[A4] A4 clutch + flywheel questions

[Peter Kirby]

Sorry for the cross posting (and the non-20V content) here but the 
tranny's off my A4 and I am trying to get it back together by the weekend.

The clutch was making a rattling sound when the car was hot and the 
hotter the car got, the louder the sound.  Pressing the clutch pedal 
made the sound louder still.

We've taken it apart.  The release bearing is finished: it was in two 
pieces...the bearing itself is nice and smooth but there is a plastic 
surface that makes contact with the fingers of the pressure plate that 
was no longer attached to the bearing itself.

The fingers of the pressure plate are worn and the disk is very close to 
the rivets.

So all those parts will get changed.

The flywheel (dual mass) is showing some slight discolouration and has 
some extremely (guessing but likely less than 0.1 mm) shallow and smooth 
wear grooves on it.  My mechanic is telling me that he has seen the 
dual-mass flywheels on Passat diesels fail and is wondering if I want to 
replace it.  Three of us looked at it and can't see any signs of 
cracking anywhere.

Does anyone have any experience with these dual-mass flywheels cracking 
or breaking up?  Can they be replaced with a cheaper and more reliable 
standard flywheel?

Thanks!!

Peter
ex 20V90
2001 A4 1.8t