[andycs]

I will start off with a bit of background.

I collected my 2.0 52 plate 147 on the 16th of Dec. As an Alfa approved used car it came with driveline 3 warranty cover.

On the 16th of Jan the clutch stuck to the floor while I was driving. Got the AA out and he thought it was hydraulics so towed me to garage and car I left with them. Now the clutch wasn't completely stuck to the floor I could use my hand to lift it up and then it would stay high. No resistance inbetween was like a switch. I did check the level for the fluid and it seemed to be fine so there was no dramatic leak as far as I could tell.

Garage phoned me yesterday afternoon to tell me it is not covered by warranty quoting £6** (after the six hundred I stopped listening)! The parts they told me were 1 master cylinder '1 sleeve' as it was described and then the fluid on top. Labour was £428 + VAT!

After my investigations what was described to me as a sleeve didn't match up with the part number they gave me which was a thrust bearing according to everywhere I looked.

So I phoned them about that he says he will check. Calls me back says to forget that part and the labour is ?3 hours? so the total is now £470 if I have it done.

£470 bill for a car I have had for 1 month which is under alfa warranty!

I was hoping it would be the clip on the back of the pedal, no such luck...

 

[rgwm]

Sounds more like the slave cylinder than the master cylinder and/or the release bearing - either case it means gearbox off, which is where it starts getting expensive........

I've also found this sometimes happening when car has been left unused for a while - I think the release bearing starts sticking on the input shaft - this may be the "sleeve" they were talking about......

 

[andycs]

They deffo told me it's the master cylinder and told me to forget about the release bearing.

There was also no warning that this would happen, with a release bearing wouldn't you get some sort of idea through the feel of the clutch?

 

[Sensible]

This sounds a bit odd.... but mine is a GT and I assume they are similar when it comes to changing parts.

Mine has been into the dealers three times with a clutch problem and ended up having the lot changed under warranty. It had a cluctch, dual mass flywheel, slave cylinder, master cylinder, release bearing, fork, bushes and sleeve that the release bearing fits over.

The master cylinder or clutch pump as they call it is fixed at the pedal end. This is relatively cheap and wouldn't require much labour to change.

The slave cylinder or clutch cylinder as they call it is screwed into the clutch housing but again it is cheap and easy to replace.

It is only when you need the stuff inside the clutch housing changed that the bill goes up, because the gearbox has to come out. The sleeve I had replaced is what the release bearing runs over and does need the gearbox to come out.

 

[Sensible]

Alfa Romeo 147 Master cylinders
Clutch master cylinder £44

Alfa Romeo 147 Clutch Slaves
Slave cylinder £58

Alfa Romeo 147 Clutches
Clutch and release bearing for a 2.0 TS £152

I would suggest you find out exactly what they are going to change before you can decide if it is a reasonable deal or rip off.

 

[David C]

The slave cylinder or clutch cylinder as they call it is screwed into the clutch housing but again it is cheap and easy to replace.

It is only when you need the stuff inside the clutch housing changed that the bill goes up, because the gearbox has to come out. The sleeve I had replaced is what the release bearing runs over and does need the gearbox to come out.

On a manual TS/JTS, the clutch slave cylinder IS the release bearing, so it is a gearbox out job and therefor expensive.

 

[Mymatemarmite]

Mate, stand your ground. You have had the car less than 3 months, so there should at least be some good will or duty of care. My clutch went on my 147 about 6 months into the 1 year dealer warranty. It was a main dealer but they said that the clutch was wear and tear, and I'd have to pay for a new clutch...they quoted £600plus VAT in total. I told them to go ahead with the repair as I needed the car, but I also said that before the call ended I wanted to arrange a meeting with the sales manager and the service manager to come to agreement as to who was footing the bill, as I had no intention of it being me. The car was only two and a half years old and only had 18000 on it. In the end, the dealer paid for the labour(reduced internal rates of course) and I paid £60 for the clutch kit which was trade price. This I felt was a very fair result. Put this to your dealer...don't let them take you for a ride.

