C class, S204, 200CDI manual - how to know when clutch is ready for replacement?

[halex]

Hello,

Have S204, C-class, 200CDI, year 2010, around 360.000km (or 225.000 miles) and all is great, but I would like to know how you can check if clutch is at the end of the life and need replacement?

To me, shifting is good, don't see any problem, maybe only when I need to start moving sometimes it shuts down, but I was thinking that I am the problem - I am pushing slowly gas pedal and releasing slowly clutch. When I am not touching gas pedal and only slowly releasing the clutch it is much better, car starts going normally and when clutch is almost released I can put my foot on a gas pedal normally to use this acceleration. Is this the sign I need to replace it?

One more question regarding the diesel injectors... I gave them to be refurbished (cleaned) and after putting them back one was occasionally giving error that needs to be reprogrammed again. I bought new OEM Delphi and replaced it and all is good for now. Should I replace all other three that are old and original with the new original ones as a part of preventive maintenance or to wait if some parameters on STAR diagnostics show that some parameters are not perfect (trigger for replacement)?

Noticed also that left hinge on a trunk door has some small start of corrosion where the bolt is - what spray I should use to clean this and prevent spreading of it?

Thanks for the answers.

 

[Rotorhead500]

Try:

Hand brake on, select 3rd gear, ease the clutch out, if the car starts to pull (usually rear end dropping) or stalls quickly, then clutch likely ok.

If you can continue letting clutch out a fair way with no stalling or sinking... then clutch likely worn.

 

[halex]

Hand brake is brake pedal? We don't have hand brake, but leg brake
So, probably keeping my foot on a brake pedal and then release the brake pedal while having clutch to the end, put in 3rd gear and then try to move the car by easing the clutch?
I have sometimes problems even when I try to start in 2nd gear (sometimes I forget that I am not in the 1st gear) and if I release clutch quicker it will shutdown the car, but if I am patient it can start going slowly.

 

[davidsl500]

Have you recently bought the car? If so, it seems you haven't got used to the clutch "bite" point on the pedal yet. When you say the it will shutdown the car, do you mean the engine stalls and you have to restart it? If you have a long, steep hill nearby then drive up it in 4th and try accelerating hard - if the engine revs rise but the speed doesn't then your clutch is warn.

 

[halex]

Will try this hill trick, have plenty of hills here in in Slovenia, thanks.

I have it for 13 years and I never get used to it There is a region where clutch does not bite much - can't tell if it is first half from the full press to the middle or from the middle to the full release (I should try it on the car - it is an automatic action, but I don't know now to tell you which part is not much active).

When I say shutdown I meant engine stops, I need to restart it.

 

[Rotorhead500]

Hand brake is brake pedal? We don't have hand brake, but leg brake
So, probably keeping my foot on a brake pedal and then release the brake pedal while having clutch to the end, put in 3rd gear and then try to move the car by easing the clutch?
I have sometimes problems even when I try to start in 2nd gear (sometimes I forget that I am not in the 1st gear) and if I release clutch quicker it will shutdown the car, but if I am patient it can start going slowly.

Yup, "parking brake", I should've said.

Can probably use your normal brake pedal just as well for this.

 

[rich.g.williams]

Hi there, the classic symptom of a worn clutch is slipping when you are cruising along a good road in a high gear and you want to accelerate (maybe to overtake) as you accelerate you notice the engine speed (rpm) spiking up rather than the car going faster - if this is happening you will notice it and see it on the rev counter.

But what you are noticing is that the clutch is sometimes stopping/stalling the engine in low gear.

The other clutch fault that sometimes occurs is juddering when you pull if you feel juddering/shaking rather than a smooth take off. You do not mention this.

Therefore I think that probably there is nothing wrong with your clutch and maybe the engine could be stalling not because of the clutch but because there is something else wrong with the engine performance.

I think you should have the engine checked out by a mechanic, he/she will tell you if there is a clutch problem.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you get on.

PS I don't like the idea of the "Hand brake on, select 3rd gear, ease the clutch out, if the car starts to pull ....." type test proposed especially with the foot operated park brake - its not a good idea.

 

[halex]

Tested both methods and clutch is good. Thanks!