[A4] clutch and misc

[thomas stanton]

Its been sometime since I made any comments, but here goes.

Yes, clutches wear out or should I say slip out with enough oil poured on them, rear seals are famous for that one. After driving almost 40 yrs with only manual transmissions, I have only wore out one clutch, it was in my truck that I snowplow with, I get about 65k out of a clutch, you know you are smoking it up when you smell and see the smoke coming out, the clutch gets real mushy then, you need to stop and let it cool down.

Some habits on driving a clutch, don't slam it, pop the clutch or ride the clutch. When you are at a stop light put it in neutral, downshifting hard is for race car drivers, your brakes work better and are alot cheaper to change.

Last wkend I changed out my timing belt in my 2000 A4 1.8L, I couldn't believe how easy it was, the only hassle was figuring out how to remove the bumper, it was the most pleasent job I ever did on a car.The car had 77k on it and the belt looked good still, the other belts showed wear with cracks.

One more thing make sure you put on anti-seize compound on those brake caliper rods after you replace those pads, clean them good before applying.

Tom