406oc.co.uk

Hi All,

I was wondering if some kind person out there would give me some advice on a 406HDi 110. I test drove an '03 model today with 77k on the clock, everything felt fine apart from the clutch. The biting point of the clutch was right at the very top (to give an idea a slight bit of pressure on the clutch pedal made the clutch slip). I did the usual checks to see if the clutch slips in normal driving, i.e. put in a high gear and try to set off, and the car stalled. When I returned to the dealer and said about the clutch he said it was perfectly normal and all clutches are like this. Is there anyone on here with one of these cars that can tell me how their clutch is?

Is he telling the truth re: the 406 HDi 110 clutch? I know they have a DMF, it's hydraulic and auto adjusting but that's as far as my knowledge goes.

Many Thanks

Andy

406s do have very high clutch biting points. The weight of my foot is enough to slip my V6's nearly-new clutch. I'd expect a clutch to last at least 150k, so the one you saw is way below when it should go. Now, this is not a guarantee of anything. If the car has been towing extensively or a previous owner liked to leave their foot on the pedal, the lifetime could be reduced.

My test of a clutch is to rev high at speed (3rd or 4th gear), then do a fast change into 5th while flooring the accelerator. If you get whiplash, the clutch is good. If you hit the rev limiter with your foot off the clutch in 5th, it's a gonner.

The DMF isn't known for failing before a clutch of the same age.

Well from my experience when i first bought the car with 124k km the clutch was bad, really bad, i only needed to floor it a bit hard for it to slip, i have exchanged the whole clutch with a solid conversion meaning cluch + solid flywheel, but anyway at first the bitting point was low but it started to get again higher, but not that high... and it's working perfectly even with remap done...

I never even thought about the biting point till I went on holiday to the lake district about 4 years ago.
All those hill starts and changing gear on the hills, made me paranoid as the biting point was so high.
First thing I did on my return was price up a new clutch.
My car is remapped to 140bhp and yet, it was another 3 years before I changed the clutch, and that wasn't due to the plate, but the thrust bearing going, so if going for another test drive, bear this in mind, and maybe try what MJB said

It's true. Both my 406's had high biting points. A recently replaced clutch (thanks jasper5!) took the biting point a bit lower but it will probably come back to its usual high position at some point.

Yes it is 'normal' even the pedal sits higher than the brake if I recall?

The good ladies 307 is exactly the same which makes it quite uncomfortable for my long legs to drive. Presumably this is a Pug hydraulic clutch quirk.
I had wondered whether the pedal could be repositioned lower down as it needs very little travel even on a brand new clutch, anyone ever tried modding it?

Don't want to rain on your parade, but I put a deposit on a 2.2 GTX which had the same 'high biting point', a few months before buying the dogmobile. Internet searches convinced me this was OK, but the clutch packed in the day before I was to collect it. Needless to say, I scrubbed the deal.

Not noticed any sign of it on mine, (before or after clutch swap earlier this year).

Depends what you're used to I guess. All 406 hydraulic clutches seem to bite high, it's been asked about so many times I was thinking of sticking this thread in the knowledge base. It doesn't actually mean the clutch is about to go but...

The biting point on mine is much lower than that, but it is a cable operated clutch according to service box and rather stiff, has been for the last year since I bought it. How come the biting points are so different?