Please keep us posted with the outcome.

 

[Sensible]

On a manual TS/JTS, the clutch slave cylinder IS the release bearing, so it is a gearbox out job and therefor expensive.

As I'm only aware of the slave cylinder on the GT, I stand corrected on this one. The master cylinder however, will still be on the pedal and remote from the gearbox/clutch.

 

[David C]

As I'm only aware of the slave cylinder on the GT, I stand corrected on this one.

Remember, you have a Diesel, which all have the slave cylinder outside the housing.
All the TS & JTS, even the GT, have the slave cylinder inside the housing incorporated with the release bearing.

 

[andycs]

First off thanks for all the replies!

I am aware about the slave being a box out job etc. I think the lady that priced the job was a bit confused. As I am to the 3 hours labour! I understand that is the book listing but surely an experienced Alfa tech could get it done alot quicker?

The part number they gave me for the thrust/release bearing doesn't match up to the number for the slave on the alfa workshop site but I will post it up tomorrow morning when I get into work.


As far as goodwill or warranty is concerned customer care don't want to know they say 'Due to the age of the car...'. I think their idea of customer care is ask the dealer nicely once more and see what they say. Sales person said I can't do anything write to the dealer principle. Which I will be sending via courier tomorrow. Would like to send a copy to that Andrew Humberstone aswell!

I will give you guys an update tomorrow after some phone calls.

Cheers

 

[Alexie]

The warranty I have only classifies the clutch FRICTION plate as wear and tear and therefore not covered. If any other part of the clutch breaks such as the DMF, fingers on the pressure plate etc it's supposedly covered. That said, this case only seems to have a Driveline warranty which, as far as I can make out, only covers the driveline, i.e. engine, gearbox, possibly driveshafts ?, So clutch operating bits wouldn't be covered.

 

[andycs]

Part number I was given for the 'sleeve' is 46738852.

I have been told my warranty only covers Engine and Gearbox to my suprise.

I will keep you all posted but there's not much I can do at the moment. Working 10:00 till 21:00!

At present I am looking for an address for Andrew Humberstone if anyone can help?

Pretty please?

 

[David C]

oh dear.... 46738852 is the release bearing for a Selespeed...
Not used on the manual gearbox cars at all....

 

[andycs]

Absolute joke really don't you think!?

 

[Sensible]

Found this part on eper and it does look like its for a 2.0 TS with selespeed.

See here http://62.163.47.186:7080/navi?COUN...REVIOUS_KEY=SUBGROUP_7&SB_CODE=-1&WINDOW_ID=1

 

[andycs]

Got the car repaired at a total cost of £240.03!

Wasn't the master cylinder at all and shouldn't have cost me anywhere near as much as I paid. Big update soon!

 

[Sensible]

Got the car repaired at a total cost of £240.03!

Wasn't the master cylinder at all and shouldn't have cost me anywhere near as much as I paid. Big update soon!

I am interested to hear what was wrong with it.

 

[andycs]

I am trying to recover my costs so will post the whole story in a short while. Part that failed was the clip securing the pedal to the master cylinder. Some serious wrong doing in the dealer network and some fantastic service. I will post all soon. Just need to get my letters sent off first.

 

[Alexie]

It's about time the authorities seriously clamped down on the motor trade in this country - far too many of them are basically fraudsters or just fundamentally incompetent. And the AA man needs shooting for failing to see something as basic as that. Should have cost you 24p not 240 quid.

I changed this very clip myself the other day having assumed it had been done as part of the recall only find it hadn't. The clip had broken but luckily one little bit remained that had enough of a bend on one end to stop it falling out.

 

[andycs]

I have a letter sitting on my desk at work waiting to go to the dealership principle. Lunch break is at 16:00 should be there by the end of working day tomorrow. Will type up another letter to Fiat group HQ in slough tonight and send that one out tomorrow.

I must stress though that in 1 dealers wrong doing I found another dealer with incredible service whom I have nothing but praise for. I will post the whole story up in a couple of days.