I bought my 92 240 from the second owner with 195K and it is now approaching 300K. Both POs kept detailed service records. There is no indication that the clutch was ever replaced. Anyone seen 400K on the original clutch?

230,000 miles. Clutch disc still had some friction material left on it but the throw out bearing disintegrated when it was pulled.

hi cd- curious as hell about your story. in my many clutch changes on rwd cars since the war, most were for severe chattering or slippage but after 100k miles.have seen all friction facing completely gone from the clutch discs and its rivets gouging the pressure plate. my 92 245 with the m47 has 248k miles. have seen t/o bearings worn out and noisy but never disintegrating. every time you step on that clutch heavy stress is placed on the t/o which is why you shouldnt sit for long periods at the light with the trans in gear and clutch down. overheats the bearing and can melt out the lubricant hastening bearing wear. anyway only problem ive noticed is when hot from long driving, the clutch will chatter making the car shudder in 1st gear starts. when it cools down and on short trips no problem-operates smoothly. have checked all the usual suspects( mounts, ujoints, cable, trans oil leaking on clutch) and no soap. what think you? experienced this? thanks tons oldduke

Oldduke,

The t/o bearing in that 245 came out in 3 or 4 pieces, which fell to the ground in the shop when the clutch was pulled. 14 years and 230,000 miles on original parts. The mechanic showed me the disc; it had not worn down to the rivets yet. He estimated another 25,000-30,000 miles left on the disc, but given the labor involved it did not make sense to put the old disc back into the car.

They also found a crack in the clutch fork when they did the clutch job. That added quite a few bucks to the bill!

well cd i guess we can says the t/o was shot to hell. lucky it didnt come apart while spinning at high rpm as you powershifted on tobacco road or a dark desert highway. smart move on the disc. if you went to the dealer for that fork , bet he shystered you for $100. welding the crack might have saved it but might have been metal fatigue elsewhere. smart decisions. sometimes but rarely it doesnt pay to be a cheap bastid. me? im only frugal. regards oldduke

When I worked at an Indy foreign car shop in Buffalo (1972-3) I did a clutch job on a 1959 Opel with an original 5,000 miles (for real-the car was pristine in every respect) on the working clock. Not an easy job as it employed a torque tube. The disc was completely worn out. My guess - an unskilled driver.
On the same note - a college buddy with a split window VW Microbus bragged about not needing brakes to hold it at traffic lights on Kansas City's (and his home city of Boulder's) many hills. Then he complained about getting less than 10k on a clutch. Skilled with the clutch pedal -- not too smart :-) Dave

When the clutch started to go on my M46 240 the first sign was just one short
jolt when moving from a stop. It progressed to multiple chattering but didn't
start slipping for a long time. Something else that can wear out on a high
mileage car is the pivot ball for the clutch fork. On my car the pivot ball wore down so much it got out of position and broke one of the spot welds on the retainer plate which keeps the pivot ball attached to the fork. When that
happened the clutch pedal had to be pushed to the floor for release.

Original plates last the longest. My old maroon 89 had 323K before I finally changed it. But then again I babied it since the wife drove it also. Now my little gold 89 had the first one replaced around 280K and well on it's way to 500K with it's second one. I drive it like I stole it. But then again I had the clutch place special make the last disk and ran it with a factory pressure plate. Max

hi max- interesting reports here of amazing high mileage. many factors involved in clutch life. volvo 240s seem to have a long life, longer than american sedans.ithink the low 1st gear start up on the low torque engine helps to save the clutch(any of you with a 240 been cussed or hand gestured when starting off at the light? most folks werent concerned with clutch life because it was relatively easy to change a clutch yourself or hire it out cheaply to an indy shop or learn how to drive a clutch car. if youre talking about a clutch job in an fwd car there will be much more work or repair expense. aside from bad driver habits shortening a clutch life(riding the clutch, 2d gear starts, clutch popping, failure to downshift at the right time, etc), clutches fail for a variety of reasons(friction disc worn out and slipping, clamping pressure weakens from age, broken disc or pressure plate springs, bad t/o bearing or wobbly pilot bearing causing chatter to name a few). a leaking rear main oil seal has ruined many clutches. volvo recommends changing that when you change out the clutch.curious as hell has anyone here had the distinct honor privelege and joy of themselves changing out an fwd clutch? hellacious heh? thanks tons oldduke