Anyone got any experience of how long a clutch will last in an automatic MAN please? Mine is 06 plate and has clocked up 742000km. No sign of clutch going yet but just wondering whether to replace before it does go!
Matt.
How much of the history do you know? I’m far from an expert but it could have already had one at that mileage surely?
Paul
the clutch on the full auto box such as the MAN and DAF will last a lot longer than a manual clutch, as the driver abuse is removed from the situation
i was told by a DAF technician that it is very rare for the clutch to go in the auto truck
repton:
How much of the history do you know? I’m far from an expert but it could have already had one at that mileage surely?Paul
Not a lot to be fair Paul. I rang Steadplan from Clitheroe last week as it was on their contract hire fleet but their records only went back to January 2010 as they changed the computer system. I know that it hadn’t had one between then and me buying it in November 2011.
Matt.
shuttlespanker:
the clutch on the full auto box such as the MAN and DAF will last a lot longer than a manual clutch, as the driver abuse is removed from the situationi was told by a DAF technician that it is very rare for the clutch to go in the auto truck
Yeah it goes without saying that driver abuse is removed but some drivers may sit at lights etc with it in gear and close to the biting point. I don’t as I’m an o/d but I can’t account for the driver who had it before me!!
Cheers for the reply
Matt.
I was on an MAN training course a few years ago and they unofficially expect them to last around 850 to 900,000KMs. You will not find it written down or confirmed as far as I know it is just for technicians reference. We recently had an '05 unit changed at 600,000KMs but it was on urban tipper work and the operator was pleased with the mileage. The local main Dealer supplied and fitted it cheaper than they would sell the clutch to us to fit!
the release bearings collapse first, before the friction plate wears out!! usually between 600-800thou. and usually without warning, if you get no drive, take the inspection cover off the bottom of bellhousing, if lots of ball bearings fall out she,s gone!!
I’m running on 44ton bulk work going on and off farms all day but as I say since I bought it its been looked after. It’s a bit of a dilemma as I don’t want to change it if its perfectly fine. On the other hand if it goes without warning during my busiest time I will probably lose more than what it will cost to get it done now!
m-prop:
the release bearings collapse first, before the friction plate wears out!! usually between 600-800thou. and usually without warning, if you get no drive, take the inspection cover off the bottom of bellhousing, if lots of ball bearings fall out she,s gone!!
We had this happen to our auto man last week with just over 700 thou on the clock, it got stuck in reverse and the driver very nearly did a lot of damage to the back of a tipping tank. The best drivers in the world won’t stop the bearing collapsing. I’d get it changed it’ll save you a lot of money.
Changed the clutch in my scania last year when it had a week off for test. The plates were fine but I did it for peace of mind,it had just done 600 thousand kilometres.
Not really had a clutch fail on an auto but loads of thrust bearings fall apart.
The problem is that the auto system puts the thrust under much more load as most drivers will leave the box in drive at lights etc and the clutch is disengaged.They wouldnt do this if they had to hold the clutch pedal down for 2 or 3 minutes.
And as the pull bearing is part of the “clutch” its still really a clutch fail because once its gone your going nowhere.
Ok then so has anyone got a ball park figure as to what a new clutch will cost and how long it takes please?! Obviously main dealer will cost more but may be quicker.
I’d say clutch will be around 400quid. Ours is on R and M so can’t help with the total cost. It broke down Thursday morning and we got it back just after lunch on Friday.
Its like how long is a piece of string, preventative maintenance is always best in my opinion, if it does go when you are on the road and you lose drive then it will be recovery costs plus replacement. If you do your own maintenance as I used to then I would be inclined to replace, it could last over a million klicks but then again…
A quid spent on prevention is worth its weight in gold.
Did the clutch in our 8w about a month ago,we had a problem with there being no gradual take up and it was suggested it could be the thrust, the truck had done about 300,000kms of tipper work and the wear in it was 1.5 mm compared to the new plate so next to no wear. it was a waste of money to change it but it was out so we changed it. Took 2 of us a good saturday morning to do.
Spurious but a highly recommended clutch kit was £450 if I remember right ,I think the genuine was £700.
If you want a good s/h plate and pressure plate I have 1 cheap.
The problem turned out to be the actuator pack.
Pursy
It is very possible to get 750k from the original clutch.
If you are replacing it the 06/07 certain models you had to fit a modified fork arm kit with the new clutch.
It bit sound OTT but you only want to do the job once so replaced the crank shaft oil seal, skim the flywheel, fit a flywheel bearing and fork arm bearings & release bearing,
clean the gearbox input shaft of all grease & wax coating.
good for another 750k
A clutch kit from he dealer will come as a complete kit, not like a spiricious kit.
No calibration is required
My clutch went in mine around 770k & it’s a ball ache!!! Just threw a fault code up on the dash & would select a gear,without warning your bolloxed!! I managed to catch a mate who was passing & had a chain on him & got it towed out the way,thankfully I was only local at the time…With the labour & parts along with something having to be done to the prop the bill ran into a couple of k!!
I’m thinking of getting my other one done sooner rather than later,it’s on 750k now & i know they say if it’s not broke don’t fix it but it could prevent the cost of recovery & missed work if it’s done while driver is on holiday & not in the roadworks on the motorway when it decides it’s had enough!! It’s my only gripe with the auto,I do like driving an auto but at least with a manual you can get it home!