1

The other day my wife was driving the car when it lost much of its power and she described loosing power on the left side of the car. To the point that she checked the tires for punctures. This was followed by a "thunderous" engine noise.

The rac picked it up and could not find a fault on the computer so brought it home.

Now: I have looked at it today and found the following.

When I turn it over the engine it makes a deeper sound than normal also when running in idle.

When I put it in gear and engage the clutch a metallic tapping (very loud) get progressively worse as I bring it up but only appears at the bite point.

No noise when putting up in neutral.

The noise seems to be coming from the centre right of the car. I thought it might be the drive shaft or one of the cv's. I inspected the right shaft and there is not excessive play. The behavior is the same with wheels on full lock or straight.

Finally I did have a starter motor replaced and the gear selector adjusted very recently.(2weeks ago)

I'm going to check the other shaft now. My thought is that if it has failed then this may have caused the loss in power on the left side and where it plugs into the transmission may be the cause of the tapping in gear.

Any advice most welcome. I'm not an expert with cars but will generally try to fix what I can reach easily.

EDIT: Added video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Iw8Pr7dl8

Improve this question
1

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Your clutch is dead. You'll need a new one. I'm not sure why this would appear to your wife as one side or the other having more power. The noise in the video is the clutch being metal on metal. More than likely, the clutch friction disk material is gone, causing the pressure plate/flywheel to rub against the rivets on the friction disk. Unless you have an engine hoist (cherry picker), this will incur a trip to the mechanic to get it fixed.

Improve this answer
2
  • Nice one @paulster2 . Is 100% from your perspective. I'm not doubting your experience (I read your profile) just so I can mark right now. If it could be something else il wait to mark correct so for it to be useful for others. Is it drivable 2 miles or would you suggest pick up
    – fcreav
    Commented May 11, 2015 at 12:16
  • I think the damage is done. It will require an entirely new clutch kit, to include the flywheel (flywheel may be able to be resurfaced, though). If it will drive without issue, I'd say go ahead and save yourself the money of the tow (unless you can get it for free). Just don't do a lot of stop and go driving, as it may go out completely ... you just don't know when.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented May 11, 2015 at 12:31

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .