[SB08121980]

Here are the events in short .

My Maruti 800's clutch was slipping in every gear and the car would struggle to climb inclines . On open roads the engine would rev up but the car won't go beyond 40 kmph . The present clutch assembly served the car for approx 54,000 kms and it was quiet evident a replacement was needed.

I got a new MGP clutch assembly installed at a independent garage ( There is bad blood between the nearby two M.A.S.S. and I avoid them like the plague ) . The job was completed in around 4 hours and when I fired up the engine after the install , I found there is a noticeable vibration . The vibrations are not intense enough to rattle the whole car , but intense enough to get on my nerves within a few kilometres of driving . Even the front seat passengers are also feeling those vibrations .

When I pointed it out to the mechanic, his theory is that vibrations are present with every new clutch install , but I was assured that they would go away with time ( kilometres to be precise ) . In other words there is a break-in period of the clutch .

In my case, the vibrations are present when the engine is idling and and transmission is in neutral . The vibrations increase when I rev the engine with the transmission in neutral . And the vibrations are present while driving in every gear . In other words, if the engine is running the vibrations are present and they increase with the revs of the engine.

It seems like the clutch plate is somehow, co-axially misaligned with the transmission shaft. Is that possible ?


Thanks

[--gKrish--]

I'd take the "new clutch vibration" theory of your mechanic with a pinch of salt. Clutch plate and flywheel might take a few days of usage to settle in, but till then it should not be causing any noticeable vibration.

Was the flywheel replaced or was it resurfaced when the clutch kit was replaced? The symptoms you mentioned sounds like an imbalance or incorrect assembly.
Also, does the car still vibrate when the clutch pedal is fully depressed?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by SB08121980

..

It seems like the clutch plate is somehow, co-axially misaligned with the transmission shaft. Is that possible ?


..

Possible if you have an inferior quality product and is not balanced. Looks like that is the case.

[condor]

Either a fake MGP, or bad installation. Where did you get the parts from ?

Even if only the clutch / pressure plate is replaced and flywheel isnt, there should not be vibrations.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SB08121980

When I pointed it out to the mechanic, his theory is that vibrations are present with every new clutch install , but I was assured that they would go away with time ( kilometres to be precise ) . In other words there is a break-in period of the clutch .
s

Sorry. No, it won’t get better, it will get only worse and it will ultimately start damaging a lot of other parts. As pointed out already, something went wrong with this repair. It needs to be redone and investigated properly and sorted.

Jeroen

[Manoj2268]

It is pointing towards a bad installation.

Improper torque sequence, may not have used the clutch alignment tool while installing.

[SB08121980]

Originally Posted by --gKrish--

I'd take the "new clutch vibration" theory of your mechanic with a pinch of salt. Clutch plate and flywheel might take a few days of usage to settle in, but till then it should not be causing any noticeable vibration.

Was the flywheel replaced or was it resurfaced when the clutch kit was replaced? The symptoms you mentioned sounds like an imbalance or incorrect assembly.
Also, does the car still vibrate when the clutch pedal is fully depressed?

The mechanic is saying that vibrations would go away within a few days ; what he is actually trying to convince me is that I will get used to the vibrations over time .

The flywheel was not replaced or resurfaced . During installation of the new clutch , I had asked if the flywheel needed to be replaced or resurfaced . The mechanic said it was not necessary . I ran my finger over the fly wheel surface ; I couldn't feel any worn out areas or grooves . The friction surface of the pressure plate was pretty worn out ; there were grooves . Also the flywheel was replaced some 5000 – 6000 kms ago ; the older one had some of it's teeth worn off , so I didn't give much thought to having any work done on the flywheel .

The car vibrates all the time , whether in neutral or gears engaged . If the engine is running the vibrations are present .

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Possible if you have an inferior quality product and is not balanced. Looks like that is the case.

Originally Posted by condor

Either a fake MGP, or bad installation. Where did you get the parts from ?

Even if only the clutch / pressure plate is replaced and flywheel isnt, there should not be vibrations.

I got the clutch assembly from the same garage . They repair all types of cars and stock parts of most of the manufacturers ( generally OEM & Third party ) . The part I got was seal packed , with hologram and QR code and clear printing . Seemed a genuine one to me .

