Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Oklahoma Vw Cruisers. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Clutch Problems; What's she done to it this time?
Topic Started: Sep 25 2006, 06:05 PM (1,059 Views)
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
Continuation of my summer-long fight to keep these old cars running. All summer I've been trying to get my truck to the shop to solve possible driveshaft/tranny/rear end issues, but in order to do that I have to keep both VWs running, and so far I've spent every weekend fixing one or both of them.

Latest installment. Couple of weeks ago the wife limps her 'vert home. Turns out that the clutch pedal arm had split, and would bend and hit the firewall before you could get the clutch fully disengaged. No worries, I pull the pedal cluster, take it to he runcle's and weld it up, paint it, and put it back in, along with a brand new clutch cable and adjuster wingnut from our friends at Bethany. Worked great - I drove it by Eddie's place late last week while making the 60-mile round trip commute and it performed flawlessly.

So, Saturday morning she gets in the bug to take kids to soccer games. Comes back inside to tell me the Gen light is on and won't go out. She packs the kids into the Fox and goes, I haul my lazy arse outta bed and look at the car. I swap out the voltage regulator, and all is restored. No problem. I hop in and catch up with them at soccer.

Few hours later we're leaving soccer after the last child has had his game. Missy is in the bug 'cause we're heading to Sonic for lunch, after which she's headed to OU to work the game. A block or two from Sonic she jerks away from a stop light, chirping the tires twice. Then she coasts into Sonic. Says it jerked hard like she'd dumped the clutch twice, then she heard a 'clunk like something fell out' and couldn't get the clutch to work.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of church and birthday parties, so I haven't had a chance to check it out. I did confirm that the clutch cable didn't break. It feels a lot like it did before I fixed the cluster - the clutch is engaged, but either the pressure plate springs are broken or something's preventing it from fully engaging, because it slips. The clutch alone won't hold the car on much of an incline now. And when you depress the pedal, if the pressure plate is moving at all, it's not moving far enough to disengage completely - the car won't roll freely unless you pull it out of gear.

Looking for thoughts and suggestions on where to start. Pressure plate? Throw-out bearing? Could the cable simply have 'stretched' suddenly, enough to cause this behavior? I'll say that when I adjusted the cable, the Bentley made it sound like the wingnut should have a 1/4" gap to the face of the throwout arm, but I couldn't get any clutch at all like that, so I'd tightened the adjuster so that the pedal freeplay was roughly like it called for in the Bentley and didn't worry that the cable always had some tension on the throwout arm. Perhaps this was a mistake... :( Any help is highly appreciated.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
vdubjim
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  * ]
doesnt really matter, too wonder about the clutch, pressure plate etc, you gotta pull the motor either way
maybe since it still sorta works but engaged rather quick and heard some bad sounds maybe the throwout bearing fell off?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
hippy freek
Member Avatar
hippie freek
[ *  *  * ]
yeah, what jim said. if its the cable and its stretched then when you push in the clutch you will grind the gears. thats a sure sign that your cable needs adjusting. you said that it sounds like something was rolling around and making noise. does it do it when you have the clutch engaged or not, or both?

i remember one time that i switched motors on a bus and the clutch from one motor was different then the other and after i got the motor in, i noticed a whining noise coming from the back when i let go of the clutch... so i had to pull the motor and do it right... have had a friend who threw a throw out bearing and it made noise and stuff and he bairly got it home.

so yeah yank that motor and see what it is... you said it acted like there was something stuck in it... more than likely its the bearing if it has totaly blown appart and its stuck in the clutch plate... may have to replace the whole get up...

good luck with it...

mike
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
vdubjim
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  * ]
if you do have to replace it, wilsons is selling there inventory on ebay right now, they have a bunch of cheap clutch parts and are in purcell so shipping is cheap or you can pick it up.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
vdubjim
Sep 26 2006, 05:48 AM
if you do have to replace it, wilsons is selling there inventory on ebay right now, they have a bunch of cheap clutch parts and are in purcell so shipping is cheap or you can pick it up.

It's not making noise, my wife just said she heard something 'clunk' when it broke. Anyway, guess I get to pull my first Bug engine this weekend. :P I know it's tons easier than any other car, but I'm still not looking forward to it.

Yeah, I'd noticed that - I wanna pick up some of those Audi alloys for my Fox, but I won't have money for that if these cars don't quit breaking! :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
kerensky
Sep 25 2006, 06:05 PM
... when I adjusted the cable, the Bentley made it sound like the wingnut should have a 1/4" gap to the face of the throwout arm, but I couldn't get any clutch at all like that, so I'd tightened the adjuster so that the pedal freeplay was roughly like it called for in the Bentley and didn't worry that the cable always had some tension on the throwout arm. ...

