Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted

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Sat 14 Nov 2020 13:40
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Gully.Moy

Question is, how likely is a new, original Dua Zafira B 1.7 CDTI l Mass Flywheel to be faulty?

Background:

Car developed rattle when clutch depressed and had it diagnosed as DMF failing by local garage. Due to lockdown backlog they couldn't address it soon enough so I found a mobile mechanic who also worked out cheaper. I ordered new flywheel and clutch on eBay (seller apparently authorised Vauxhall distributer). DMF was listed as new and fully working but "some corrosion to non contact surface", so presumably old stock. Arrived with no visible corrosion (although incidentally there was a little on clutch which wasn't in description). Mobile mechanic came and fitted. Seemed very reasonable guy, took longer than he expected but wouldn't take any more money. Devastatingly, when finished and started, rattle was worse than before! Mechanic blames faulty flywheel. He even seems confident that he'll charge parts company for refit labour! But I wanted to check that this sounded plausible as no idea how likely a new DMF is to be faulty upon fitment, without being visibly so beforehand and whether or not anything else could have gone wrong.

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Sat 14 Nov 2020 14:44
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - elekie&a/c doctor
Was this a known brand flywheel/ clutch product or an any make part ? Good quality items are usually valeo or Luk brand . Vauxhall don’t make clutches .
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Sat 14 Nov 2020 17:02
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Gully.Moy

Valeo - with GM stamps as well

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Sat 14 Nov 2020 18:01
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - elekie&a/c doctor
Could certainly be a faulty product, or a fake part . What does the eBay seller have to say about it. ?
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Sat 14 Nov 2020 21:40
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Gully.Moy

Mechanic suggested fake part, but seller seems pretty sizeable and claims to be an authorised distributer so would be surprised. Box has holographic GM sticker but not sure that means much. Waiting to hear from seller as didn't finish fitting and start engine until Friday evening and company not open until Mon.

But it's good to hear that it sounds plausible for a new DMF to be faulty. I like the mechanic and don't want to suspect that he's at fault. Are DMFs likely to get damaged in transit? Was only in cardboard box if I recall correctly and obviously very heavy! No idea how fragile they are. Is there much chance of them getting damaged during fitting or being fitted incorrectly by a mechanic? He seems to know his stuff as far as I can tell!

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Tue 24 Nov 2020 23:00
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Gully.Moy

Hi guys. Latest is that, after ordering new DMF and rebooking mechanic, he has failed to show up and is ignoring all contact. What's more, his accounts aren't in order on company-information.service.gov.uk. Is it looking more like he's messed something up during fitment? Any ideas what he could have done? Car now always knocks and just changes a bit when clutch depressed... Help!

Cheers

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Wed 25 Nov 2020 09:18
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - paul 1963

Probably not the answer your looking for I think your going to have to take it to reputable garage and get them to take a look, no idea what your original guy could have done ( if anything) but he obviously doesn't want to come back.

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Wed 25 Nov 2020 13:47
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - elekie&a/c doctor
Looks like a classic case of buy cheap , buy twice . This is one reason why reputable garages won’t fit customer supplied parts.
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Thu 26 Nov 2020 09:49
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Sprice

My first thought when this thread originally appeared was the mechanic messed up. How can a mobile guy do a proper job of changing a clutch and DMF on a driveway with no lift?

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Thu 17 Dec 2020 23:18
Zafira B 1.7 CDTI - New DMF Faulty? Or has Mechanic damaged/misfitted - Gully.Moy

Update to this. Mobile mechanic got back in touch with all kinds of excuses for lack of contact and wanted to come and sort it out. He intends to bill parts company so I apparently have only time to lose. I was going to go with local garage instead but other half thought we should let him try to sort it out.

So he's come and fitted brand new, double-the-price flywheel from different seller (still Valeo but not GM branded). At first clutch depress, the rattle was back :-( Fist he started saying something other than the flywheel was wrong. Then he sat in the drivers seat and operated the driving controls a bit and the rattle went. He said something along the lines of "Ah, I know - the clutch just needed to get aligned, should be fine now".

I took it for a tiny test drive after he left. I can in fact still hear the rattle at least some times when clutch is depressed, although it's much quieter now. Any ideas what that could mean!?

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