Was this clutch Needing Replacement? Photos

[Diesegas]

I've got a BMW 3 series with the 2.0 diesel engine, the engine is notorious for timing chain issues and got the chain changed this week. You have to take the transmission off and the shop where it was done asked if I wanted to supply a new clutch as they had to remove it anyway. I bought a OEM LUK clutch and it was changed when the chain was done.

Anyway, the mechanic gave me my old clutch back as they charge a disposal fee which I'm to cheap to pay! The old clutch had 100K miles, but it doesn't seem to have much wear on it, now I'm upset I dropped the money on the new clutch. What do you guys think, was it worth changing?

 

[Propflux01]

While it is not in bad shape, you saved yourself a potential headache by just swapping it out. Similar to the habit of changing water pumps while changing the timing belt. You may not need to, but since yo are there, why not. You now have a clutch that has 100K less wear on it, regardless.

 

[demarpaint]

I agree with @Propflux01. That clutch looked fine. Having said that I would have replaced it too, once everything is apart IMO it is foolish not to. I would have changed the TOB, pilot bearing, flywheel, and everything else related to the clutch system. I might have done the RMS too, depending on the vehicle and the age of it. Flame way. lol The disk and pressure plate look good, but the clamping power might have been a bit weak, and it had 100K miles on it. Think of it this way you'll probably get another 250K miles out of the new clutch.

 

[ka9mnx]

Old clutch looks like new.

 

[marc1]

Impressive, you are clearly easy on your machinery and that is the nicest 100k clutch I have ever seen. However, I had a similar policy with my former manual transmission cars and always put a new clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing and pilot bearing in whenever the transmission and engine were separated. I would have done the same being in your shoes.

 

[oggb]

I think if you compared the new clutch to the told one you may have seen ~1mm of wear. That clutch looks VERY good for 100k.

It would be my luck, if I were in your shoes, that if I didn't change the clutch the throwout bearing/pilot bearing/etc. would start making noise the very next week.

 

[incognito_2u]

Although the clutch looks new,changing it was the proper thing to do.......even if just for peace of mind.

 

[Kurtatron]

That’s a healthy looking clutch. Do you make a conscious effort to limit clutch slipping or are you a instinctively a gentle driver? I didn’t know stock clutch disks could last so long. I wonder how many further miles that one could have done.

 

[opus1]

All of the above.

 

[Dave Sherman]

If you had to take the transmission off and the clutch already had 100k, then yes, replacing it was a good idea. I had to replace a noisy release bearing on my MG's clutch, but the clutch only had 28,000 miles on it. You bet I did the whole thing after the effort to pull the engine.

 

[cpayne5]

That’s a healthy looking clutch. Do you make a conscious effort to limit clutch slipping or are you a instinctively a gentle driver? I didn’t know stock clutch disks could last so long. I wonder how many further miles that one could have done.

My daily driver is a 2006 Acura TSX. It has 286k miles and the original clutch.

The OP made the right decision in replacing the clutch. May as well, while everything's apart. He's an admitted cheapskate, which is why it's giving him a little heartburn.

 

[WylieCoyote]

100K is a lot of heat cycles. I say you did the right thing.

 

[AandPDan]

You did the right thing. My experience has been that usually something else fails before the clutch disc itself.

 

[mightymousetech]

Clutch itself looks like new. Just did the clutch on my E90. Clutch disk itself still only looked half worn, but the pressure plate had similar wear marks to yours, and the face of the release bearing was pretty worn. That was causing the clutch to not fully release properly, making it nearly impossible to get into first when stopped in cold weather. Cleaned everything up, new lube on all the moving parts, and it drives like new again.

 

[willbur]

I've got a BMW 3 series with the 2.0 diesel engine, the engine is notorious for timing chain issues and got the chain changed this week. You have to take the transmission off and the shop where it was done asked if I wanted to supply a new clutch as they had to remove it anyway. I bought a OEM LUK clutch and it was changed when the chain was done.

Anyway, the mechanic gave me my old clutch back as they charge a disposal fee which I'm to cheap to pay! The old clutch had 100K miles, but it doesn't seem to have much wear on it, now I'm upset I dropped the money on the new clutch. What do you guys think, was it worth changing?View attachment 62593View attachment 62594View attachment 62595View attachment 62596View attachment 62597

You must really know how to use a clutch! Looks great. Typically about 2mm thickness above rivets is the replacement point for a disc but yours appears well above that. At 100k perhaps the other components are a little weak.

 

[vw7674]

your flywheel will live a long & happy life...... wise to ditch the release bearing every 100k, noises or no noises.
Lining looks like 6/8ths is still there. But renewal while you're in there is best. Love manuals. Cheap to keep.

 

[FordMan59]

Clutch still looks to be in great shape. Longest I've ever had a clutch last was about 260K miles. The replacement had about 210K on it when I retired the car. Years ago I had to have the transmission pulled on a Mazda pickup I had so I told the guy doing the work to replace everything while he was there. He later told me the clutch still looked like new at 80K miles.

 

[DGXR]

While there's plenty of friction material above the rivets, in the 2nd photo it appears that the friction material toward the center is curved or warped which indicates possibly uneven or unusual wear. That clutch probably could have gone longer, but who knows how much longer. Unusual wear or not, after 100k miles it should be swapped out if you have it apart anyway. Good call.