www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

The van I have is a Ford Courier Combi diesel (the word Fiesta might be in there somewhere too lol) and for a while there has been a bit of a knocking / rattling noise which goes away when the clutch pedel is pushed in.

General consensus is it sounds like the thrust bearing.

I know my description is a bit vague, but I'm a bit worried to use the van now as 'they' tell me if the bearing collapses (or whatever it is bearings do), while I'm driving, it isn't going to be a very fun experience - so is the noise likely to get a lot worse before anything happens? Or will there be other symptoms to watch out for?

Pulling a trailer of hay up a steep hill today, the clutch did begin to slip a little and the van is quite sluggish in general.

If its slipping, that could be worn friction plate, or knackered springs in the pressure plate....noise could be the bearing, but might just want a fresh bit of grease.
Been about 9 yrs since i got involved with chutches
http://www.valeoclutches.com/media/docu ... alDown.pdf

I was wondering if it would be poss to re-grease it, but I know what the garage will say if I suggest that! Thanks Hitch, will have to get it looked at before or over Xmas somehow.

A new thrust bearing will cost little more than £5. Given the ammount of work normally involved in getting access to it I would replace it, not re-grease it. Also given the ammount of work normally involved in getting access to it I would also replace the clutch for the extra £30 while its all stripped down even if the clutch was not slipping and showed little signs of wear.

Hi Mike, sounds a good price for the parts, but the labour they tell me is up in the £300 - 400 bracket

Reasonable amount of work to get to it... sounds on the steep side to me though

Mind you, £300 is about a days labour in the bigger garages.
Smaller places are more likley to be cheaper.

The clutch itself, if you supply may well be an exchange unit, make sure you get the old one back. Probably a £30 surcharge.

Id drive it on for now, unless the slippage is bad.
How old is it?

MindMyThumb wrote:Hi Mike, sounds a good price for the parts, but the labour they tell me is up in the £300 - 400 bracket

Thats exactly what I'm saying. It'd be the same ammount of labour to get access to it to regrease it. (unless its one with an access hatch in the gearbox? doesn't sound like it is.)

It's an R reg model. Coming home in the snow today it didn't have anywhere near as much grip as it usually does in these conditions (yep, tyres have plenty life left in them yet) so I wonder if that's related to the clutch or just wear n tear on the driveshaft (??) that rattles quite a lot!?

I always ask the garage for worst case scenario so might well come in below that price. Got a quote from a guy to do it as a homer and he charges £50/hr which I thought a bit steep, plus, I don't suppose he offers a guarentee on the work

It's one of those difficult ones, do we spend a few hundred quid on it now, and continue to spend money on it in dribs n drabs over the next few years, or do we bite the bullet and look for a replacement. Blasted scrappage scheme!

Scrappage scheme has ruined it for people who prefer to run cheap vehicles. Try and find anything decent for under £1000

£50/hr for a homer, me thinks hes really not interested in doing it

I dont think you have a hatch on that to regrease. IB5 box....?

IB5...er...you've lost me lol Think I'd be better getting the whole lot, then its fitted and forgot (hopefully!).

Is there such a thing as an average hourly rate for a modest sized garage?

One i use sometimes, non main dealer, 5/6 blokes, £25ph.
Id say that was cheap even for independants, but probably depends on location....

Copied from a website....
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Ta