2.7TDi FWD Clutch- 165k. thoughts and advice, it's biting really low/on the floor

[philfingers]

Pretty sure the clutch is on it's last legs. Biting point is right at the end [ie on the floor almost] of the travel. when cold it's fine but as it warms up starting to get a little tricky to get into gear
Clutch doesn't slip tho and the car is mapped to 230ish BHP
So, when the 2.7 clutch goes, does it bite really low/ on the floor, or right at the top. Could it be something else, clutch wants bleeding for instance?
Having read a few posts it seems that the DMF can sometimes judder from cold. Mine doesn't! I've also read than almost new DMF's can judder too
So do I replace just the clutch or the DMF too. I know most will say do both but if I have a non juddering one now and replace it with a new DMF that judders in short time I won't be happy!
Labour- it's not cheap but I'm going to do it with a ramp and it's going to cost me an evening and about £80 with a mate and mechanic. So not huge labour costs
Anything else in the vicinity while we're in there? Slave for instance?
LUK clutch kit is coming in at about £118. So for £200 and an evening's labour I could be sorted
Advice appreciated, thanks guys!

[philfingers]

Can anyone pass comment on this please! When the clutch goes in a 2.7, how does it fail? does it slip or can you just not get the gears?
Could it depend on if it's a Push type or Pull type clutch for instance?

[Sam]

Find an open road, put the car in 3rd gear and floor the accelerator. If the revs rise and the speed does not, your clutch is slipping.

[philfingers]

thanks, as I said the clutch isn't slipping, I was pulling a 1.5 transporter last week on hilly roads, it would slip under those circumstances for sure. What i want to know is when the clutch fails how does it fail, as they wear does the biting point go really low or get really high.
Could it be the clutch slave? looks a bit tricky to get at, I may try bleeding it

[c4a5er]

The clutch isn't clearing, ie disengaging properly...... Can be caused by air in the hydraulics but if ok the clutch will need to be changed.


Any clutch can fail in the way you describe due to damage or distortion.......or it can fail due to wear which will allow it to slip under load.

[philfingers]

thanks for that, I should have said it's not warped, doesn't judder or grind, just biting point it really low down

[c4a5er]

thanks for that, I should have said it's not warped, doesn't judder or grind

That's not what i'm saying.....the clutch pressure plate may not be releasing/moving evenly so doesn't clear the driven plate sufficiently to disengage completely, the result is it drags the driven plate around when it should be able to stop turning for clean gear selection
..... anyhow the point is you can't see the damage until it removed and even then it may not be that obvious.

If there's no reason to suspect a hydraulic issue, loss of fluid/air in system for example, then given the mileage its done and your access to workshop facilities you should crack on and change it.

[philfingers]

it's looking that way. will need to sort it soon! Yes I understand the dragging.
it's heavy too so a new clutch at £120-130 isn't going to go amiss