Pretty sure my DMF is dying

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,433
Location
Derbyshire
Hey all.
Recently my car has been sounding rough idle.
Put the slightest pressure on the clutch and it sounds horrible.
Just visited my Uncle who has the same car, with the same engine and his sounds like mine used to.

Today I had a service at a garage on the same site as Ford in Burton and they said that the dual mass flywheel springs are on their way out, giving me a quote of £630 for a new one with a genuine Ford part. I'd probably get the clutch done too as the car has done 85,000. It is in overall excellent condition and 'part ex-ing it for a new one' is not happening.

This price good? (This place gets 10% off Ford parts)
Do I need genuine Ford parts?
May as well get the clutch done too? (£170 extra).

The car:
2007 Ford Focus
2.0 TDCI
85k
 
I bought an LUK flywheel and clutch for my mk3 Mondeo TDCi. Makes sense to do both at the same time. Pretty sure the cost of the parts plus labour came to less than £630. Noticed no difference whatsoever between these and the genuine Ford parts and they've done over 40k miles now with zero issues.

I wouldn't bother buying all genuine parts unless it was a premium vehicle, but that's just my 2p.
 
OK that does not sound quite as bad.
From what I can gather, a good mechanic with genuine parts charging £800 for a new clutch and flywheel is not that bad.

I would like to just do the flywheel, with a check to see how worn my clutch is...although how honest a mechanic is about how worn it is will always be up for debate!

Really not what I need when paying house moving fees!

EDIT: The labour is 5 hours for the DMF. The clutch adds no extra labour.
 
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Do both at the same time. I made the mistake of not doing my Volvos and ended up costing me double.
 
It depends how its been driven as my dad gets ~ 230k out of a clutch. However he did have dmf failure once and changed it due to it only costing the price of the parts.
 
Given how (relatively) inexpensive the clutch parts are in comparison to the fly installed, you'd be daft not to get it changed regardless of wear. Unless of course you plan to move the car on
 
Cupra said:
It depends how its been driven as my dad gets ~ 230k out of a clutch. However he did have dmf failure once and changed it due to it only costing the price of the parts.
Click to expand...

rodenal said:
Given how (relatively) inexpensive the clutch parts are in comparison to the fly installed, you'd be daft not to get it changed regardless of wear. Unless of course you plan to move the car on
Click to expand...

The car was owned from 6 months old (12k miles ish) to 78k by my Dad, who treats cars well and never holds them on the clutch. I'd say I am barely any harder on the clutch than him.

I agree that it would be a good idea to replace the clutch at the same time though, but my only hesitation is that I got paid two days ago and have already shelled out some house deposit money and solicitors fees. Really could not have been a worse time for me!
 
You can get a Sachs DMF and clutch kit (including concentric slave) for around £450 (parts cost). These are of equal quality to the OEM items.
 
I would definitely do the clutch at he same time. It would only be an extra £100-£150 wouldn't it? Then you most likely wont have to worry about either the DMF or clutch for the rest of the cars working life (or at least your ownership). No point paying 5 hours labour again a year or two down the line if it starts to slip/wear out.
 
Booked it in at a place that gives me a good discount as a relative is long term customer.
Ford parts and fitted £630 for the DMF and if they think I need it £170 for a full clutch kit.
I could probably get the job done at a backstreet garage with cheaper parts for a slightly better overall price.

I rang Ford directly and they said 5 hours labour plus £466 for the flywheel parts.
 
Buy a Ford, they said! It'll be reliable, they said! :p

Joking aside, DMFs are a total pain in the ***. I specifically try to avoid them now.

Odd how they fail on the Mondeo (and loads of other Fords) however the LuK DMF on the Rover 75 CDTi / MG ZT / BMW 3/5 Series is usually good for the life of the car.
 
Modern car? Please :p

I've had a few 75 diesels, and while the DMF does make it lovely and smooth I still don't think it's worth the risk.

Good old 600 tractor for now, at least Honda put the rest of the car together pretty well.
 
The place I have booked in at is on the same site as the Ford dealer, aimed at getting business from other garages, yet for some reason still do Fords :confused:.

From asking a few garages and quick Google, this is a 5 hour job.
Therefore this makes the £630 cost for replacing the DMF a good price.

The LUK DMF can be bought off Ebay for £200 + postage . I expect the new bolts to be something like £20+postage on top of this. I cannot find a new clutch kit for under £170ish.

Ignoring the clutch, let's call the flywheel part cost £230. Five hours labour on top of this would need to be under £80 inc. vat (£66.7 + vat) to beat it, which only a backstreet garage can beat.

Unless I am completely missing the point, the price I have been given to have Ford parts will barely cost anymore than the LUK DMF.

EDIT: Buypartsby has a no-brand DMF for £180 and LUK clutch for £120 (there are two versions available). Does the more expensive clutch kit come with a new slave cylinder?
 
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My local mechanic charges £30 per hour labour and he's excellent. That's a saving of £250 straight away. £80 seems like main dealer labour rates to me.
 
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