A whole history of clutch problems for my Polo.
Initially I didn’t buy a clutch because the garage where my Polo was had a SACHS sport clutch with a lightweight wheel left over from another vehicle with a CDL engine. It was supposedly in cool condition and the workshop owner gave a warranty on it – so why not.
As it turned out later, the clutch from the CDL with the box from the MQB does not fit the MQ350 0A8 box. The 0A8 boxes were in small builds where the box housing is a little smaller – the box is narrower, making the clutch they already had not fit. The difference was a taller dual mass flyewheel.
A new dual clutch was ordered, which was 5 mm lower than the serial one from the CDL in the Scirocco/Golf 6 R. Instead of the SACHS sport clutch on the small wheel, a more civilian clutch on the dual mass + SACHS Perfomsnce and kevlar was now to come in. The clutch piston and discs were in place, so just sending for a fit and it should be works….
However, another problem. The new dual mass wheel has 8 holes and is for the 2nd gen engine and the EA113 has 6 holes….
Generally it was enough to embrace it as it was from the factory, i.e:
VW Polo 6R WRC 2.0TSI (CDLJ)
- 1 x
06F 105 266 AK– Sachs dual mass flywheel - 1 x
06K 141 015 H– Clutch disc and pressure plate [Sachs 3000 970 096]
But according to David, what was needed was the dual mass wheel itself, because the pressure plate with disc he already had. I already wanted the car to run, instead of standing, so out of quick options came the idea to buy a used clutch from WRC Street from the Czech Republic (for about 250 € ):
Without the clutch, the work with the harness stood because, according to them, the engine had to be fired up to connect the harness….
On 25.01.2021 the clutch arrived at a workshop near Warsaw, then it was sent off to be done – the workshop, taking care of my engine, decided that for my needs it would be good to use a clutch with Kevlar cladding. They sent it to Makland as they had used this workshop before and everything was ok.
13.02.2021 the clutch came back – unfortunately, as it turned out later, it was problematic as standard in my case.
In the meantime, there were still problems with the engine controller and making the harness – but about that in another post….
The first time the clutch slipped a little, but the car was drivable. However, it didn’t stand the test on the dynamometer. David, who is in charge of the engine, kept hoping that it would get there and be ok. Supposedly kevlar is so prone to slipping at first, so from 17 May 2022 I waited impatiently for the “clutch to settle”. However, this did not happen.
The early June 2022 continued with the problem of the clutch slipping, and it seemed to be the only thing stopping the final map. David himself admitted it was a strange situation, but claimed to give everyone 300km mileage.
On 7 June, during the second attempt to measure power on the dynamometer, the clutch gave up and started to slip more again. They had to remove the box and send the clutch disc back for a claim so they could fix it – supposedly it was their fault because the disc was too thin.
And another wait, because the workshop where my Polo was had run out of free jacks and there was no room to take the gearbox off…. On 14 June the clutch was sent to Makland for a claim. After a few days it came back, but at the workshop classically all the jacks were occupied. Totally don’t understand their inexperience in starting such a large number of ‘project’ cars at the same time – it only results in a longer wait, well it’s too late to change workshop. Unfortunately, not everything in reality looks as nice as it can be seen on Facebook. End of June, clutch still waiting to be fitted….
7 July 2022, clutch with disc reattached, takes higher, time to lay up by the end of the week and Polo is due to go on the dynamometer on Monday. 12 July – clutch still working, ready for the dynamometer.
15 July – I get another sad message – a picture of a Polo with the gearbox stripped off, with a note: “Three times lucky, this is the second time they’ll pay for disassembly. They will do it until they learn”. Yes, the clutch disc again…
Previously, they made a disc that was too thin, and now the disc only worked at the top.
The load on the dynamometer did its job and the clutch let go. It’s a good thing it’s on the dynamometer and not on the way back, but again things are getting longer and instead of picking up the car, I have to wait for it to be put together.
On 25 July 2022 the clutch came back. Due to the fact that it had been disassembled a million times already, and it was anyway the original clutch from a Polo R WRC Street bought as used in the Czech Republic – for a quick fit (after problems with the non-fitting SACHS clutch from a Golf 6 R / Leon). The threads in 3 holes had come loose and the pressure plate could not be screwed on properly. The threads goes to be repaired, as the first threads are already missing, and with a slightly thicker disc, minimally longer bolts did not help – another wait….
Also, due to being away on holiday, the workshop is closed until 10 August. I’m completely losing hope, of getting the Polo back in working order, my psyche is sitting down, living with the thought that I probably won’t live to see this car completed.
19 August – clutch box fitted, car is to be driven for a while over the weekend and goes on the dynamometer on Tuesday.
23 August 2022, Tuesday – David ignore the Polo, started to work with other ‘away’ cars.
25 August – there is power, the clutch has survived the dynamometer and is finally working.
