Morning:

I have an '84 245 that has been, for the last several years, "eating" its clutches. Those pressure plates must be awfully tasty....

The car has just a hair over 300K miles on it. The original clutch started slipping and was replaced in 2007 at 220K miles. Since then, I have replaced the clutch FOUR times, averaging about 20K on each clutch. My driving style has not changed and I have been driving a "stick" since the 70s (started with a three-on-the-tree).

What's happened each time is that the clutch felt normal for about 2-2 1/2 years, and then suddenly, almost over night, the engagement point was right off the floor. Eventually, the clutch became permanently engaged, such that even with the clutch pedal pushed to the floor the car would creep forward in 1st gear if I did not keep my foot on the brake. Shifting is not impossible but extremely difficult.

I've done two of the clutch jobs myself. The last two were done by a reputable independent Volvo shop here in town. All four times, the pressure plate, clutch disc, t/o bearing and pilot bearing were replaced. I did not resurface the flywheel but the indy shop did on the last two clutch jobs.

I'm at the end of my rope here. Having to replace the clutch every 2-3 years is not only abnormal, it is expensive.

Any thoughts? Just poor quality replacement parts? I used Sachs kits purchased through iPd and the indy shop assured me that they used "OEM" parts (but they did not specify the brand).

Thanks.