Towing

[c5banger]

Hi guys. My C5 (manual) has just died. AA chap said the Release Bearing has gone. Can be towed home but front wheels need to be raised or else gearbox will smash. Is he talking crap?? surely towing is ok if in neutral. Any advice greatly received. Cheers, Pete :unsure:

[Parkesie]

Towed long distance can cause gearbox failiure in some boxes as the oil wont circulate as it should causing some bearings to run dry.

AA man is also negating the human factor of towing someone who might not be experienced at being towed or a crazy who takes the keys out of the ignition.

[c5banger]

Hi Parkesie. It's about 8 miles from home. Engime will need to be running for power steering but I didn't think it would affect the box. :( Cheers Pete

[john h]

Suspended towing seems a better option, no driver in towed vehicle, everyone stress free

[c5banger]

The release bearing has allegedly died, seems obvious to drop new clutch in while the box is off. Do i need to replace the dual mass fly wheel? heard this before but never known it. :/

[Parkesie]

Deffinately replace clutch aswell. Flywheel as a judgement call depending on condition/age of the thing or if its cheap enough just do it anway.

[c5banger]

Car 51 plate. £90.oo clutch + bearing. £200.oo flywheel. £120.oo labour. :-(

[paul.h]

Checks can be done on the dual mass flywheel to see if it needs replacing. So until the gearbox is removed, you will not know if a new one is needed. Bear in mind though, if it is worn and not replaced, the new clutch may not last long - a colleague had this on a VW 1.9 Polo, new clutch lasted for 5000 miles, then it was found the dual mass flywheel needed replacing.

[john h]

I had a xsara Picasso with a squealing bearing, when it was stripped down for new release bearing they discovered the 'fingers' on the diaphragm spring were almost worn through, yes it was an expensive DMF clutch, apparently there is a mod kit to turn it back to a conventional clutch

[paul.h]

On the eurocarparts site they list dmf solid flywheel clutch replacement kits but the price is not much different to a dmf one.

[john h]

Future changes would prob be cheaper once the move has been made but how many clutch changes do you have in ownership of a car, zero to one most likely

[c5banger]

Got it towed home by my mate, no probs. Left at local garage. Instructed them to do clutch, bearing & flywheel. Should be sorted then. Bring back the old cars, £40 for clutch & a couple hours on street fixing. Modern pieces of overcomplicated junk. :( Should be fixed by time i get home from work at tea time tomorrow. Thanx for all your tips. :rolleyes:

[c5banger]

Checks can be done on the dual mass flywheel to see if it needs replacing. So until the gearbox is removed, you will not know if a new one is needed. Bear in mind though, if it is worn and not replaced, the new clutch may not last long - a colleague had this on a VW 1.9 Polo, new clutch lasted for 5000 miles, then it was found the dual mass flywheel needed replacing.

My mate had a clutch in his 307 estate. Few thou later went again, discovered flywheel not replaced. It needed flywheel & another clutch. :'(

[john h]

 Bring back the old cars, £40 for clutch & a couple hours on street fixing.

 

 Second that, gearstick, speedo cable, propshaft, rear mounting and bell housing bolts, simples. not forgetting the curses when the plate between engine and bell housing is discovered too late, start again......