OK, So I'm going to be commuting 100 miles a day soon so I'll bite the bullet and get my Mondeo oil leak fixed properly.
While I'm getting it done (sump gasket leaking very slowly, but dripping annoyingly onto the exhaust), does it make financial sense to get anything else done while it's in bits?
I know the front crank oil seal goes on these (Mk1 2.0 Zetec) and I can see a trickle of oil coming from it already, so that's on the list. Looks like that's accessible when you have the sump off anyway, is that right?
Does whatever makes the sump gasket cost **ridiculous** money also get anywhere near the clutch? It's done 65,000 miles so could be getting close to needing doing...
It could, depending on how you drive it and how you will be driving it. A one way commute of fifty miles could be very easy on the clutch or could be hard, depending on traffic.
My 30 mile commute is usually easy. I change all the way up to top twice, once on the ring road and once on the dual carriageway, which ordinarily takes me just about to the office. Over those 30 miles I may only change gear thirteen times until I reach the dual carriageway, then if I'm lucky and all lights are green, only another three changes to go. My record is sixteen changes of gear in those 30 miles... :)
On the other hand, getting stuck on a busy motorway, yeah that may be hard on the clutch...
I would suggest that the only time a clutch gets any real wear, is when starting from rest. When the clutch must be slipped. Providing gear changes are synchronised with engine revs, wear on the clutch itself is neglible. Of course wear on the clutch thrust bearing is something else. Mike.
My point is that your emphasis on the number of gear changes you make, has little relevance on the life of a clutch. IMO it's life is determined by how it is used. Not by some predetermined mileage. Mike.
Yup. I went off topic. There is some wear and tear when changing gear, though: I certainly don't make a perfect change every time. Probably an annoying small percentage too.
You're right, indeed I have never worn a clutch out on any of my machines but I do try to not stop... Heh.
Well I'm guessing you're talking about an all-inclusive price including labour, and not just for the gasket itself, so it'd be the fact that the subframe would probably need to be dropped to remove the sump and hence the gasket.
As for the clutch - well yes, removing and realigning the subframe does make doing the clutch a pain on them, but I'd realistically only expect it to knock 1-2 hours at most off the labour for the clutch, as there's still a fair bit more to be done. If they don't reason with you when you suggest that they should reduce the labour charge for clutch job because the other bit's getting done and start quoting "That job's a 4 hour job, so is that - that's 8 hours' labour in total", then they're conning you as a good 90 minutes or so for each job (at a complete guess) are doing the selfsame thing.
As far as the clutch needing replacing - well, that's for you to decide - it's entirely dependent on how it's been driven - some people can knacker a clutch in 40,000 miles, whereas others can make a clutch on an identical car last to 200k and still feel like it's got plenty of life left. If the biting point feels nice and firm and isn't too high up and you know that you're nice to it, then I'd say leave it. Though if you're planning on keeping the car another 10 years or so it *might* be worth getting it done anyway, as if the release bearing was to randomly pack up at some stage then you'd be getting everything taken apart anyway and might as well replace the clutch anyway, so it could be an idea to get it done now (as long as the garage discounts the labour charge a sensible amount). Also, I've heard of clutches that definitely feel knackered to actually not have all that much wear on the friction linings, but weakened release springs or similar, so often even if you treat it well and don't slip it, things are still slowly getting tired that won't make their presence known until you least expect it.
I guess it depends if Mondeos are ever known for weak clutch release bearings/release springs - ultimately it depends what sort of driving the car's done in the past, and the sort of driving you do. If it's not too much heavy town traffic, and just fairly light motorway journeys, you're probably ok leaving it. Especially if you're planning to get shot of it before the miles get too high.
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