Peugeot The Drive Of Your Life

[Kansas Eiffel]

I am looking for ways to improve the life of the dual mass flywheel (DMF) in my 2005 Ford Focus tdci. I have heard that they can wear out quite quickly on the Ford Focus if they are driven in city conditions a lot, i.e. running on low revs and lots of stop-start driving.

I understand that at low revs a diesel engine puts a lot of strain on the DMF because it is running less smooth, however is there much wear on the DMF when you are sitting idle in neutral in traffic? Surely there wouldnt be much strain on the engine, so not much strain on the DMF also?

When you're running at low speeds in traffic and the revs are down around 1000rpm and the engine seems to be under strain and so could be straining the DMF, would it be better to drive faster at say 1500 rpm and then coast in neutral and then go back to 1500rpm when you're slowing down? Or to just stay driving consistently at 1000rpm?

Reading around a bit on the dual mass clutch the friction plate between the two masses is the component that will often wear out as it is designed to keep from too much torque being sent through to the transmission, taking the hit itself instead (choice between burning up a couple hundred dollar flywheel or a transmission in the thousands of dollars).

The time you are going to put the most strain on the friction plate is during acceleration (that is when the most force is exerted onto the drivetrain) so I would suggest keeping a steady speed over speeding up, coasting, speeding up, coasting.

Dual mass flywheels are susceptible to high energy loads, heavy acceleration and deceleration , towing does not help either, smooth driving and avoid towing where possible , this driving style will add considerably to life of the dual mass.

The real reason for dual mass is simply to add additional revenue to manufacturer supported workshops, since the introduction, gearboxes have become lighter, with lighter components such as synchromesh hub assembly's and more important carrier bearings, gearboxes are now manufactured significantly weaker taking advantage of the torque and vibration damping effects of dual mass flywheels .

It depends on the gearbox strength in the main. Audi, VW, Nissan ,Volvo, BMW, Land Rover Alfa Romeo and maybe some others have strong gearboxes and are fine with single mass conversions. Vauxhall, Renault Peugeot Ford and perhaps others are not well made gearboxes and can suffer problems running single mass flywheels. Some dual mass flywheels can cost up to 1000 on their own, outrageous really. The biggest manufacturer of dual mass flywheels are LUK and are fitted to many new vehicles as original equipment. LUK advertise 5 year warranty on replacement dual mass flywheels yet they are fitted to many new vehicles which only have 3 year warranties, work that out!. Forgot to mention starting the vehicle is a big issue to dual mass flywheels under cranking as a engine is all out of balance until it starts, avoid laboring the engine at low idle speeds trying to save fuel as that,s a big no no too, if you have a stop start vehicle turn it off, it will cause substantial wear to not only the dual mass but also the battery,the starter motor and the alternator and gearbox first motion shaft bearings on manual gearboxes.

Dual Mass Flywheels absorb the harmonic torsional vibration caused by low rpm in few cylinder engines ie 4 cyl at under 1500 rpm, worst under load. That is when the DMF will be working and wearing most and at a time that you can reduce wear, but low rpm is where the economy is and this is why the DMF is used, to take advantage of the low rpm economy without the shudder or chatter (petrol motors have the harmonic vibration also) most v8s are smooth right from the idle petrol or diesel it is the length of the crank coupled to the amount of cyls.

Best mileage from the DMF will be achieved while in top gear cruising over 1500rpm. If you are in town, you are in town, maybe use 1 gear lower during low RPM and less peddle at low RPM being the only things I can suggest, it may be better for you to consider auto. These diesels are good, add up the $ in fuel saving for 1 year.

I have a pig 307 with the 6sp, I run start it regularly, I have done 200k+ and the DMF is buggered (clangs at the idle and shudders during take of) but I am still driving. Towing with the 307 is good, pulls like a train. I am told? that the starter drives to the trany end of the DMF, if so starting alone will work the DMF.

The effect is like an impact wrench driving your car, the vibrational torque peaks are high and are hard on the trany and the crank. Smoothing this is the job of the DMF and HB. In a non DMF 4 cyl vehicle, you will know when these forces are active as the vibration comes through the whole vehicle even a 6cyl truck, but I have used vehicles for long durations while under severe torsional vibration and have never had a broken crank or trany as a result, it was the shudder that is most irritating and what often forces one to down change a gear.

