Clutch Bearing.. who pays?

[SolihullBeast]

Melted release bearing..

Earlier this year my local 4x4 specialist replaced the entire clutch system on my 2000 TD5 Disco including OEM parts;

- Master & Slave Cylinders

- Hydraulic Pipe

- Flywheel

- Spigot Bush

- Release Bearing

- Clutch Cover

- Plate

Since that service the vehicle covered 800 miles and the clutch has gone again, so back it went to the specialist who discovered this...

Clearly the release bearing has been pushed against the clutch causing it to melt and seize. What confuses me is how after 800 miles this kind of damage could have occurred? I am the only driver of this vehicle and have never ridden the clutch or rested my foot on the pedal. The bearing was OEM (no blue box!), or so I am told.

Could it be that when the specialist last replaced the entire clutch system they did not adjust the pedal/slave properly and the release bearing was constantly pushed against the clutch? Are there other reasons why this can happen?

Unfortunately the specialist (who will remain un-named for now) are trying to charge me a hefty bill for this and simply insist that I was riding the clutch regardless of what I tell them.

Is there any possibility that they failed to install the clutch properly last time? If anyone has seen anything like this before I would be interested to know.

Any input would be appreciated

[pat_pending]

Based on what's been replaced, I'd say they didn't adjust the master cylinder/ pedal clearance correctly.

Your problem will be proving it.

There is no way of properly checking until it's all back together.

I've seen plenty of carriers melted by overwork or an overheated gearbox, but at 800 miles something else is wrong.

[Maverik]

I'd agree, 800 miles is nothing, I don't think riding the clutch is a habit you pick up quickly, i.e. its not something you've started doing since you had a new clutch!... unless you replaced the clutch system in the first place because you had been riding it

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Yup

Those release bearings melt v easily when the clutch gets a tad overworked / worked hard / hot.

The answer is to fit a Billet unit, which I am currently at the CNC stage of making !

Both the older stylee and newer stylee do the melt trick, its a design flaw IMHO, early RR had solid billet units !

All to do with cheapening a product build DOWN to a price and not UP to a quality item ........

Nige

[Nigelw]

Ultimately you will have to pay for it, very sorry to say but it is one of those "grey areas" where nobody can prove one way or the other that there is a responsible party, you could argue that the part was possibly defective? But I doubt whether anyone would own up to it knowing they would have to foot the bill.

Sure someone with a knowledge of a legal prospective will be along shortly to give better guidance on a possible claim but knowing the loop holes and flaws it might be a futile challenge

[RedLineMike]

i had a very similar issue, except mine only made it 150 miles before it melted, & that was with using a borg & beck clutch kit & the release bearing that was included, so far i had to pay to have the car fixed & im still battling to get any sort of recompense from the parts supplier

[Phantom]

Billet bearings have been available for a number of years. Is the gearbox bearing guide ok? I do a lot of clutches and every now and again your'll find a heavily worn guide ( sometimes a very pronounced step in the alloy tube ) and the bearing dos'nt sit true on the clutch pressure plate and consequently reduces drastically the longevity of the bearing.

[ballcock]

If it's in the same garage to be repaired they should foot the bill. Was the mileage recorded at the clutch replacement? If they refuse to correct their faulty workmanship report them to your local trading standards even if you were riding the clutch it should last a lot longer than 800 miles so the part was not fit for purpose. If they are not willing to accept responsibility cause a big fuss. You have paid already in good faith and the fault lies with either them or their supplier.

[nicksmelly]

I'd be visiting Trading standards. If they replaced everything you say, I would say 800 miles is not reasonable time to failure. They will advise you correctly.

[steve_a]

Two things, first is that I think about the same time I did the same work and also had a release bearing melt, this was on a 300TDi disco, so no adjustment. I did have a learner who rode the hell out of it, which is what I put it down to.

I wonder if there was a bad batch though now, as he rode the clutch for about 3 or 4 hours, which I could believe and disbelieve.

Second thing is that when I went in to fix things the rear crank seal and a few other items had suffered from heat, I'd have a good think about what else can have been heat damaged, because if a part that is tenuously connected (via pressure plate, momentary connected etc) got that hot, then how about direct connected (i.e. stuff connected to flywheel.

If your specialist is so adamant that you did this via riding the clutch and has done the work did they use their specialist knowledge to do the other related work or are they planning on charging you for taking the box out again when you get some related leaks?