A Bit Of Advice On Faulty Clutch And Mechanic

[Andyreww]

Ok so he got his £60quid for fitting the clutch, THE CLUTCH HAS WENT AGAIN. phoned clarke bros who he "says" he gets his parts off, they dont even know him, said for the clutch to go twice, is next to impossible £80 for a clutch kit fo an arosa isnt "cheap dung" either, he wants another £60 quid to fit it for the 3rd time.... anyone any advice?

 

[B20DC2]

i had the same noise and problems u are talking about after i changed a clutch on a fiesta. noise was der when clutch is out and goes away when clutch pedal pushed. it was a the clutch disc not the bearing. he has prob fitted a cheap transmech clutch from eurocarparts. cheap scrap, woulndnt ever use transmech again the bother it gave me. euro took mine back and i paid the extra for a valio. fixed the prob

 

[Andyreww]

Nah, he got it from clarke bros apparently, and its happened twice now mate.

 

[B20DC2]

apparently lol ask the mechanic if u can see the last clutch and bearing he fitted and see what make hes fitted. its cheap scrap o a clutch hes fitted, id bet on it. i had all the probs u have n it was down to the cheap clutch.

 

[Andyreww]

Phoned clarke bros mate and they said never even heard of him, the "Mechanic" says oh its the parts

 

[B20DC2]

it probly is the parts but if he got the parts he is liable for fitting the new clutch, and the mechanic will et the money back for the bad clutch from where he got it from. if its urro he got it from theywont even argue with him coz they told me they get so many returns of the crap transmech clutchs.

 

[stevieturbo]

Parts it may be, but as stated earlier, if HE chose the parts, then HE is liable for them.

it's a lesson any decent mechanic learns early. Fit crap and there is a risk of it coming back. Fit known reputable brands or original, and it is usually fine.

Now if the customer specifies or supplies the cheaper option, then it can be thrown back at them if things go wrong.

 

[Andyreww]

Never specified cheap parts and never would, clarke bros parts are usually decent anyway, he says he can get a new clutch but still wants 60quid for doing it a 3rd time

 

[stevieturbo]

Depends if it was a recon from clarkes, or a brand new unit.

End of the day, the mechanics issue is with Clarkes then.

Although it would baffle me as to how it could fail so many times, without the problem being obvious.

And again, what exactly do you mean by failed ?

 

[Andyreww]

On receipt its new, recon was never mentioned and its been the bearing every time.

 

[Andyreww]

Does anyone know the actual rights though? I mean, he's been paid twice now for the job which he says he has "completed" but at the end of the day he supplied the parts, and I'm left £280 with a broken clutch still?

 

[stevieturbo]

Your transaction is with him. So I'd be surprised if it wasnt up to him to stand over it from start to finish.

There is either another problem, or he's doing something badly wrong. if it is a genuine parts failure, then he needs to take that up with his supplier.

It would be different if it was competition parts or a race car or something where there is rarely any warranty. But not totally standard parts.

 

[Richy]

it probly is the parts but if he got the parts he is liable for fitting the new clutch, and the mechanic will et the money back for the bad clutch from where he got it from. if its urro he got it from theywont even argue with him coz they told me they get so many returns of the crap transmech clutchs.

Yeah no quibble warranties on all our clutches. To be fair, its not usually the bearing that goes on the transmech jobbies, tends to be the plates.

This one is definitely not transmech; i checked ;-)

In sayin that, ive had customers fit literally 100s of transmech clutches with no more returns than the equivalent oe spec clutches.

 

[Andy P]

id be telling him that im contacting trading standards. if he has anything to hide he wont want them sniffing about. i def wouldnt be giving him any more money, take the car to another garage and ask for a report on what the problem is...... and i would name and shame (once you have your car back) to prevent anyone else experiencing the same

 

[Andyreww]

Oh I will be don't worry, and stevie he has no problem changing the clutch. He says his labor isn't included if its the parts and charges for labor every single time

 

[garyhoker]

i fitted a clutch recently judder real bad 206 pug replaced clutch again didnt charge customer as it wasnt there problem put warrinty claim in as a mechanic thats life .... and the new clutch was different make all 3 components were changed ........ keeps everyone happy

 

[Andyreww]

Aye that's cause your a good mechanic, and didn't just say "parts parts" and charge for labor, I gave him the benefit of the doubt the 2nd time because I just wanted the car back for work, but to want paid the 3rd time is taking the piss, the problrm is a really noisy bearing type noise, when you put the clutch in the noise disappears, he rang to say he doesn't think its the clutch at all its the gearbox now? Wonder if trading standards touched a nerve

 

[DC.]

anytime we change a clutch we keep all the bits to let the customer see, some don't bother looking but there's always the possibility that someone will doubt what we've actually fitted.

the whole thing seems a mess, the car shouldn't have left "the mechanic" unless it was perfect.

but saying it has been away he could say it was something you have done whilst driving. I'm not saying you caused anything but be careful incase he uses that as a way out of the whole thing.

Good luck!

 

[tommy309]

im not going to get invovled with the money side of thigns but to me, if your car is making a noise that goes away when u put ur foot on the clutch then its not the clutch, its a geabox/mounting/heatshield etc fault. when u have ur foot on the clutch u disengage the gearbox so the shafts are no longer turning and hence ur noise goes away, u let ur clutch out and it returns, release bearing should only give a noise as the clutch is being being pressed on most cars, unless u have a pull type clutch which on cars is quite rare more of a commercial thing.

 

[Michael M]

I would bite the bullet and take it to a reputable garage to have the work done. Lesson learned and move on.

 

[stevieturbo]

Aye that's cause your a good mechanic, and didn't just say "parts parts" and charge for labor, I gave him the benefit of the doubt the 2nd time because I just wanted the car back for work, but to want paid the 3rd time is taking the piss, the problrm is a really noisy bearing type noise, when you put the clutch in the noise disappears, he rang to say he doesn't think its the clutch at all its the gearbox now? Wonder if trading standards touched a nerve

Explain the problem better, and exactly when it happens

With engine running, car parked, car in any gear and foot on the clutch does it make a noise ? ( ie nothing is turning inside the gearbox at this point.) is there a noise ?

Engine running, car parked, in neutral and clutch not pressed down ? any noise ? ( ie, some gearbox internals are turning )

 

[Andyreww]

Problem is excatly the same as a thrust bearing, it was a faulty clutch the first time, the car wasn't true, so a new clutch was put in made the car drive for a week, then the noise appeared again, if you are driving you can't hear the noise really, its when you are stopped, the clutch is slightly jittery, and making a noise with it in neutral and parked, as soon as you put the clutch in the noise appears, press the clutch in, the noise disappears, it doesn't matter what gear you have it in, if the clutch is in, there is no noise, opened the bonnet and its coming down near the clutch

 

[Andyreww]

Car wasn't driving not wasn't true! Damn phones

 

[stevieturbo]

and making a noise with it in neutral and parked, as soon as you put the clutch in the noise appears, press the clutch in, the noise disappears, it doesn't matter what gear you have it in, if the clutch is in, there is no noise, opened the bonnet and its coming down near the clutch

You're contradicting yourself/not making any sense..

Answer the original questions.

 

[Andyreww]

Sorry silly spellchecker, I answered the questions, whenever you put the clutch in the noise disappears,