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Slippy clutch (?) on my RS4

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:50 pm
by ben
Hello, I hope anyone can help with my problem.
It's like this:


Suddenly today I was out driving, I accelerated at max and no acceleration happened. What happened was that the rev counter increased to it maximum. This happens only when I press the pedal to the bottom. If I drive what many people call normal, this does not happen.

It seems like there are no connection in the driving gear and the engine is raced without increasing any speed. Do you think it's the clutch is worn? If not, what else can it be? Anyone experienced this problem?

How much do I have to pay for an RS4 clutch? And how can anything like this happen so sudden?

How long should an RS4 clutch last?

PS: I have MTM tuning which get's me 450hp, maybe that's why?

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:53 pm
by Diesel
Ben, was it in gear? And if so which one of 7?

Very important questions.

D

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:20 pm
by ben
It's on gear 3, 4 and 5 as far as I know. Havent tried 6

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:30 pm
by FrankC
As far as i know the clutch in an RS4 is rated up to 600bhp.
What miles has the car covered?,as i have heard of clutches packing in at 25k
Cheers fc

ps you are looking at a grand to change the clutch out :(

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:00 pm
by ben
The car has covered 70k recently!
But does my problem sound like a cluch problem? I don't hope it's something else.

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:52 pm
by simple1
If it has happening in higher gears, it is most probably clutch, Try putting car in third from standstill, if it is the clutch the car will not stall.....bummer. the life of an RS4 clutch seems to vary, mine has done 64K without being changed, others have reported problems as low as 30K

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 8:30 pm
by Golich
I assume by pedal to the floor you are reffering to the thottle?

It sounds like the clutch, Simple1's test is one to check.

Before buying my car I checked its service history and dicovered the clutch went on it at 25K. The previous owner is adiment it was not through his driving. He'd 4 other Audis without probs. He had no reason to lie to me as he'd traded the car when I spoke him.

Yup £1K is about right. There's quite a bit of work involved in getting it out - Hence the cost.

60K is pretty good going for a 450bhp car only designed for 325ftlb torque. you have approx another 100ftlb on top of that again.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 8:41 pm
by S4RS4
FrankC wrote:As far as i know the clutch in an RS4 is rated up to 600bhp.
What miles has the car covered?,as i have heard of clutches packing in at 25k
Cheers fc

ps you are looking at a grand to change the clutch out :(
No way will the RS4 clutch handle 600bhp. There are people with 460+ that have problems.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 9:59 pm
by Jani
With clutch it is not about power that it can handle, it is about torque. Otherwise it would slip in small gears.

I do agree though, that stage 3 ==460 hp apparently seems to be the max for stock clutch.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:06 pm
by Diesel
Looks like the clutch then - you mentioned the slipping in higher gears thing to me...

Put a BETTER one in and get a Ford mechanic to do it! Changing a clutch is pi$$ easy if you have a ramp. Drop the engine, split the housing, centre the new one up - off you go. 1/2 a day's work.

No MYSTERY or 'main dealer' premium nonsense FFS. Lets not be lemmings here - tricky electronics are a different thing, but ther is NOTHING unique about any Audi's clutch compared to a 1970 Ford Anglia...!!!

D (still venting after hearing £1200 for the job!!!!)

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2004 2:52 pm
by ben
Thank you all for your help, tips and tricks. I'm more sure now, it must be the clutch. I even felt the clutct smell after I parked the car in the garage. I will change the clutch sometime this week.

Diesel: I don't think I want to do this myself. My skills in car mechanics isn't as good as it should be.

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2004 4:07 pm
by Diesel
Agree Ben - all that bravado above from me and I havent changed a clutch since my Mk1 Escort in 1984 :wink: [it was easy though - especially once I found out about some 'centering tool' and did it again properly!!!]

I'm just saying that it doesnt have to be a £85 an hour merchant - any decent mechanic you know of could do it.

D

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:14 pm
by simple1
just make sure he/she has some good mates. It takes three to lift the box and one to guide it into place :thumb:

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:32 pm
by Golich
I agree with Diesel, any decent mechanic and you can buy the Audi Erwin Manual section approx £12 each or the Bentley CD £50-70 for those "What the F##k is holding it on (hidden away bolt) moments..." :bigblink:

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:02 pm
by ben
Hello again people. Now I have some more questions and information.

I spoke to my local Audi & VW dealer today, they have of course workshop too. He said to change the clutch and two slivers/disks (?! - what is that?) would cost me 1,273.09 GBP/2,348.46 USD/1,837.60 EUR. Then the work on it for the repair men is included. Does not this sound like TOO much?

They also said it was a 15-17 hour work. *sigh*