Working from the First Line Group clutch testing facility in Banbury, UK, the Borg & Beck product team has introduced a new All-In-One Clutch Kit, HKF1054, for the popular Fiat Ducato, Citroën Relay, Peugeot Boxer 3.0-litre TD vans. The latest introduction follows the success of the HKF1053 all-in-one kit for the Opel Combo, Corsa 1.3-litre CDTi.
For the new kit the product development team set about exploring the cause of a problem that was particularly common in applications where the donor vehicle had been converted, such as a motorhome or something similar. In these common instances the original equipment clutch is put under severe pressure, the consequence being failure. The problem in these applications was traced to the excessive build up of heat within the OE clutch, which was unable to be sufficiently dissipated resulting in overheating and subsequent burnout of the clutch, usually at low mileage.
To resolve the issue, the Borg & Beck engineers respecificed the OE dual mass flywheel (DMF) clutch and working with First Line’s manufacturing partner, developed the HKF1054, a single mass flywheel (SMF) solution, which although still operates with the existing OE release mechanism, has a 15mm larger diameter flywheel and a modified cover assembly that allows for a significantly improved dissipation of heat, so it is fully able to cope with the demands of these heavy duty applications.
After being subject to durability testing, which was carried out under the sternest of conditions, the new clutch lasted 15 times longer than the OE unit, due largely to its superior thermal dissipation qualities.
In common with the original Borg & Beck HKF1053 kit, this new addition is also an all-in-one kit solution and comes with the flywheel, cover assembly and the necessary mounting bolts to allow workshops to benefit from the most straightforward fitting procedure.
The new kit will be available from Borg & Beck stockist nationwide.