Date:         Sun, 22 Dec 2002 19:04:22 -0500
Reply-To:     Don Bolt <Don-Bolt@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Bolt <Don-Bolt@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Subject:      Clutch Judder
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello to the list.
I need some advice.
We have a 82 Air Cooled Westfalia with 214,000 miles.  Pulled the engine to find the cause of clutch judder.  Found a chewed up pilot shaft & bearing and wobbled out pilot shaft seal.  Got the new parts installed and also replaced the 4 rubber engine mounts as well.  Before raising the engine I bled & flushed the clutch slave cylinder (very easy access at this point)  Now got everything back together, fired up the engine just like down town, runs great.  Now lets check it through the gears before I put the wheels back on.  Now Edsel Murphy seems to have snuck in quietly.  With the engine shut down, we can shift all gears.  Engine running, 1st gear is fine, 2nd gear is a little difficult, 3rd gear is difficult but with pumping the clutch pedal 4 times, could get it.  Never could get 4th gear, reverse sounds like a coffee grinder.  Could not get it at all with the engine running.  It has been pedal bled and vacuum bled.  The slave is 6 years old and the master is 11 years.  I flush all hydraulics annually down here in Florida.  The travel as measured at the slave cylinder cup contact on the clutch to bearing arm is about 14 - 15 mm or 9/16 inches, which doesn't seem like very much travel to me.  I am unable to find any spec for this.  Now there is slight evidence that the master cylinder is leaking.
Any ideas?


Don Bolt