Woodchuck were are you?

I forgot to mention that it's an 94 A3 DFQ tranny I believe. It's been a while. Also with the engine off, it shifts into all gears smooth. I turn the engine on it's as if I am trying to put it in gear without the clutch standstill. Of course I don't force it but you know it just stops. Stock shifter and I always double clutched it for 13 years now so the syncros stay nice.

Not Woodchuck! Similar symptoms, but this clutch pedal was on the floor...... I just replaced a cracked clutch release "arm" inside of a transmission. It is the arm that pushes the release bearing and it had cracked allowing it to flex. This was in a 1997 Jetta 2.0. You could carefully pull off the round cover to inspect after you jack up the left side of the car. It is a pretty easy job too, but just a little tricky to do!

You may have a bad clutch after 215K miles on it!

Hi dave- Thanks for the bump. I am thinking the same as I call it the actuator finger that presses on the TO bearing. Mine slowly faded so it is at the point of being marginal and not allowing me to go into gear at a stand still anymore. The finger probably has cracks so it could slip and loose traction onto the TO bearing.

I noticed I can shift into all the gears without a clutch and the engine off. I thought that to be strange since I never thought of doing that before.

The clutch is 115K on the clock, the second clutch. Clutch doesn't slip but I bet it's ready to get replaced.

The easiest thing to do and most likely is to remove the green cap and that way you can check the arm, brg, and rod. All can be removed without removing the trans. As for time our dealer charges 6 hours to do a clutch replacement.

I would say that double clutching is not working out for you.

Hi Woodchuck. Thanks for the book time. I just guessed 6 hours. Sounds good. The brg (finger) splines probably worn or has cracks and maybe the rod might not be to spec. No noise or other usual suspects. I could still shift okay on the highway and I never had any syncro noise even now. No grinding. The double-clutch really worked well.

Thanks!

Why would you say that? I have never had any syncro grinding noises to this day. Double clutching has nothing to do with the clutch plate itself. Are you trying to be an ass-clown or are you serious?

TRoll PLoNk!!!!

You report getting about 115 K miles on a clutch. That seems below average for a VW clutch.

I am pretty sure the clutch plate, as well as other parts, is involved in double-clutching. I am certainly no kind of expert in such things, but I don't think that means that suggestion that double clutching could increase clutch wear is out of order.

I was both serious and I was feeling some irony in taking an action to save the gears and eating up the clutch in the process. And irony is a form of humor. I was not attempting sarcasm.

So I was serious that something might be causing what I felt would be premature clutch failures, and thought it might be connected to operation. You described your clutch operation with the double clutching.

That translates into me getting the last word? ;-) I was gonna stop there, but it gave me another line of thought.

"Peter Parker" seemed to ring a bell. You seem to have some related expertise:

*&as_usubject=&as_uauthors=&lr=&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=18&as_maxm=11&as_maxy=2007&safe=off

snip Should be no name calling here please! We are all VW owners/lovers and should be above that!

The most mileage I have seen out of a clutch is 140K miles. This usually occurs when there is ONLY 1 educated driver driving the Jetta/Golf. I have seen some fail at 40K due to defective/weak pressure plates ('01 GTi VR6). I currently have 140K miles on my inline engine's (installed-used) clutch disc but my pressure plate is rusty = hard to disengage and sometimes will slip. This car is 24 years old though and I installed the clutch in 1991 but I can still burn rubber with it most of the time.

I have seen clutch disc material broken and causing the clutch not to disengage, so a clutch job may be in order.

I think anything under 60-80K for the life of the clutch is premature but sh#t happens! Sometimes they last and sometimes they don't. It can be due to defective parts, incorrect driving habits (multiple drivers), or old age. Anything over 80K is a good life for a clutch and anything over 120K is a blessing! lol

JMHO

i agree , we should count our blessings snoman doesn't frequent this newsgroup

Dave- My clutch is still good. It's not slipping. Tom VRdick doesn't know what he is reading.

My clutch currently has 180000 on it and still going strong.

Then I will say that you are a great driver! ;-)

snip

I think I read that your clutch was not slipping but I also read you were having trouble shifting gears. This still could be a sign of a bad clutch.

Maybe there was a misunderstanding but don't fall into the name calling trap please. It is horrible on the aircooled group over 1 person. :-( People are here to help or get help. Sugar vs vinegar getting more........well you know! ;-)

BTW did you pull off that round trans cover and check that arm out? Was it cracked and not doing its job?

Thanks! (and thanks Dad for teaching me how and all your little tricks)

Dave- I'm sure the clutch is worn especially since I've let another driver (my GF) use it since her Honda retired. I taught her how to drive stick on the honda and that clutch is still good. If the front-end parts do not engage the clutch, it won't shift unless you're a truck driver and shift without a clutch which I won't do with a VW.

Yes I agree. However when someone thinks he knows what he's talking about and wants to snipe out an ignorant comment, to get a rise. That's a troll. If he was joking he should have let me know but obviously he was serious; seriously flawed.

No I can't work on it now, it's parked at work until after Thanksgiving. I bet that is what it is. I have large rubber grommets that I am going to temp add to the auto adjust cable assy by cutting a slit and inserting a few under the assy. That should give me a few more millimeters on the TO bushing and rod. This might be enough to confirm your info.

Congrats on the clutch and I would be curious what year VW and model it is?

Did you know that VW has had nothing but serious problems with the tranny and clutch issues on their newer, heavier, torqued TDIs with that dual mass flywheel and the 1.8T? Failure at less than 12K miles which is supposed to be warranty only to claim the clutch is a wear item even if it was under the 12K mile limit. Crazy stuff. Lots of unhappy owners getting hosed.

The older VWs which are lighter less torque have been engineered accordingly. New models using the old specs because the good engineers probably left are really a black mark. JMO and speculation on my part and just a WAG. However, why all the failures?

It's in a 1992 Jetta GL

As for the rest, IMHO it comes down to not knowing how/having the ability to use a clutch properly. Case in point, my brother burnt through two clutches in his Rabbit, in less than a week.

Of course I'll admit I might be wrong, having never worked on or driven the TDIs.

snip

On a 2001 GTi with the VR6 engine had its pressure plate get sooo weak that it was allowing slippage. No oil residue, nice thick clutch disc, no burn marks. Owner has been driving sticks for over 40 years and is still driving sticks. Oh and she also drives her husband's '97 GTi VR6 that I don't recall ever having to do a clutch in his and it has over 120K miles on it. Of course I might have forgotten about installing a clutch on it if it has been over 4-5 years since doing it.

So I conclude that maybe the newer PRESSURE PLATEs might not have enough holding power to them. Maybe it was designed to make the shifting a little softer. I dunno but this is what I have observed! OR it could be those stepped flywheels with incorrect distances between the surfaces. BTW I would prefer some grabbing over some slipping! ;-) I have also noticed that the transverse engines seem to go through clutches a little quicker than inline engines. Of course you have "expert" drivers that have over 180K miles on the original clutch. ;-)

Maybe Woodchuck can comment on this. ;-)