GTI VR6 Clutch Problem - where to start

Could be the over centre spring...had a '98 GLX with the same problem earlier tday.....

- Pete

You mean the spring attached to the pedal assembly? No its ok. What is a little unnerving is that when you try to press the clutch you feel through the pedal the rotation of the flywheel - vibrates/seems to pulse with no action.

Looking at the Bentley manual it looks as though the Clutch Release Lever has either snapped off in two since the slave's push rod seems to be hitting the clutch disk when I press the clutch pedal. Or for some reason the rod has slipped past the clutch release lever. Going to remove the slave and visually check to see if I can see the release lever. In any case it looks like its going to be a pretty expensive trip to the mechanic for a 5 dollar part.

Pulled the slave cylinder and the pin was jammed at an angle into the clutch housing. It also was ground down slightly where the plastic tips was worn away. Should the release lever be "felt" close to the housings thru-hole? It seems like its there but pushed back - the clutch is engaged. Can't pull it apart myself though and will have to send it (have it flatbedded) to a reputable shop in the area.

Unless you're "hard" on clutches it shouldn't fail in so short of time. Kinda' sounds like the TO-bearing came apart. Was it replaced during the clutch repair?

Seasons Greeting & good luck

It was. Might be the bearing since when I pulled the slave the pushrod seemed to be jammed against the release lever which seems to be back a little farther than it should be. Most likely need all the clutch internals since the pushrod was grinding against the disc as the plastic tip of the rod has been worn away as well as a bit of the tip of the rod. Can't pull the clutch myself so it goes back together and towed off to a shop tomorrow, unless for some reason the pushrod jumped off the release lever. Since there was a clicking noise when driving unless slight pressure was applied to the clutch the bearing or sleeve was ready to fail. Something has to be frozen causing the release lever not to return as I cant see it through the pushrod hole or feel it unless my finger is in the hole past my first joint on my index finger. When I pulled the slave a few years ago I remember the lever being much closer to the opening. Any ideas what a clutch job goes for these days?

Figure about 6-8 hours labor plus parts. Also can you snap a picture and post it somewhere or e-mail so I may see the damaged parts? May be able to offer ideas on the cause.

The only thing I have is a scan of the pushrod is located at:

snipped-for-privacy@swbell.net Which was jammed at a 45 deg angle to the left and was a pain to get out - was really stuck and I had to jiggle it a bit with some channel-locks. From the photo the plastic tip seemed to have moved down the shaft and tip was worn away (metal) slightly. Am going to put it back in the car - after bleeding the slave to see if I get any clutch action which is pretty doubtful. What was a little strange was prior to complete failure there was a ticking sound which must have gotten progressively worse, pressing on the clutch - even slightly during driving made it stop then it just got louder for a 2 miles then after pressing the clutch caused it to completely jam. What I suspect is that there must have been a bubble in the system or the slave cyl piston wasn't fully pressing against the pushrod which caused it to rattle around - when I pressed on the clutch the pushrod must have been in a strange position and when pressure was applied to the piston the pushrod jammed past the release lever and jamed. Just a theory but it kindof makes sense since everything was smooth without noise when pressing the clutch. If the bearing was going I should have heard somesort of creaking or felt some binding - who knows. If I get some clutch action when its buttoned up hopefully I'll just need the slave assembly - although I'm not sure what kind of havoc was caused by grinding the pushrod against the disk. If its just the slave I'd been really happy esp after Christmas expenses.

Thanks for the reply, interested in what you think.

"Woodchuck" wrote in message news:3feb9617$0$35831$ snipped-for-privacy@reader.city-net.com...

Didn't work, put it back together, bled the slave. Very little pressure in the clutch, turned the car on and its sounds like something is rattling, even when its not in gear. Can't engage the clutch. Have to get it towed out - looks like its major .

Thanks for your help.