Anyone have any thoughts on this part? Curious as to whether I screwed up the adjustment in the first place...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
vdubjim
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  * ]
kerensky
Sep 26 2006, 10:29 AM
Yeah, I'd noticed that - I wanna pick up some of those Audi alloys for my Fox, but I won't have money for that if these cars don't quit breaking! :)

BE CAREFUL! SOME audi alloys are 4x108, NOT 4x100
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
BAM
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
vdubjim
Sep 25 2006, 10:18 PM
doesnt really matter, too wonder about the clutch, pressure plate etc, you gotta pull the motor either way
maybe since it still sorta works but engaged rather quick and heard some bad sounds maybe the throwout bearing fell off?

DON'T PULL THE ENGINE UNTIL YOU CHECK THE CLUTCH TUBE AT BOTH ENDS!!!!!

yea it may be the throw out bearing clips but I doubt it because if that is rattleing around you will hear some god awful noise if it works the clutch a little bit.
pull the pedall assembly and the rear inspection plate for the shift coupler and see if the clutch tube is still attatched good on both ends. if not back the wingnut off and limp it over and I'll fix it for $40.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
vdubjim
Sep 26 2006, 10:04 PM
kerensky
Sep 26 2006, 10:29 AM
Yeah, I'd noticed that - I wanna pick up some of those Audi alloys for my Fox, but I won't have money for that if these cars don't quit breaking! :)

BE CAREFUL! SOME audi alloys are 4x108, NOT 4x100

Yeah, I knew that, but definitely a good thing to remind me of.

Luckily I can simply wheel them out to my car and see if they bolt up :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
BAM
Sep 27 2006, 01:17 AM
vdubjim
Sep 25 2006, 10:18 PM
doesnt really matter, too wonder about the clutch, pressure plate etc, you gotta pull the motor either way
maybe since it still sorta works but engaged rather quick and heard some bad sounds maybe the throwout bearing fell off?

DON'T PULL THE ENGINE UNTIL YOU CHECK THE CLUTCH TUBE AT BOTH ENDS!!!!!

yea it may be the throw out bearing clips but I doubt it because if that is rattleing around you will hear some god awful noise if it works the clutch a little bit.
pull the pedall assembly and the rear inspection plate for the shift coupler and see if the clutch tube is still attatched good on both ends. if not back the wingnut off and limp it over and I'll fix it for $40.

Yea, that's absolutely the kind of thing I was looking for, something simple that it might be that a noob like me would overlook. I hate it when I go thru some convoluted, expensive and drawn out repair only to find it was a vacuum leak or some such. ;)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
vdubjim
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  * ]
eh i didnt even think of that because the one or 2 times outta 200 that this was the prob with me, you could hear something was not right in the car with you.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
BAM
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
vdubjim
Sep 27 2006, 03:45 AM
eh i didnt even think of that because the one or 2 times outta 200 that this was the prob with me, you could hear something was not right in the car with you.

yea when the tube breaks free you usually feel or hear a strange clicking sensation..... but I've seen a few that didn't.... the reason I mentioned this is because you said something was wrong with your pedal assembly last time.

but sisht.... what the heck do I know???? LOL...
honestly I've been wrong alot.... but I've been right once or twice too.
If its clutch related I can guarantee I can fix it in 4 hours for $100 though so bring it over ;)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mr. Loaf
Member Avatar
Mikeystuff
[ *  *  * ]
Yep, I am thinking it is your Bowden Tube that the cable is in. Make sure it bends up slightly at the clutch end where it comes out of the tunnel. Your cable itself could have stretched but not enough to cause what you are describing.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
kerensky
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
MikeyStuff
Sep 27 2006, 10:21 AM
Yep, I am thinking it is your Bowden Tube that the cable is in. Make sure it bends up slightly at the clutch end where it comes out of the tunnel. Your cable itself could have stretched but not enough to cause what you are describing.

Bowden tube - that's the somewhat flexible tube that has the downward bend in it to keep tension on the cable, yes? I haven't looked closely at it but it seemed to be in the right place and within specs. But thanks, that's another thing to check before I do anything drastic. :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
BAM
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
[ *  *  * ]
what does the pedal tension feel like? If the clutch is slipping now that I reread your origional post either the cable is too tight or the pressure plate is weak. the other stuff I said would be irrelovent. :blink:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Tech Talk · Next Topic »
Add Reply