Audi S3 8L strange clutch slipping problem

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wessel97

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Since a couple of weeks my S3 is doing something very weird when the boost kicks in. Feeling like the clutch is slipping (maybe it is idk?) definetly feels like it.

I tried explaining it to multiple college's (mechanics) But it's really hard without actually seeing and hearing what happens. So i made a video of it: ->



I already tried a lot of stuff.. To begin with the Clutch, Dual mass flywheel, Pressure plate, Main bearring seal, Clutch master cylinder have been replaced 20.000km and 1,5 year ago. Gearbox has also been rebuild back then. Things i've allready tried:

- Bleeding the clutch (makes no difference)
- Clutch pedal doesn't feel strange
- Checked codes with VAGCOM, nothing strange not in the haldex or the engine. (haldex is also working fine)
- Thought that maybe if it has an LSD in it and i put the wrong oil in it it might have damaged it. Turns 0ut i Don't have an LSD so that couldn't be the case.
- Car is bonedry underneath, no leaking seals nearby the gearbox..

Allthough i was able to bleed the clutch (didn't help but still) i don't think it's the second Clutch cylinder that's behind the clutchpedal?

maybe the clutch is glazed? but i've driven like 500km since i noticed it.. i'd say it should be gone by then?

I just find it strange that it slips for like 2-3 seconds and then just continue's to pull, after 4000rpm it jut picks up again.

Has anyone ever seen this or have any idea what it could be? I'm kind of running out of options. It's not a problem if i have to take the gearbox of to find the problem, but if it's possible to know what it is on before hand that would be nice haha.
 
Yeah I second that, looks like slipping clutch. Is it slipping more so in the higher gears?


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it's not slipping in 1st and 2nd. And when i put the pedal to the floor in 2nd and then continue to go full throttle in 3th, it doesn't slip in 3th gear either.

In the higher gears it slips the same amound in every gear, from around 3300rpn till 4200rpm and then it picks up again like nothing happened. That's whats confusing me.. when the clutch slips.. it slips right? it should slip even at 5000rpm when it starts slipping at 3300rpm unless you take your foot of the gas so it can grab again. But it doesn't it only slips for like a second or 2/3 and then continues the powerband without any slippage.
 
When the clutch is on the edge of going then it does tend to exhibit random slippage but will depend on how warm the 'car' is and how loaded the gear is...

Another possibility is contamination from oil or brake fluid maybe

Either way your video suggests a slipping clutch dude... sorry

<tuffty/>
 
Well it's not as much a problem that it is slipping, i don't mind to change it. I just want to figure out what caused it. Knowing the clutch is only 20.000km old. To be sure it doesn't happen again.

But knowing the car will be at 400+ hp soon. Is the best clutch to get the sachs? The one up till 520nm?
 
You can easily nuke a std clutch quickly... really depends on how you drive... 20km can be nothing or everything... I know a few people that have nuked clutches in thousands of miles rather than 10 of thousands...

Launching, start/stop traffic, riding the clutch, hill starts etc all wear clutches quickly... you could do 10k of busy traffic commuting and do more wear and tear than 40k of motorway mileage..

I am not sure what clutch you mean but I (and others) use a std LuK DMF/pressure plate with a Sach's 4 puck paddle plate... this setup seems to hold my power levels ok but life expectancy is going to be short in my ... plus have seen a couple of times where the sachs pressure plate has been needed to give a little more clamping pressure but I have not had an issue as yet with the power I have

<tuffty/>
 
That's what kind of bums me out. I never do launches exactly for that reason, changing gears the right way so i dont slip the clutch too much.. i'm a car salesman so i hope i know how to drive stick the right way.. as i drive at least 3 different cars a day..:rapture: (if not i might need to go take some driving lessons again haha:readit:)

If that's the case then i guess i could point to the fact it has been remapped? I mean i've read stories before about clutches going out quick after you remap the car.

This is the clutch i meant:

https://www.sachsperformance.com/en...ce-clutch-kit-audi-s3-audi-tts-001394-999502a

So as it will keep continue to be my daily, is it better to choose something else then? As you say the life expectancy isn't really to good..? Or does that depends on what the purpose is.. because it'll mainly be for normal driving
 
Remapping will of course be a contributory factor... the extra torque will compound the issue of course to a degree but its a difficult one to quantify as clutch wear is quite subjective

For example... I am on my second sachs clutch plate since I started using one some 8 years ago... granted I do very little mileage so thats over 30k miles... in comparison I have done 50k miles in my A2 in 4.5yrs and clutch is fine on that... I seem to recall an invoice for a clutch at 120k but so far not showing any signs of giving up...

Can't explain why yours has only lasted 20k so far... I assume its a decent brand (LuK or something)...

I have no personal experience of clutches outside of what I have used myself tbh so can't really comment on the one you linked too... it should be ok but friction material is not really that different on most organic clutches just clamp pressure...

I suspect if your car was std the same amount of wear wouldn't cause the clutch to slip due to less torque and you would conceivably get more miles from it... an uprated clutch should help in this case..

<tuffty/>
 
audi upgrades
It indeed is a LUK. I replaced it because the car originally came with a LUK. But now a lot of people around me are telling me i should have just put a Sachs in from the start because it's better.

