TD5 Clutch

[Pacey]

Hi Guys

Had Mr Pete from B.A.S do his magic on my Defender a couple of weeks ago and at the time he did warn me to take it easy on the gear changes etc. However as gentle as I've tried to be when firmly engaged in 3rd/4th and applying the power with vigour as soon as boost kicks in it slips and I have to back off.

So the obvious solution to me is get a better clutch plate, i've seen 3 heavy duty options but apart from rakeway cant really find many reviews or opinions. The other are britpart and brookwell kits.

I'm not cash shy and am happy to spend the money on the the rakeway kit as it does seem to be the nuts. But a better deal is still a better if indeed it does what it says on the tin.

Power wise its got VNT turbo, boost box, uprated inter cooler and B.A.S tuned.

All options opinions welcome.

Regards

Chris.

[western]

I'd suggest go for the best you can afford, but not Britpart.

[carlosbeldia]

I'm interested in a HD option for my clutch too, please give us opinions.....

[cackshifter]

Find a nice ZF auto box with all that power

Nigel

[Aragorn]

Whats the point having all the power then ruining it by sticking it thru a slushbox!

Rakeway stuff is good! Not sure if it comes with a flywheel, but if it doesnt i'd recommend you get yours resurfaced.

[Pacey]

Never really thought about auto before, What box would I need who from and what sort of ££ are we talking.

Aragorn It comes with a single mass flywheel.

[landmannnn]

Are you sure you need to upgrade? A standard TD5 will be expected to perform a hill start with an all up weight well over 6 tonnes, that will ask a lot more from the clutch than a power upgrade will. Saying that an upgrade will be sensible if you are replacing it anyway.

[Aragorn]

landmannnn: clutches are rated by the torque they can transmit. Regardless of whether you're pulling 6 tonnes or 1.6 tonnes, the clutch is seeing the same torque, because its attached to the same engine.

[landy andy.]

Check your fuel pressure regulator is not leaking and getting diesel on the clutch.

Thats what my clutch slipping was.

Just an idea.

Andy

[Pacey]

Always worth a look see

[landy andy.]

For your info

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=53894&st=20

Andy

[cackshifter]

Never really thought about auto before, What box would I need who from and what sort of ££ are we talking.

You'd need a ZF4HP22 from a D2 ideally, using the the D2 bits eg the selector, drive plate; you could keep your old transfer box. Ashcrofts can sell you everything for a price, otherwise you are looking at breakers/ebay. But no clutch problems.. might need a cooler for it though. Read Ashcroft's excellent site on it, and have a drive of a D2 and see if you like it - they do take more power.

I had a BMW with this box in it once, and it would change seamlessly from 1st to 2nd at about 40, then do up to 90 in 2nd. Manual boxes are commonly geared to do 0-60 so 2nd dies at about 60, at which point you could disappear into the distance...

Re Aragorns's comments about torque, he's right, but.. if you have to start a lot of weight especially if the engine doesn't have a lot of low speed torque, the ability of the clutch to dissipate heat becomes important as well, as it probably has to be slipped longer. The Rakeway stuff seems to be designed to handle heat, eg metal release bearing.

Nigel

[Aragorn]

Long gears arent particularly good for accelleration.

Manual boxes tend to be closer geared, because they have more cogs and so can be.

Try pulling away in 2nd in a manual, then shifting directly to fourth, and then compare the accelleration with using all four gears properly.

So while 2nd would "run out" at a lower speed in a manual, you'll have got to 60 in less time than the Auto car. The torque convertor also needs time to wind up, further numbing the performance of Autoboxes, not to mention the box itself is less efficient so uses more fuel and wastes more power inside.

A simple look at the 0-60 times for Autobox equipped cars against their manual counterparts usually highlights quite a difference, favouring the manual car.

As for the clutch, yes heat dissapation is important, but hes talking about driving along, with the clutch fully engaged, leaning on the throttle and the clutch starting to slip. Thats nothing to do with heat, and is simply due to the clutch not being strong enough to transmit the torque.

It may just be old and worn out ofcourse, but thats a choice you have to make. I would suggest that with a VNT turbo and highly tuned motor, your going to need an uprated pressure plate as a very minimum. An extra grippy drive plate would probably also be a nice to have.

[landy andy.]

I was told that the VNT turbo was better for the clutch, as it was less sudden in it's operation.

Andy

[Aragorn]

VNT will bring the power in lower down, meaning your peak torque figure is much higher. VNT also allows you to use a much larger turbo, that can flow more air as the revs climb, without the usual lag that fitting a big turbo normally causes.

Even thru the midrange the engine will be producing a LOT more torque than a stock motor, given its probably producing nearly twice the power.

You may find a new standard clutch would take it for a while, but would eventually start slipping again.

[cackshifter]

TBH I was being a little flippant about the auto, and you did ask for more; I wasn't trying to inflame passions. Re the clutch, what Aragorn said is bob on, it's probably slipping because it has worn and the engine is giving it a hard time. The VNT being easier on the clutch theory assumes the clutch can actually grip enough to transmit the torque, which yours sounds as if it can't always do. The beefier pressure plate is a good idea as it clamps tighter and transmits more torque, but it will put more stress on your left leg and the release bearing and crankshaft thrust bearings, so you probably don't want to do more than you need to.You could do a lot worse than a talk to Rakeway or whoever did the engine tuning.

Nigel