Also I don't have much faith on MGP stuff . In 27 years of owning this Maruti car , I have seen third party parts perform better and longer than MGP . For example a MGP clutch lasted me around 27000 kms , and the one which got replaced, a third party one, lasted me nearly 54000 kms . Of course, other's experience may vary .

Having said that, I am pretty sure the mechanic screwed up the installation.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Sorry. No, it won’t get better, it will get only worse and it will ultimately start damaging a lot of other parts. As pointed out already, something went wrong with this repair. It needs to be redone and investigated properly and sorted.

Jeroen

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

It is pointing towards a bad installation.

Improper torque sequence, may not have used the clutch alignment tool while installing.

Agree 100 percent .
The car is not a living organism ; it is not going to heal on it's own. Like I said , the mechanic screwed up .

Here is a little update .

The vibrations have increased ( yup, no points for guessing that ) . The self motor has become noisy . And the left lower arm is making noise too, going over rough surfaces .

So, today I went back to garage and updated the owner about it . He calls the mechanic to inspect .

Here the convo that happened .

Mechanic : “ Sir, it's your engine . The engine is the reason of all the vibrations. The engine needs tuning."
Me: “ So the engine was fine before the clutch installation and after , it is a complete mess ? Is that what your are saying ?"
Mechanic : “ Carburetor engines can go out of tune at anytime . That's the nature of carburetor engines."

He went on with his illogical excuses , I stopped him midway and said that I don't care if it's the carburetor or the alternator , or it's the engine or spare tyre; he has the freedom to work on any part of the car , except the gearbox and clutch assembly( since he is confident he did a splendid job ), and I am gladly going to pay for it . But at the end of his work, I want a vibration free car as it was before the clutch replacement , or else I am not going to pay a single paisa . The mechanic walks away sheepishly .

The owner then engages another “senior” mechanic . He takes a test drive and admits that there is a vibration . He also admits that the previous mechanic did screw up indeed . But he is still convinced that it is the engine and tuning the engine and cleaning the carburetor will solve the problem . He shows no interest in working on the clutch assembly.

So when I give him the same condition as above, he confidently agrees to it .

But I think , this “Senior” mechanic is a older version of the previous mechanic . The only thing he would succeed would be wasting my time . So , instead of changing the mechanic , I am changing the Garage . I want someone who would be willing to work on the clutch assembly . Either rectify the bad installation or replace the parts altogether .


Thanks and Regards

[SB08121980]

This Sunday took the car to another garage .

I briefed the mechanic on the work done and the problems there after . While checking the car, all of a sudden the mechanic asks, if the gear box mount was changed ? I confirmed it was . He replies that it's the gear box mount that's causing the problems . According to him, the gear box mount is not installed correctly .

He did the reinstallation , and that took away most of the vibrations . He also mentioned that the engine mounts ( the front and the rear ) are not in a good shape and they need to be replaced . Then the rest of the vibrations would be gone .

The theory sounds promising, at least to me . Of course, time will tell .

Anyway, as of now the car is not driving me nuts, while I am driving it .

Thanks and Regards .

[asit.kulkarni93]

This definitely does sound like the A, B & C engine mounts. Installation of an incorrect clutch is pretty rare, yes they goof up the cable and release bearing at times. I hope you are replacing all the engine mounts in a set and not just the gearbox mount.

[Rivoncar]

During the clutch work, the mechanics usually remove the two mounts(gearbox side) to tilt the engine such that the gearbox is easy to remove . The entire weight of engine will be on only one mount during the process. This might lead to damages to the engine side mount.
My palio too seems to have a slight vibration in neutral, after the mechanic changed the clutch.

[HereticHermit]

Difficult to do a bad job of something as simple as clutch replacement especially when whole generation of independent workshops have learned the trade and weaned on Maruti 800s.
More often than not, QC of even genuine parts is a toss when they are produced for old cars.
I had few instances buying from Boodmo for my Santro Xing and I ended up buying twice since package had to be opened. Often the same part with different price (higher price) was a better fit and better machined.