1989 Cabriolet...a few questions

Have you flushed the clutch system (and the brakes, of course) recently? If you do not know when this was last done, do it now as your health and safety could be at stake. Your problem could be as simple as a small amount of air in the clutch-line. If flushing and bleeding the system does not cure this, then come back.

Could be a little bit of dirt in the system, as long as it clears out, leave it be. But I would still run a couple of cans of Techron (or equivalent) through the system per the package directions and see what results from this. And, after this exercise, if you have not already, do change the fuel filter.

Sounds like one caliper is binding. Check for uneven pad-wear in front. Get this fixed! That binding could become a failure or a premature wear-through leaving you without or only with very poor braking and little warning.

Engine braking misapplied will cause pre-mature wear of your clutch. You pays you $$, you makes you choice under these conditions. The general rule-of-thumb is engine-braking is for long hills and those few times when coasting is an option, not for constant use. That is why God invented brakes, and you should use them that way. And, the codicil to that rule is that one should be in same gear and engine RPM going down a hill as up the same hill, all other things being equal. If one can climb a hill in top gear without lugging the engine, than the same grade the other way should be managed the same way.

In general, if you do not like what is happening, then fix it. Your instincts are better than you think, generally, and finding yourself spinning out of control during a hard emergency braking maneuver, or not being able to shift quickly and surely during an avoidance maneuver.... well, you draw your own conclusions. So far, nothing that you have mentioned is heart-stoppingly expensive (assuming flushing and bleeding fixes the clutch and the caliper can be freed easily), but your life does depend on the proper operation of the brakes and clutch.

Good luck... this is *exactly* the time of year for those beasts!

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

It should be possible to not fully engage the second gear, that is :just pulling the shifter towards the second gear, for half a second, and then shifting into the first gear. Replacing the oil would help, but mostly the synchronizers might be tired. al.

I recommend that most people shift into 2nd before selecting reverse or 1st if needed.

Flushing the brake system is good, but I think the stock '89 VW Cabriolet clutch activation system is a cable. ;-) Double check the trans lube level.

Yeah Techron or even SeaFoam which I get at Menards for $5 should help. The engine might act differently when cold due to factors like the 02 sensor not online yet, deposits inside of the engine, vacuum leaks, etc. Warm Engine Idle speed is high! Try to get it down under 1K if you can. I think your FI system is CIS-E and you have an idle stabilizer valve on it. Not sure of this though. > sure

Yeah I sometimes miss my convertibles.

No that's more likely a gearshift linkage issue/adjustment. The linkage is a collection of rods, links, and bushings. There are aftermarket rebuild kits that are available for less than $100 that have the parts. You just replace the linkage parts one by one with the new parts...just match them up by sight. It might require being both under the car and above the car so you might need to put it up on ramps to reach all the pieces. When done it might need a slight adjustment to the main shifter rod although i'm not familiar with mk1 shifters...I've only done mk2 shifters...but could be the same problem.

Not sure about that one.

Could be unevenly worn pads (I find that the driver's side wears faster than the passenger side usually) in front, wheel alignment, uneven tire pressures left vs. right, etc. Worst case, a caliper might be sticking and not fully clamping on the pads so you get uneven braking. I'd look at and replace the pads and maybe even the discs first and go from there. Pads and discs for this car should be pretty inexpensive. try

There is nothing to flush w/the clutch. It is not hydraulic on these cars.

The car has nothing to do with health. Things like not smoking, getting exercise 3x a week, and eating right is health.

Safety, a little bit, but let's not be alarmist here either. It seems he has no problem controlling the vehicle here...these are minor annoyances.

Nope. There isn't a clutch line.

Techron or Seafoam or whatever other solvent is a decent idea. Fuel filter I doubt though...fuel filters pretty much only get plugged up and if bad enough it'll starve the car of fuel with mid-to-full-throttle applications. With an idle problem, the car will have enough fuel that a clogged filter will have no effect (unless it's 100% clogged in which case the car won't run, period).

Start with pads and go from there. If that fixes it, you're done. Pads can wear unevenly "naturally" from uneven weight in the car, such as being driven a lot with just the driver in it. If it doesn't fix it, then start looking at a sticking caliper.

Not necessarily. FWIW I just sold my Mk2 GTI in which I engine braked all the time. At 200K miles it still had the *original* clutch. Clutches do not wear significantly with engine braking. Regardless of acceleration or braking, once the clutch is engaged fully, there is no slipping and therefore no wear. The only wear it brings is the brief time between disengagement and engagement and with engine braking this is really no different from engine-accelerating. So yeah there is more wear than not-engine-braking but it's not like you're going to need a new clutch every

The initial lecture notwithstanding, thanks for all the advice. I have put through a couple bottles of Techron over the last 2 or 3 months, and that did seem to help some.

As for engine braking, perhaps I should clarify. I most certainly use the brakes if I need to. I'm just not in the habit of putting myself in situations where I constantly have to apply quick brake pressure. I'm of the philosophy that in *normal* traffic conditions on a highway, there is absolutely no reason you need to brake, especially in a car with manual transmission. You give yourself enough space in front of you, and coast/downshift as necessary to slow down (of course, I'm always still prepared to brake hard if need be due to an emergency situation). But that doesn't mean excessive wear on the clutch. I most certainly do not downshift to 3rd doing, say, 65mph. I have a feel for when it's appropriate and when it's not. My last car before my two VW's was a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse, which I bought new. 5 years and 122,000 miles later, when I sold it, it shifted as smoothly as it did the day I first drove it off the lot -- all on the original clutch. Right now my 2003 Jetta, which I bought new, has 80,000 miles on it -- with original brakes front and rear and the original clutch, all of which are still going strong.

As for the Cabriolet, I will certainly investigate the brakes. I think I may have made it sound worse than it really is, but I certainly know that brakes are nothing to take lightly (and for that reason, I vow NEVER to go to Pep Boys again...bad experience several years ago that ended up costing me way more than it should have and, more importantly, left my life in danger. But that's another story.)

Regarding the idle and such, I should note that over the last year-and-a-half, the fuel injector seals were replaced, as well as two temperature sensors. I also did a tune-up, and replaced the fuel filter. The temp. sensors were replaced at a local foreign car shop that works on these older VW's. (Both sensors were way out of range, and having those replaced made a world of difference.) They indicated that I'm not going to hurt anything with the engine running the way it is, but if I want to, I can troubleshoot further. It just might get a lot more involved and costly -- the law of diminishing returns, I guess. I was just seeing what other suggestions people here might have :-)

So again, thanks for all the advice. I'll let you know what happens!

-Corey

So I had the brakes inspected, and they're perfectly fine. As I said, I was probably overstating what really happens, and I didn't think it was much, but wanted to be sure.

As for the shifting...I had that checked, too, and the only thing found was one of the bushings was worn. So a new bushing kit was installed. I haven't driven it much yet since then, but it does seem better. It was after driving for a while that I had a hard time shifting into 1st, so I'll have to see next time I take it for more than a couple miles. But so far, so good :-)

Thanks again to everyone who replied!

-Corey

While at it, engine mounts should be checked also.