Which Sachs Clutch do you guys use then? Because the link i posted is the only Sachs one i could find (other than the Sinterplate, but i don't want to torture myself to much when driving the car daily LOL)
 
seems like a nice setup but.. i don't think a sinterplate is ideal for daily use? Or are you using it for a daily also?

and why the original LUK Pressure plate? is that better then to use a reinforced one from Sachs (because of price?) Or is that what you said that sometimes those don't have enough clamping pressure, Because i've been told that new pressureplates from LUK are just refurbished ones.. heard some stories about those failing also haha

I'm not doubting the setup, im just curious as to why:chuncky:
 
wessel97 said:
seems like a nice setup but.. i don't think a sinterplate is ideal for daily use? Or are you using it for a daily also?

and why the original LUK Pressure plate? is that better then to use a reinforced one from Sachs (because of price?) Or is that what you said that sometimes those don't have enough clamping pressure, Because i've been told that new pressureplates from LUK are just refurbished ones.. heard some stories about those failing also haha

I'm not doubting the setup, im just curious as to why:chuncky:
Click to expand...
Setup is a little grabbier than an organic setup but is the same pedal feel as OE (not stiffer like most uprated covers for organic plates)...

Main reason for using LuK std kit with it is due to availability really... wanted something that was easy to source and relatively cheap... if teh LuK pressure plate hadn't worked then I would have probably gone from the uprated sachs but it has and continues to work for me to date...

What I replace it with going forward is up for debate but so far it seems capable

Can't speak for LuK stuff being refurbished... not changed once my self for a while but Bill still uses them and he wouldn't if they were an issue tbh

<tuffty/>
 
okay thanks for the info! I'll let you guys know how it worked out!
 
Okay so i've ordered the Sachs single mass flywheel kit with clutch, pressure plate and clutch master cylinder. Quite expensive all together but as i want to do it right the first time and am not sure about the state of my current flywheel (could be damaged by the slippage) i went for the SMF as its just as expensive as a new DMF. Which i would replace anyway just to be safe.

Now the kit is complete except for one thing. Flywheel bolts. The kit doesn't include those. I emailed sachs and they advised me to buy just original ones from the dealer but... i'm kind of on the fence if it isn't better to order ARP ones. Haven't heard anything bad about the original ones but still..

Then comes the problem that i read a lot of stories about ARP's being to long or not fitting right and only being able to know that when you have the excisting bolts in your hand. Does Anybody have any feedback on this? Or experience?
 
That's what ive been thinking about for the last 2 weeks:yes:

But i guess its just something i have to get used to. The clutch kit does have a clutchplate with springs but that probably isn't going to help that much. But tbh i much rather have some rattling then take the gearbox of each year. Which isn't something you do in a couple of hours on a S3. I guess i'll have to wait and see i'll post a video of it when it's done.

Ill just order regular Dealer bolts for the flywheel, hope those aren't rediciously expensive.
 
Is there anyone that can tell me to what torque spec i should tighten the flywheel bolts?

For the original dual mass flywheel it says 60nm + 90°. I contacted sachs and they said they think with the single mass 30nm is best but to be sure i should contact a vag tuner shop. So i thought maybe somebody on the forum knows this.
 
The 'plus quarter turn' suggests they are stretch bolts.
30nm doesn't sound very much but I suppose the timing belt pully is only supposed to be that and that's quite a big bolt.
 
@stuart yeah its difficult sometimes to understand why one big bolt that has a lot of pressure on it needs less nm then small bolts.. but i guess theres a reason for it haha
 
Started on the clutch today... found the problem..

20190118_132300.jpg


20190118_121359.jpg


20190118_132326.jpg


Dont know how or why this happened, but im glad i at least found something. That means that definetely was the problem.. its strange because the plate the fingers are made out of looks to have rotaded because on some places as you can see in the picture the fingers make full contact wit the disc around it.
 
Drove the car for around 1000kms now to be sure the clutch plate is bedded in correctly and i have to say it feels nice, almost like the stock one.

Also i dont understand why there are so many discussions about the single mass flywheel, i can barely hear it...? I mean maybe its because i bought a quite expensive one but still.. i dont hear any more rattling over stock
 
Sachs SRE kit? I had what sounds like the same Sachs kit as you and I was the same, couldn’t hear the SMF unless I was deliberately trying to listen for it outside the car. One of my favourite modifications I had.
 
Indeed a sachs SRE kit, organic clutchplate with springs, SMF and a stronger clutchplate
 
Yeah I liked that clutch kit. I hate paddle clutches for daily driving myself but it’s a personal thing I guess. The car felt so much livelier with the SMF.
 
Hi guys I’m so glad I read this thread I’m struggling to source a clutch kit also for S3daves car.
His 2.0 ltr TFSI hybrid set up should make 380 bhp and some nice torque but I’m planning on spending some ££££ on it after its build back up In going G25-660 so torque will be a lot more need to do this job once only will be a daily also.
 
s3gazz said:
Hi guys I’m so glad I read this thread I’m struggling to source a clutch kit also for S3daves car.
His 2.0 ltr TFSI hybrid set up should make 380 bhp and some nice torque but I’m planning on spending some ££££ on it after its build back up In going G25-660 so torque will be a lot more need to do this job once only will be a daily also.
Click to expand...
Welcome back dude... check this out...
https://badger5.co.uk/clutch

<tuffty/>
 
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