Quality of materials and manufacture. Period. Clutches are a PITA to replace, and typically last 80,000-100,000 for me here in hilly Seattle. "Premium" clutches typically have a diaphragm made of heavier gauge steel than standard, and are stronger as a result. Assembly quality is also important. Many years ago I bought a lesser quality clutch for my MGB, and it never fully released, causing disconcerting gear grinding and hard shifts. After trying everything else to fix it, I pulled it and found that the plate had been riveted to the diaphragm off center, and could never fully retract. That said, I've had good service from both LUK and Sachs, and I haven't actually compared the two side by side, or weighed them. Maybe I'll do that next time. Stuart MacMillan '84 Westy w/2.1 Original message: From: Damon Campbell <damoncampbellvw@YAHOO.COM> Subject: clutch quality question What makes one clutch better than another? For example, bus depot sells a "Premium LUK Clutch Kit, 228MM, 80-91 Vanagon, the best available"... how is this different/better/worse than a sachs/oem clutch? |
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