Hey Guys so i got a little situation.... I had my car at the shop for a ppi. the mechanic told me the car clutch life was at about 45% give or take, but he said when he did his visual, he wasnt sure, he said its seems worse... the car seemed to drive and shift fine, no slip or anything. buttt, after driving it a few hours i got a SlOW DOWN light. witch i had posted before. i took it the mechanic again, and he said the clutch is over heating and i need a new one.. does anyone know how the computer read the clutch life?? Is it like a service light on most cars that just estimates how long the clutch should be, or does it actually have a way of measuring it??? im not really to sure what to do..
Unless all TCU settings from original new clutch installation are input to the SDX computer for comparison before the readings are taken, those clutch wear numbers are virtually useless. Even when all original settings are input, the resulting numbers are vague approximations at best. Your clutch may or may not be worn out but a slow down light is normally not related to that situation. Usually the first sign of a worn clutch is dropping into neutral upon normal shift request. I would want the internal error code(s) stored by the slow down light diagnosed before doing anything more to the car.
The car seems to drive fine, no problems shifting and its not going into neutral. the only problem i had was the slow down light.... they are giving me a really good deal on the work, maybe i should just get it done and be on the safe side..
If by "...get it done..." you mean have the F1 clutch replaced, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. The slow down light is seldom related to clutch problems so it's likely whatever problem is causing the light will still be present after clutch replacement. If you do go ahead with F1 clutch replacement, it should only be done by a factory trained technician with extensive experience replacing F1 clutches and using the factory SDX diagnostic computer. Anything else is begging for trouble.
I love these quick visual clutch inspections, I did not know snap on was selling xray glasses these days.
To answer your question: it's an estimate, the computer is not actually taking a ruler to the clutch so the readings could be inaccurate, especially at high wear levels.
I'm not sure what tools your shop has but the dealers can output all kinds of data on the clutch including overheat time. This is the best way to determine the condition of the clutch without removal.
i got the car from a dealer in miami.. and they recommended me to a shop they use.. the guy i talked to at the shop seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to the 430... and he said he has the same computer that ferrari used to diagnose there cars.. i guess he worked at the ferrari dealer for a years and then opened up his own shop
