djinfinitee

(THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR READIN THIS-IT BECAME QUITE A SAGA, AND I DID MY BEST TO EDIT IT DOWN, LOL)

I'm fuuuumin and hopin you can help me make heads or tails of this with some feedback!!! Just got my stock clutch replaced in early September last year and after getting R&R of MAF, O2 sensors and plugs done last week ma girl was ready to GO naturally. Oddly, when I picked up the car he the guy at the shop that did the engine work last week said that the car didn't feel chipped, so naturally after getting it back I did some very spirited driving in effort to see if performance had somehow changed. What I will say is it definitely still felt chipped, and was absolutely raarin' to go, so didn't take long to prove that wrong. However, how the f is is it possible in a quick run of about 20 minutes I could blow a brand new clutch??? Now when I push it to the floor and into peak RPMs it slips!! I just talked to the guy at the shop that replaced the clutch who of course insists "it must be the way I drive" and though his work is good for 1 year or 12k miles, "clutches aren't warrantyable" which makes me absolutely !#%%!@$ crazy because I've driven sticks my whole life and I've babied this new clutch since I got it replaced. I don't track my car (though I might drive it on some country roads as though I am on a rare occasion) and I don't over-ride/feather the clutch. In fact, I really don't even drive my car on a daily basis as I've been unemployed since February, so I'm really at a loss as to how this is possible!! I'm told the stock Sachs clutch assembly can handle up to 320 some-odd horses, so how could my lil chipped 200 horse 1.8t could blow out my clutch at top end in 4th gear??

Bah-I know this is becoming quite the rant, lol but my conundrum is, this guy charged me a $895 for parts and labor the first go around, and is now trying to tell me the labor alone should have been $895. Does that sound right? He then "speculated" for me to get that good a deal the first time he must have charged me the "non-quattro" labor rate saying he made a "big mistake." My concern is, is it at all possible he charged me for a non-quattro rate because he put a non-quattro clutch in my 1.8tq??? I would think they're not compatible after discussing the rate differences, but after this guy's wishy washy story I wanted to be sure. Furthermore, now that I've gone through a brand new OEM clutch (which several sources had told me not to worry about when I asked if I should upgrade to Stage 2 clutchmaster), do I chance putting another OEM clutch in, or go with the Stage 2 as it seems I should have the first time???

tehaudi

Dont pay any more to the shady guy. Find a new shop and have them look at the car. If the install was crap by the first shop, have old shop pay for install of new clutch at new shop.

I dont know anything, but my APR chip has been fine on my OEM clutch with 114k miles. But i dont drive hard at all.

viceprp

How long have you had the clutch before you took it out for a spin to test the Chip? I know there is a break-in period. I believe mine was for 3K miles or so. Nothing over 4000.

If you can't tell the difference between a stock a4 and a chipped then you dont know jack. Your mechanic is shyt.

djinfinitee

yeah, i kinda felt the same about the shop when the guy was tellin me he didn't think it felt chipped, but go figure they were a recommended shop on the norcal audi club site go figure :5 this guy won't pay another shop to do the replacement though-i'd be out the full amount for labor if i take it to another shop no doubt. still was hoping to get an answer as to how it could be possible.

600whpA4

Well you were told wrong or just read some wrong info because the stock clutch is good for way less then 320hp. South Bend stage 1 is better then the stock and it is only rated for 220 tq and thats less then what a chipped K03 will produce.

Clutch Masters does not offer a FX200(stage 2) for the A4 1.8t, they offer it for the B7 A4 2.0T. So you would be looking at a FX300 which would be the same price anyway.

pureroundcircle

The guy probably did charge you the wrong rate for the clutch though, $895 is a STEAL to have that clutch replaced. I'm currently working on a 2.8 a4 quattro and it is a real PITA. Dealer quoted me near $3000 for clutch job on my quattro.

600whpA4

clutch install on a 2.8 is way more work then on a 1.8t.