That's me off diesels for life then...

If you will buy PSA s**te, what do you expect?

Although it could be worse - Mondeo TDCIs are prone to doing their ring-gear on a regular basis.

ISTR a certain Bob Sherunckle having issues with a Passat...

Didn't SteveH's have shit loads of work just before it went back?

Yet another reason for getting an autobox when buying a diesel. We don't go diesel for the performance you know!

*waves* Me too. 5 hours labour to get the naffing thing off too. Damn near a write-off of a car which was otherwise in very good nick.

Mechanic friend works on commercials, and said that after normal service work, dead DMFs are his most common job, particularly on TDCI transits. You can get solid flywheels replacement kits now, or if you can just weld the two halves together once you get it out.

I'd think twice before buying anything with a DMF again.

IME Autoboxes are bearable on stuff like 4 litre Jags that are very floaty. I'd never want a 2.0 Diesel auto. Ever.

And yet they work so well on diesels. Good ones are set up so that the lock up comes in with the boost, they're always in the best RPM range, top gear is mega long for economy and you've not got that desperate snatch for 2nd when pulling of quick to grab a gap. Unless it's a passat, in which case it's always in the wrong gear.

And of course there's a long history of autoboxes being mated to high torque engines.

I think all manufacturers have had DMF issues.

A colleague has just had a SMF conversion on his 307. He says it hasn't particularly made it rougher.

Throttle body issues with the Golf. No issues at all with the Passat.

It was a brand new leased car. When I look back it still seems a weird think to have done - leasing a 19 grand car.

Still, that's 5 1/2 years ago now.

I think I was thinking of Albert...

The chap I flogged mine to ended up welding the two bits together, effectively making a SMF. You could tell it was a little bit more gruff and unrefined at very low revs, but nothing someone who isn't a dieselophobe would really notice or care about.