

Prime Euro Services repairs and replaces clutches at 3/37 The Broadway, Ellenbrook. All makes and models. Licensed WA motor vehicle repair business, MRB 8069.

A clutch is a wear item. It is designed to slip a little every time you pull away, and that is what wears it out. How long it lasts depends far more on how the car is driven than on how far.

What is actually in there

People say "the clutch" as if it were one part. It is a set of parts that work together, and they wear together:

• The friction plate. The wearing part, like a brake pad.
• The pressure plate. Clamps the friction plate against the flywheel. Its spring weakens with heat and age.
• The release bearing. Pushes the pressure plate when you press the pedal. This is what is usually making the noise.
• The flywheel. The surface the friction plate grips.

This is why a clutch is replaced as a kit. The gearbox has to come out to reach any of it, so fitting one new part next to three worn ones means paying the same labour again shortly after.

Signs your clutch is going

• Slipping. Engine revs climb but the car does not speed up to match. Most obvious in a high gear going up a hill.
• A high bite point. The clutch grabs near the top of the pedal travel when it used to grab lower.
• Judder as you pull away. The car shudders instead of moving off smoothly.
• Noise. A rumble or whine that changes when you press the pedal, which usually points at the release bearing.
• A heavy or sinking pedal. Often the hydraulics rather than the clutch itself.
• A burning smell after hills or traffic.

Slipping is the one to act on. A slipping clutch is generating heat, and heat is what damages the flywheel. Catch it early and the flywheel may be reusable. Leave it and it will not be.

Dual mass flywheels, and why European quotes come in higher

Most modern European cars, and nearly all diesels, run a dual mass flywheel. It is two plates with springs between them, there to absorb engine vibration before it reaches the gearbox. It makes the car much smoother to drive.

It is also a wear item with springs inside it, and it cannot be machined flat the way an old solid flywheel could. When it is worn it gets replaced, and it is often the most expensive single part in the job.

That is why a clutch quote on a VW, Audi, BMW or Mercedes can look high next to one for an older car. It is usually the flywheel, not the clutch.

A worn dual mass flywheel rattles at idle, and the rattle often changes or disappears when you press the clutch pedal. If that sounds like your car, it is worth checking before the clutch is condemned.

It is not always the clutch

A clutch is hydraulic on nearly every modern car. A failing master or slave cylinder gives you a pedal that sinks to the floor, or a gearbox that will not go into gear, and neither of those needs the gearbox removed to fix.

We check the hydraulics and the adjustment before we quote a clutch. Diagnostic work is charged at $170 per hour including GST, and we find the actual fault before we quote the repair, so nobody pays for a gearbox removal that was never needed.

How we quote it

We tell you what we found, what it means and what it will cost, in plain words. Nothing goes ahead until you say so. Our own parts and labour carry a 12 month warranty.

It is a bigger job than most, so the car will be with us. We do not have a courtesy car, so plan a lift when you book.

Book a clutch inspection in Ellenbrook

Prime Euro Services
3/37 The Broadway, Ellenbrook WA 6069
Phone (08) 6296 3894
Licence MRB 8069

Open Monday to Friday 7:00am to 5:00pm, and Saturday 7:00am to 12:00pm. Closed Sundays. Call or send an enquiry.

Questions we get asked

How long does a clutch last?

There is no honest number. Driving style decides it. Stop start traffic and riding the pedal wear one out far faster than open road kilometres.

Can you just do the plate and leave the flywheel?

Sometimes, if the flywheel measures within specification. We measure it rather than guess, and we tell you what we found before we order parts.

Do you work on automatics and DSGs?

Transmission work is part of what we do. Tell us what the car is doing and we will tell you whether it is something we take on. See our Ellenbrook mechanic page and diagnostics.