Date:         Sat, 17 Jan 2004 07:30:34 -0800
Reply-To:     Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject:      Re: Clutch problems
In-Reply-To:  <1074319120.4008cf10ad4ee@webmail.adam.com.au>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

> On Christmas Eve, my '84 camper went in to have its rear main bearing seal
> replaced (for which on an 84 you only need to drop the gearbox).
>
> While the gearbox was out, the mechanic noticed that the clutch was burned and
> worn, and the flywheel was uneven.
>
> So a changeover, skimmed flywheel was installed, with a new Sachs(?) clutch
> plate assembly.  I was told this was a better make than the one that was in
> there.
>
> Van was driven home (5 miles) and stored in the shed.  All seemed well, but I
> was gentle, and it's downhill.  Last Wednesday, I decided to drive it to work,
> to check that all was well before a planned trip this weekend.  Straight away,
> the clutch was shuddering.  If I was very careful, and fully released it before
> applying any revs at all, it was OK although the takeup seemed to be a bit
> sudden.  But applying any revs as the pedal came out resulted in a pronounced
> shuddering through the van.  You could feel the clutch bouncing about.
>
> As they are flat out in the post-Christmas rush, I've agreed to take it back the
> week after next, to be looked at.  I've had good service from these guys before
> (they are VW/Audi repairers) so I hope there won't be any funny business.
>
> I'd appreciate any ideas listees might have - hopefully I just struck a dud new
> clutch assembly, and they will wear it.

While Sachs is regarded as a good oem brand, they do have duds. 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...
Of course, there may be many other reasons for this shuddering also,
possibly specific to the Vanagon, but just to let you know Sachs stuff can
go bad.
The only shuddering I've had on my Vanagon is when the disc is oil
soaked, which usually takes a while after a leak starts...

--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
'88 Westy 375k
'85 Jetta D 263k
'85 Jetta TD 482k (retired)
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