Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 12:58:22 -0500
Reply-To: Jon Schaer <jschaer@COLUMBUS.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jon Schaer <jschaer@COLUMBUS.RR.COM>
Subject: Re: Clutch problems
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Wright" <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
>
> I had
> a brand new Sachs clutch disc fail and lose a spring inside the
> bellhousing of my '85 Jetta a few years ago. The shuddering started
> within a few months (perhaps less) of installing it, and when the spring
> went, it got dramatically worse, and a grating sound was added, as the
> spring flew around the bellhousing, getting wedged into various places...
>
Funny (sorta). I had a similar Vanagon problem, though I think it was a
reman disc, and the springs weren't replaced. One broke (unbeknownst to me).
I had been having some shuttering trouble. Ended up finding some loose CV
bolts on one side, so I thought that was the cause, and it was better after
tightening. Shudder was sporadic anyway, so I was procrastinating deeper
investigation. Sometime later, I lost clutch action very quickly. Like in a
day. Pedal felt normal, but clutch wouldn't disengage. I had never dealt
with a hydraulic clutch before (my VW history involves 4 Sciroccos and a
diesel Rabbit, and a few type II's as a kid). Seemed the classic symptom of
a slave cylinder failure.
I performed the slave replacement, and bled just by blocking the clutch fork
and bleeding like brakes. Clutch worked great!!........for about 2 miles.
Then the lack of action returned. Shoot! Guess the master was shot, too, so
I replaced that, and bled the same way. Nothing. So I figured my bleeding
was to blame, so I purchased a pressure bleeder and rebled like the manual
suggested. Still nothing. I was befuddled. I even tried shimming the slave
piston rod seat to artificially increase the stroke reach. Zilch.
Nothing left but to drop the tranny. Bingo! Disc and pressure plate were
very young and near pristine, but I found the one spring missing. It had
bounced down into the crotch of the PP fingers and was preventing the
disengagement. So now I have a complete clutch system R&R and a sore spot
from beating my head against the wall.
I thought about investigating the previous owner's clutch job, but even if
it was a clear disc defect (???) I doubted they would forward any warranty
eligibility to me. Just tough luck, and some great clutch service
experience.
Jon Schaer
Columbus, OH
1985 GL
139,000+
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