So a week or two ago, I went into AchTuning to get chipped, and I believe I posted about how it didnt work out because i had the "CH" model ECU on my 01 and that is the model you need to solder the chip on, not flash it in...the other ecu in the 01 is plug and go. Anyway, when the guy pulled my car into the shop he came out and told me my clutch was almost gone. He estimated that I have about a month left on my clutch. He explained that it was not due to abuse or bad driving habits, but instead it was due to time wear. I was shocked as I am only at 60k miles on my car. I always knew my clutch engaged fairly high, but I thought nothing of it because I know it is characteristic to audi's. He quoted me anywhere from 1100-1600 for a stock or stage 2 clutch replacement. Also, he mentioned that my flywheel might be worn due to the clutch, and said that if that was the case, it would be a very time-consuming and expensive trip to the machinist to get it refinished or something of the sort. To get a second opinion, I took my car to the dealership where I bought my car, and simply asked if my clutch engaging high meant anything, without letting them know I had been diagnosed with an almost shot clutch, and he said although it engaged high, I should just run it until it starts slipping and it would not cause damage. I also did a test where driving at around 3k rpm, I tapped my foot on the clutch while holding my constant throttle speed, to see if it slipped, and it did not. The pedal moved up and down about 1/4-3/4 of an inch without slipping.

What are you guys' opinions on my options for stock replacement/upgrade, when to do it, and approximately how much it would cost? Thanks in advance...I'm really not looking forward to spending my suspension and chip money on a replacement clutch if its not necessary...

 

It sounds like your clutch is still good.....depending on how you drive this could mean a month to a year. If you are like me, it might not make it the month........but as far as everything else...
-- STOCK vs. UPGRADE.....come on,you know everyones answer to this one.
-- Depending on how much power you are looking at making will depend on what stage clutch to go with. Unless you just plan on chipping it, then the stock might be ok for you. I honestly dont know how strong it is.....I still have the stock clutch at 72k, with my upgrades and it still grabs strong. But if you decide to upgrade do a search...sry Im lazy.....there are many topics on which is the best.
--The labor costs are going to be anywhere from 500-1000. The dealership is the high end.....and if you can find a good local mechanic....you should be able to get it for less.

Good luck eiter way.

 

Man I would drive that bitch until it starts slipping. Screw that...don't be replacing the clutch w/o any bad symptoms. Mine lets out super high and I've got 105k on my car. I'm keeping mine until I notice any problem with it. I definitely wouldn't pay that much to get it replaced if it's not affecting your driving. Worse case scenario you can drive the car in with no clutch to get it replaced.

 

You can let the clutch go all the way untill you cant even shift it in gear from neutral and you still wont have to machine the flywheel. You can wait untill it gets that bad or try to guess at it by gauging how far up the pedal has to travel before it engages. The at achtune probably just wasnt used to the high pedal on the a4 and figured its about to go out.

 

i'm pushing 140k on my stock clutch, and it still works fine....wait til it starts giving you trouble to replace it...and even if you don't plan on doing major mods, i would go with a stage 2 clutch..they aren't much more money at all, and it'll alllow you to launch much better