I can't offer you an opportunity to improve your DMF's lifecycle, but to be honest, do you want to? I had a 2003 tdi jetta that had one, and replacing it with a single mass flywheel improved performance quite a bit (and reduced the noise from the work out DMF).

I have an Opel (Vauxhall) Astra Estate Diesel 1.7CDTI, 5-speed manual. Upon buying it as new, in order to extend DMF's life I was advised the following:1. To avoid driving when heavily loaded or when climbing steep roads at low revs and to maintain engine revs above 1500 rpm.2. If possible to avoid strong deceleration by sudden switching to lower gear. Instead, to apply more brake force. Brake pads and disks are much cheaper than DMF and clutch.Following these simple steps I still enjoy my car with its original DMF already more than 280,000 km (174,780 miles) with no signs of wearing or any other abnormal behavior.

If an exchange DMF to SMF is not available, it is an option to adapt similar alternative SMF even from petrol eng or wrecker or fix/lock your old DMF to achieve the SMF, changing cars is always a good option though.

The kit looked great and installed perfectly, but introduced a lot of noise and chatter at idle as well as being very touchy with next to no slip. It was also very loud at high load/low revs/low speed (sounded like a diesel) & had a bad vibration through the whole car at certain rev/load combinations e.g. around 75-80km/h in 4th/5th. If I revved the lower gears out more it smoothed that, but then it would also 'bang' quite hard into the next gear, I assume as it didn't have the DMF to smooth it out, and this would sometimes cause very harsh traction control cut out.

We started off the day with a coffee in Berkeley, Ca right by the Cal campus. Then we went for a nice and long drive, romping through the East San Francisco Bay Area foothills, which I had the pleasure to lead, on my "home" roads. Here, I was given the opportunity to drive a 505 Turbo for the first time in my life. I was truly impressed by the 25 year old luxury sport-sedan, and very grateful to its owner who offered me the opportunity, and trusted me with his flawless pride and joy.

Then many of us parted ways for lunch, and we reconvened later at the Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, Ca. Here we met up with legendary 80s race car driver Victor Van Tress - who led the Peugeot Factory Racing team to back-to-back victories in the Sports Car Club of America, including the famed Road Atlanta Runoffs in the late 1980s.

I was honored when Vic threw me the keys to his famed championship-winning, fully race-prepped 505 Turbo "Red," and got to spend 10 minutes in pure Peugeot heaven, gassing around Berkeley streets in the car that was on the poster on my bedroom wall as a child. Truly an experience on its own.

It was truly a memorable all-day affair that I'd never have dreamed of ever experiencing, featuring a bunch of cool cars from a brand which is seldom recognized over here in the United States. Needless to say, plenty of heads were turned, and jaws were dropped wherever our caravan went. Really hope this becomes a tradition for us American Peugeot owners, and in no better setting than the beautiful Golden State where the sun shines, and the cars are fine.

I personally extend my thanks to David and Victor who graced me with the pleasure of driving their wonderful cars, and to Marc who replaced my burnt brake light and gave out the very awesome and 80s Peugeot Cassette-kit souvenirs to everyone.

That was really fun. Tossing the keys out to let others drive Red was great as I knew Red would take care of them and keep them safe. If I haven't hurt Red after 26 years, who can? It had to be a life changing experience to those who appreciate the 505 Turbo and Red the wonder car. Red just happens to be the WWF wrestler of the bunch.

I was so impressed with Jeff Ray's Diesel as it was so clean. And he brings in his son as a new generation of aficionados. Sina's beat and battered survivor of San Francisco's harshest treatment was itself beautiful representing it and Sina's will to keep it a live. That was very cool too.

Now I'm just sayin' but the French & Italian Car Show is in November and it just happens to be in my neck of the woods but.......................it'd sure be cool to have a really good showing of 505's there (for once)

Secondly, seeing Red made me think: How many other actual SSB cars from that season are still in existence today, and better still, out driving around? I bet the list is very small--perhaps just one?

i wasn't able to leave LA until saturday morning, so i missed the morning's festivities (which is just as well, since my 505 isn't running at the moment). i met up with everyone at the berkeley marina for the photoshoot, then we went to the mexican place for dinner. good food, good people, good conversation. i think i saw a margarita and some beer, at some point.

Peugeots were in my awareness even in my Austrian days: I rarely saw one, but they were spoken of in very high regard: Der Franzsische Mercedes was the common Germanic expression. And that was about as good a compliment to earn from Germans as it got, back in the day when Mercedes was the paragon of quality.

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